RZA Album: “Afro Samurai: The Soundtrack [Edited]”

Description :

Additional personnel: Dexter Wiggles, Lil Free, The Reverend William Burk, Division, Freemurder, GZA, 60 Seconds, Jay Love, Maurice, Q-Tip, Suga Bang, Talib Kweli, True Master, Barretta 9, Big Daddy Kane, Black Knights, Thea. <p>The job of putting background beatscapes to the Spike TV martial arts anime miniseries AFRO SAMURAI, which stars the voice of Hollywood badazz Samuel L. Jackson, is a project worthy of one man alone. And as expected, the abbot of the Wu-Tang Clan rises to the occasion, laying down a slew of characteristically moody yet epic instrumental tracks, along with a share of blazing vocal cuts. The list of diverse MCs includes Q-Tip, Free Murder, the GZA, and Talib Kweli, as well as a line-up of peripheral Wu affiliates such as the Black Knights, True Master, 60 Second Assassin, and Suga Bang. Perhaps the hottest track comes courtesy of Big Daddy Kane who flips some of his classic lines from the Juice Crew era into a memorable hook on the inspired cut, "Cameo Afro." RZA's love of kung-fu movies, hard boom-bap beats, and cinematic sonic landscapes is the main attraction, though, and it works perfectly to evoke the show's brilliant combination of surrealist narrative and martial-arts action.

I'll admit that I didn't know much about Afro Samurai or this soundtrack as little as two months ago. I was flipping through channels one day when I saw this anime joint with a black samurai on Spike TV. Being that I'm an anime junkie, coupled with the fact that the soundtrack was dope, I decided to watch for a while. That while turned out to be an entire half hour and from then on I've been hooked. I immediately ran to my computer to see if this show was new, old, released on DVD -- basically to get whatever info I could get on it. I saw that the soundtrack was going to be released and I immediately circled the date on my calendar. I must say that the end results are actually quite good. The production is solid, though it isn't typical RZA. Honestly, I was expecting more Kill Bill type production, but this is strictly RZA flavor with a more straightforward asian theme. There are also some collaborators here that I'd never expect to hear rhyming over a RZA beat (Big Daddy Kane, Talib Kweli, Q Tip, etc) along with the usual WU Tang affiliates (GZA, 60 Second Assassin, Berretta 9, True Master, CCF Division, etc). Personally, the instrumentals do the job for me. Some of them aren't hip hop at all, but they're still great. To me, the vocal tracks are an added bonus to an already great album. RZA also includes four Bobby Digital "bonus" tracks (#21 - 24) that are decent.

As far as flaws, there really aren't many. You could say that the length of the disc (25 joints at about an hour) may be an issue, but I'm a RZA fanatic, so I loved the it. Also, "Oh" and "The Walk" are nice slow jams from Stone Mecca, but they seem kind of out of place on this album due to the abundance of hardcore, boom bap joints. They're not bad songs though, but they may put off those that don't like a side of r&b with their hip hop main course. To be honest, I really can't find anything else wrong with the album. There's a lackluster verse here or a so-so beat there, but they are well within the minority.

Afro Samurai is one of the first must have releases of this young year. RZA does an excellent job of providing dope backing music for one of the baddest samurai's out there. As expected, the production is fresh. I never get tired of it. With albums like this and Decompoze's joint, I'd have to say that hip hop is getting off to a great start in 2007. I recommend adding this one to the collection.

Standout Tracks: Insomnia Feat. Jay Love (Bonus Track), Ninjaman (Instrumental), Certified Samurai Feat. Talib Kweli, Lil Free, & Suga Bang (My Favorite), The Empty 7 Theme (Instrumental), Afro's Father Fight (Instrumental), Who Is Tha Man Feat. The Reverend William Burk, Take Sword Pt. I Feat. Beretta 9, and Just A Lil Dude (Who Dat Ovah There) Feat. Q Tip & Free Murder