You may or may not have seen the cartoon on Spike with the Black Samurai roaming around Japan slicing and dicing everyone in his path, trying to find those responsible for his father’s murder. The animation is top-notch, however the confusing plot and dialogue coupled with the voice of Samuel “I don’t read scripts anymore, I just sign on the dotted line” Jackson as the lead role may not be your particular cup of tea.
The fact that none other than the mighty Wu’s RZA scores the soundtrack for Afro Samurai Resurrection (Wu Music Group) should spark your interest. He puts together a shogun inspired compilation that features guests such as Kool G Rap, Killah Priest and Shavo from the System Of A Down, that unfortunately will have you scratching your head instead of nodding it.
While the first Afro Samurai soundtrack proved to be a decent listen, this album provides not much more than an exercise involving your index finger and the fast forward button. There are a few bright spots however. The RZA cooks up a fresh Wu banger with “Whar” featuring verses from Kool G, Ghostface, and a sensuous hook crooned by Tash Mahogany.
Over an elastic funk loop and a menacing buzz sound effect reminiscent of a swarm of killer bees, Ghost and RZA sprinkle the track with their signature abstract lyrics, but it’s Kool G Rap who owns the track with his vintage baritone delivery. Another palatable track on the soundtrack is the melancholy throwback joint “Yellow Jackets” featuring Ace and Moe Rock, but after that the pickings get slim.
There are many problems to point out on this headache of a release. First off, there is no cohesiveness to this collection. We jump from an uncomplimentary appearance from one of Rap’s heralded female emcees Rah Digga on “B**** Gonna Get Ya” to an unfortunate rock track (“Dead Birds”), and then on to some bloated eleven minute plus filler (“Take The Sword III”).
The soundtrack as a whole is definitely hard to digest, whether or not you are a fan of the cartoon, but it definitely would help you get through this if you actually liked the show as well.
There is absolutely no doubt that the RZA is a deft producer who has blessed our ears with many memorable beats for one of rap’s best groups, however his independent track record is a bit suspect what with the Bobby Digital releases and now the latest Afro Samurai soundtrack. Everyone makes mistakes.
The RZA, Ghostface Killah, Kool G Rap & Tash Mahogany
“Whar”
Rah Digga
“B**** Is Gonna Get Ya”