The RZA - As Bobby Digital (In Stereo)

6.0 - USA - 1998

Fairly nuts superhero rap album from the Wu-Tang lynchpin in which The RZA -- the sharpest motherfucker in the whole clan, always on point, razor sharp, with the beats, with the rhymes, whatever -- takes on the alias of Bobby Digital who seems to be some kind of cybernetic rapper (somewhat of a predecessor for OMNIMIC). The exact nature of Mr. Digital is rather unclear; ostensibly the album has a narrative of sorts, but it's all rather impenetrable.

Also, it's hard to tell whether this is an exercise in Spinal-Tapian parody. The picture of The RZA in his Bobby Digital get-up in the album's insert encapsulates the record's nuttiness. We are treated to a close-up of a man's wrist upon which is one of those fancy, futuristic super-hero video watches out of which peers the solemn visage of Bobby Digital himself (quite clearly The RZA in a Lone-Ranger type mask and an officially licenced Wu-Wear beret). It's all rather silly, but like the record as a whole, it's unclear whether this silliness is by design or inadvertent.

Certainly the use of aliases and masks is a staple of the Wu-Tang mythology (think of the faceless, protean figures on the cover of Enter The Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers: able to take on any guise as necessary). Multiple members of the group have multiple aliases for a variety of occasions, and indeed, the expansive Wu mythology is a syncretic system that draws upon a myriad of influences from kung-fu films, sacred mathematics, and, most germain for our purposes here, comic books -- all of which are rendered equivalent in true post-modern fashion.

Err, anyway, got sidetracked there, so back to Bobby Digital. Is it good record? I don't know. It's alright. Some stellar cuts in there -- "B.O.B.B.Y.", "NYC Everything", and "My Lovin' Is Digi" in particular -- but like most hip-hop albums, there's rather a lot of filler. Surprisingly, there aren't really any skits -- usually a point of derision for most rap albums -- which is surprising, given that the framing narrative of the work would presumably lend itself to skits (they could help flesh out the Bobby Digital character, which is curiously, and unfortunately underdeveloped).

Unlike the first two Wu-Tang albums, Bobby Digital has a much cleaner sound -- in an interview, The RZA claimed that he got frustrated with his hitherto analog production and made the switch to a digital methodology. Being an analog type myself, I kinda miss the murky griminess of the earlier Wu-Tang productions.

Further, another problem with the album is that though he is terrific producer, The RZA is not all that spectacular an MC, particularly when he has to carry a whole (and lengthy album) by himself. Wu-pals Method Man and the inestimable Ol' Dirty Bastard (among others) show up to lend a hand on a couple of tracks (I love the ODB verse on "Kiss Of The Black Widow"), but they also, by comparison, inadvertently reveal the limitations of The RZA's flow. Still, the standout tracks greatly outweigh the poor quality filler, and you have to respect the gonzo audacity of the whole project (perhaps best exemplified by the horror-show of "Domestic Violence" which implausibly concludes the album proper).

Finally, I nitpick one lyric. In "NYC Everything", while describing his sexual prowess (a prominent theme in the work), Bobby Digital informs his potential partner that he "opens up your clit wider", which seems to betray some ignorance of the female anatomy unless, that is, he is interlocuting with a female hyena, although the less said about that, the better...