CD Reviews

The RZA Presents: Afro Amurai —The Soundtrack

The RZA Presents: Afro Samurai — The Soundtrack | Koch

By MATTHEW GASTEIER | February 13, 2007

2.5 Stars

Afro Samurai

Even as the Wu-Tang continue to flirt with the idea of reuniting, the RZA has already started a new life as a film composer. Although none of his work has yet surpassed his brilliant initial score for Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, his growth as a sophisticated composer of instrumentals is apparent here. Created for the anime-inspired basic-cable series, Afro Samurai is closer to Ghost Dog’s largely forgettable “official” soundtrack (as opposed to its much better “score”), which was a mix of inspired instrumentals and warmed-over Wu collaborations. The big surprise is how many of the tracks here slip into smooth R&B, a genre RZA has rarely ventured into — with good reason, perhaps, because without the super-producer’s trademark grit, the results are largely generic slow jams. There are moments when Afro Samurai rises to the occasion: a great collaboration with Talib Kweli on “Certified Samurai” plays the underground MC’s high-pitched voice off RZA’s deep pianos and ominous vocal samples so well it calls for a full-length encore. But unless they’re willing to tolerate average vocal tracks to get to the Asian-tinged instrumentals where RZA really shines, Wu fans are advised to wait for the inevitable resurrection.

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