Word: rza
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...Shaolin temple, he says, a crowd of several hundred children awaited him. He proceeded to communicate the only way he knew--by rapping. "They didn't speak English, but I blew their minds and they all came asking for autographs and pictures," says Diggs, who, under the pseudonym RZA, is the leader of rap's Wu-Tang Clan. "That's how it goes in China. They may not sell our records in Beijing, but kids in the remote areas have our discs bootlegged before they're released in the States...
...Tang return to their hallmark minimalist, sample-based sound, la Enter the 36 Chambers. Refreshingly, the synthesizer is used more discreetly on The W than Wu-Tang Forever. Instead, the clan's talented producer RZA injects '70s soul (including "I Can't Go To Sleep", which features Isaac Hayes), reggae and even spy-movie themes into the tracks. ("One Blood Under W," one of The W's gems, begins with a memorable sample of the James Bond theme...
Make no mistake, the star of The W is the RZA. For most of the album, the producer's musical innovations overshadows the raps. It's true that the album lacks the oomph that the ODB's unpredictable delivery gave to their earlier albums. Still, The W shows that you can spell Wu-Tang Clan without ODB. A- -William...
...RZA is in top form as a producer, laying down beats for each number that are spare but never simplistic, and that reverberate with menace, like footsteps following you down an alleyway late at night. The verbal flow on the album is involving and smooth; there's a smart mix of jokey lines ("In a room full of crackers/ I might cut the cheese," runs one passage on the track "Redbull") and serious statements. One section on "I Can't Go to Sleep" laments "Somebody raped our women/ murdered our babies/ hit us with the crack and guns...
...With numerous Wu-Tang Clan members popping up on various tracks and all those guest stars, The W becomes a terrifically varied album, full of differing vocal textures and provocative rhythmic and lyrical ideas. Guest star-heavy albums sometimes burst apart like overstuffed grocery bags. RZA's solid guidance keeps everything together. The streetcorner scientists of Wu-Tang have come up with another winning formula...