RZA - Bobby Digital In Stereo
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Pitchfork Media Rating: 2.9
Wu-Tang albums show up in Pitchfork mailboxes more frequently than issues of
Jane and Lowrider. In 1999, we can look forward to twelve
assorted Wu-Tang records. They should consider pooling all their records and just
releasing a third proper Wu-Tang Clan album. Make it a decuple album-- call it
Encyclopedia Wu-Tannica. But no. Of course, every Wu-Tang member has to
step aside to do a solo project to prove that, yes, in fact, even alone, he sounds
just like the Wu-Tang Clan, but with less people.
First up for the nine-nine is RZA's Underoo-Tang fantasy "concept" album, Bobby
Digital in Stereo. Yes, your "extremely drug-induced" bells and whistles
should be flaring right about now. Think "Stan Lee presents... Da Muthaf*&%in'
Ghetto!" Supposedly there's a plot, but you wouldn't know it from listening
to the album. Bobby Digital, who shields his anonymity with a bedsheet and plastic
party mask, embodies the alter-id of RZA. According to the story, Bobby's list of
superpowers includes smoking lots of weed, shooting Glocks, disrespecting women,
smacking women in the face with his penis, and talking on a cellphone. Sort of
like an x-rated Blankman.
As far as hip-hop concept albums go, this concept looks quite circuitous. Here's
the concept in a nutshell: RZA, a rapper, has an alter-ego that's a hardcore
gangsta rapper. The thinly veiled plot, about as sturdy as the script for
Twister, provides a cheap vehicle for RZA to cruise through tired cliches.
If further removed from the genre, it might be considered satire. But like I say,
just because Scream makes fun of lame, unscary teen horror movies doesn't
mean it isn't a lame, unscary teen horror movie.
RZA (b. Robert Diggs) undeniably cooks spooky beats. Early-century strings, brisk
beats and bleeps, and female soul-crooning percolate through the minimal mix, coming
off in its best moments like Portishead and Björk on a hip-hop trip. However,
at this point in his career, RZA can crank out heartbeat tracks like this from his
hypothalamus in his sleep. And with the glut of all things Wu, hip-hop is
supersaturated with such sounds.
Lyrically, RZA has proven in the past that he can do better. Randomly stringing
anime references, martial arts lingo, crotch-grabbing bravado, and product names,
RZA's rhymes tumble from his lips like marbles. A creative vocabulary saves some
grace, but the "pussy's," "bitch's" and "motherfucker's" far outweigh the¤"t...
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