Third solo work that can be credited to RZA, after his debut under the moniker Bobby Digital in '98, and the film score of "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai" released in the Japanese market. This is a second soundtrack from the same movie by Jim Jarmusch, on which Bobby Steels collaborated, released for the US and European markets the following year, in 2000. It maintains a Sony distribution, simply in place of the Victor there's the Epic, which joins the Razor Sharp of Divine aka Mitchell Diggs, brother of RZA. Entirely produced, mixed and arranged by The Abbot, the album consists of 19 tracks, 7 skits performed by the leading actor of the film Forest Whitaker, for a total of 52 minutes. The performers are RZA, Masta Killa, Wu-Tang Clan, Sunz of Man, 12 O'Clock, Blue Raspberry, North Star, Black Knights, Suga Bang Bang, Tekitha, Superb, Royal Fam, La the Darkman, and the MCs extern to Wu-universe Kool G Rap, Melodie, Jeru, and Afu Ra.
After Whitaker's first of seven skits, the first track is "Strange Eyes": good midtempo drum, guitar riff, squeaky hook by 60 Second Assassin of Sunz of Man, Blue Raspberry sings better. The cut is closed by Two on da Road, 12 O'Clock delivering raw and inspired, Prodigal Sunn kills the cut with rapid hardcore style. North Star show up in the next track on a haunting looped midtempo production, Christ Bearer & Meko are both raw, in amateurish style. The Black Knights are similar in "Zip Code", greeted by a bad loop of "After Laughter (Comes Tears)" by Wendy Rene whose piano is sampled for a few moments: Doc Doom!, Monk and Crisis perform, no one impresses, they're decent. "Cakes" boasts G Rap and RZA in the same track: thin drum, haunting loop, not very good. The Juice Crew MC rap is excellent, RZA is raw, energetic, okay, then he let the beat breathe for a minute, as for his best beats, however, this is certainly not one of them.
Suga Bang Bang gives a single and grueling weak moment of the edition by singing ragga for five minutes. The album is lifted up by one of Tekitha's many masterful tests, offering one of the best moments of the soundtrack with a solo, "Walking Through the Darkness", on a melodic uptempo boom bap accompanied by strings in the background. Track number ten features Masta Killa, the only member of the Wu-Tang to perform credited, in addition to the RZA himself, and Superb of American Cream Team, on a good accessible production. "Walk the Dogs" is a good track that features Timbo King, the only rapper to represent the Royal Fam on this track, alongside La the Darkman on a minimal boom bap. There's an uncredited Mighty Jarrett ragga hook, the boys do their job. 12 O'Clock returns on the following track, delivering a short hardcore raw verse before making way for a solo sung by Melodie.
Jeru and Afu Ra spit hardcore on a dark, alienating and apocalyptic production of RZA, then comes the Wu-Tang Clan in the posse track "Fast Shadow": Meth & ODB intro, then stanzas executed by Method Man, who has the best flow, hardcore, quick, smoothness, Dirt McGirt, RZA and Masta Killa, plus U-God performing the chorus. Steelz's chosen rhythm is decent, the piece doesn't go down in history as one of the best in the Clan. The last real track is "Samurai Showdown", where RZA, sharp as a tack, keeps for himself the best production of the tape: boom bap, dirty and dusty midtempo drum machine, dark samples, piano keys looped in background. The soundscape boasts the typical dark Wu-sound: his delivery style is hardcore, slow, decent, a better MC would have pulled the season's banger out of this beat.
Neglected by crowds and critics alike, this CD is one of the two best solo projects in RZA's career and by far the best until "The Man With the Iron Fists: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack", released twelve years later. Both show that the boy found his solo dimension in the making of the soundtracks, especially those where he doesn't participate in rapping, leaving the field to better performers, while with studio albums he has no idea what to do and how to do it. Recommended to fans, 7/10.
No comments:
Post a Comment