RZA’s film One Spoon of Chocolate has moved from the 2025 Tribeca Festival to U.S. movie theaters. The film stars Shameik Moore as Unique, a just-released prisoner and military veteran trying to rebuild his life in Ohio, where RZA spent his teenage years. RZA confirmed parts of the story draw from his own experiences in the state.
“There was a lot of corruption in that town that I spent time in, to be quite honest with you,” RZA tells ABC Audio, recalling what he was told following his 1991 arrest and subsequent acquittal. “My lawyer said to me … ‘I fought so hard for you to win your case because I knew this whole town was corrupt and they wanted you to go down, not because of the case, but because of how you look."”
“There was some experiences there that definitely found its way into the film,” he says, including racism, though RZA clarifies the story is “less about the villains, but more about the hero.”
“Like how about we get a hero like Shameik Moore … who’s trying to find a better life and yet gets to a place where they’re trying to stop their life from flourishing,” he says.
In the film, Unique makes it his duty to physically confront the sheriff and his team who have been targeting Black men. He reads a survivalist handbook, prepares himself for the moment and ends up victorious.
While there are many themes in the story, RZA emphasizes preparation.
“Every man should walk in the world in peace, but he should always be prepared for the war,” he says, before referencing a quote from in the film. “He says, ‘I didn’t win because I was Black or that I was better than you.’ He said, ‘I was better prepared."”
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