Depsite their "Wu-Tang forever" motto (and album title) the group hasn't been very united lately, RZA admits to the Associated Press in a new interview covering the struggles of recording the Wu's long-awaited A Better Tomorrow album and more on Raekwon's refusal to participate.

"When you're a young man, you're hustling, and you've got 12 hours a day to dedicate to music ... the energy that's important is constantly pouring out," RZA explained of attempting to schedule time to record between his acting and directing commitments. "But when you've got to go seek for the energy, it becomes a little more difficult. Wu-Tang is forever — I'll never take back that statement — but we haven't recorded a lot of studio albums. This is the first album we've recorded in seven years, actually. And we can't wait seven years for another album."

Rae not being on board is adding to his frustration, RZA said. While most of the production is finished, and other members like Ghostaface Killah, Method Man, GZA and Inspectah Deck have all completed their verses, The Chef has yet to "come to the table."

"He hasn't turned in his verses yet," RZA explained. "I don't know if he's still trying to find the vibe of the music. We have to talk about it before it becomes too late."

If necessary, the crew will vote on going forward without Rae, but RZA hopes it doesn't get that far. "Raekwon is a valuable energy to the Wu-Tang," he added. "His voice, his lyrics, his approach. Rae is a master lyricist."

For now, Rae is busy promoting his latest single, "All About Me" featuring Estelle. As for the Wu project, "I love you rza you know what it really is," Rae tweeted earlier this month.

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(Photos: Kevin Winter/Getty Images; Mike Coppola/Getty Images for John Varvatos)