On May 1, 2026, One Spoon of Chocolate opened in theaters around the country. This is the fourth film directed by RZA (aka Robert Diggs, aka Bobby Digital), the legendary Wu-Tang Clan frontman, multi-hyphenate artist, and filmmaker. It’s an evolution of sorts, having gone from a Shaw Brothers-inspired martial arts debut with The Man with the Iron Fists to a music drama with Love Beats and Rhymes to a socially relevant heist thriller with Cut Throat City. One Spoon of Chocolate is a throwback to 70s grindhouse cinema (among other things), paired with a social thriller befitting today, showing just how little things have changed, depending on the type of environment one may happen to fall into. The film stars Shameik Moore, RJ Cyler, Paris Jackson, and Blair Underwood, among others, and I’ve reviewed it here.
With all of that in mind, I was happy to have a quick chat with RZA to discuss his latest cinematic endeavor. During this interview, RZA delves into the creative process, the films that influenced his vision, and his collaboration with lead actor Shameik Moore. He also shares a revealing insight into the feedback he received from legendary director Quentin Tarantino, who serves as an executive producer on the film. Check it out below.
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[The following has been truncated and edited for clarity.]
Aaron Neuwirth, We Live Entertainment (WLE): Bobby Digital, how’s it going?
RZA: Hold on, that’s not King Ghidorah behind you, is it?
WLE: It’s a Destoroyah, actually. I’ve got like six more over here. I’m a big Godzilla guy.
RZA: All good. I’m a Godzilla head myself. But my son might get you—this dude’s memory of Godzilla is crazy. Godzilla and Aliens.
WLE: Well, I’ve got a podcast, “2 Black Guys Talk Godzilla“—tell him to check it out.
RZA: Oh, word?.
WLE: Word! Now, I’ve only got so much time, but I like this movie. Trust. I’d be happy to talk nothing but Godzilla, but I only have so much time – One Spoon of Chocolate. I want to get down to it. I saw a lot of different elements in here, a lot of different films. Was there anything in particular, film-wise, that inspired you for the script?
RZA: Yeah, I mean, for the technique to tell the story. I saw it in my head, and then I had to figure out how to explain it to my DP, my gaffer, my editor. So, yeah, there’s White Lightning, Walking Tall, Enter the Dragon, and Christine. You see that truck? That’s Christine. Also, Dr. Butcher, M.D.—you don’t know that one, probably.
WLE: I know the title. It’s an older one. Rolling Thunder?
RZA: Rolling Thunder, yeah. And Across 110th Street. It’s a mix of a lot of exploitation, Blacksploitation. But also, like that shot when he and Paris are on the porch and she pulls out the lipstick and writes her phone number with it. That’s just an 80s romantic comedy right there that calms the shit down before the Christine truck comes around the corner and turns it back up. So that was my technique.
WLE: You started writing this back in 2012, right? Around the time of ‘Fists’?
RZA: 2011, even. But yeah, during the recent writer’s strike, I said (independently) “I’m going to write.” So, I was writing another feature but got stuck around page 70. I went through my old notes and found One Spoon of Chocolate. It was about 40 pages deep. This was in 2023. I read it with my wife, and she was like, “This is kind of cool.” Then we got the tour with Nas, the “New York State of Mind” tour, and on the back of that tour bus, the shit came out like water. [laughs] It wasn’t even me writing it anymore; it was like a flow state.
WLE: The phrase “One Spoon of Chocolate”—is there a backstory to that?
RZA: It’s something I made up. I find it funny but true. One spoon of chocolate can change a whole glass of milk. They say if you have one drop of Black blood in you, something like that, you’re Black—that Jim Crow shit. But for me, the idea is that it only takes a little bit to change a lot. One of my lyrics says, “a spoonful of dope or a spoonful of hope,” because a spoonful of dope can kill you from an overdose, but a little bit of hope can take us far. That line and that scene with the old man giving advice have existed since 2011.
WLE: I liked Cut Throat City a lot, which also starred Shameik Moore. Did you have him in mind for this lead?
RZA: When I got to page 60, I said, “I’m gonna call Shameik.” We had lunch in LA, and I showed him the first 60 pages. He was intrigued, but a little nervous. I told him, “Trust me, I’m going to hook this up, and you’re going to be a unique character.” I think he delivered. We really respect each other and let the art come out. I’m a big fan of Shameik Moore, and I hope we get a chance to dance more. Maybe it’s like a Coogler/B. Jordan thing we’ve got going here. [Laughs]
WLE: There is some horrific imagery in here regarding the treatment of Black bodies. You’ve made action-oriented movies, but would you ever make a full horror film?
RZA: I’m glad you felt the “horror-adjacent-ness” of this film. I’m a “Grave Digger,” so yeah, I’m going to play with horror.
WLE: It’s good tension. I was prepared to see something more action-heavy, but the way you stage this film allows for more tension.
RZA: Thank you. So here, for example, the scene at Pelago’s where the car window crashes—I wanted the sound design to make the audience jump. That’s the Grave Digger in me. Look – Eli Roth is my brother in all this, me and him in the Tarantino school, and I think we spill over in our art. You’ll see something similar in his new movie called Ice Cream Man.
WLE: Quentin Tarantino is credited on this as a presenter. Did he have notes?
RZA: Well, first of all, he gave me his blessing early on for this to exist in his cinematic world—the Red Apple cigarettes and all that. He had two notes. One note I agreed with, but I left it in anyway. He felt the scene where Jimmy and his gang go into the restaurant and bang the guy’s face on the table was “unnecessary” because, in reality, someone would have called the cops. But in my movie, I wanted to show that nobody in town has the balls to go against them. It plays on the idea that in the Black community, calling the cops is 50/50, and I got cops in my family, so I hope they don’t get mad at me for saying this. It was gratuitous violence, but it showed that Jimmy and his gang are not to be fucked with, and everyone is scared of them.
WLE: I know that’s my time. Really quick—you came to my college in 2004 and signed my Ghost Dog DVD. Just wanted to show you that.
RZA: Oh, wow! Respect, bro! Ghost Dog was on TV last night, FYI. What’s one more question you had? I know I got carried away with the last one.
WLE: You actually hit all my questions! So, I was going to ask what’s next?
RZA: In that case, watching the film. And I look forward to seeing you in the future, but this is where my brain is at right now. Thank you, bro!
WLE: Thank you!
[We both put up Wu-Tang signs with our hands at each other.]
One Spoon of Chocolate is now playing in theaters.
