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AFRO SAMURAI
RZA
  A hallmark of Wu-Tang albums
was their cinematic quality, dating back to their debut in 1993 (Enter
the Wu-Tang [36 Chambers]) and throughout the subsequent solo
releases. It was RZA who directed and scored the collection of songs that
made up the script. So when RZA was tapped as
music director of Ghost Dog and then Kill Bill Vol. 1, the
Wu-czar crafted sonic backdrops with all the emotion and drama of a vet.
One would be foolish to argue that if you want some kung-fu music with a
contemporary edge, anyone other than RZA would be sloppy-seconds.
Apparently, Japanese
animation studio GONZO and director Fuminori Kizaki were no fools when it
came time to select a music director for the anime series Afro Samurai,
starring Samuel L. Jackson. They hired RZA to help tell the tale through
music and the resulting soundtrack is a fitting companion: The RZA
Presents: Afro Samurai – The Soundtrack. Throughout the album, RZA
splices in well-timed interludes that link with the cuts to practically
create a movie of its own.
Amazingly, you could
probably take 36 as is, drop it behind some Japanese anime and come
out with a pretty dope score and soundtrack. That’s how well-crafted the
album was. Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai followed a similar
path as an album full of raucous, Wu-school hip-hop
cadenced, Forrest Whitaker samurai code interludes. Afro Samurai,
however, is a bit of a departure The title character – a black samurai
with an afro constantly flowing in the wind like a spool of cotton candy –
is a young man with a dark, cold demeanor. Afro’s mission is revenge,
which means slaying Justice, who severed the head of Afro’s Pops when he
was a kid. This bleak and twisted storyline allows RZA opportunities to
lay out his usual dank and eerie
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soundscapes. The combat
affords legend emcees Big Daddy Kane and GZA to team up on “Cameo Afro”
and spit volatile battle rhymes over a riot-like RZA beat, while
“Certified Samurai” features a trio led by Talib Kweli swaggering hard.
But, Afro also features some straight-up, in-the-mood,
turn-off-the-lights, let-me-love-you-down R&B. Stone Mecca’s “Oh” and “The
Walk” are crooning ballads fit for Quiet Storm radio. It seems peculiar
coming from RZA (“Baby”, featuring Maurice,
is so sappy that it’s corny), yet it’s only right. Samurais get down, too.
RZA is also heard in all his
orchestral splendor on this joint (“Bazooka Fight 2”, “Tears of a
Samurai”), displaying a grasp of harmony and arrangement that doesn’t
befit a dude with little classical training.
He foreshadowed these
capabilities close to 15 years ago. Now, with his fourth soundtrack under
his black belt, RZA is a bona fide music auteur.
-- Vincent Thomas
musicdude@thisisrealmusic.com |
