RZA – Birth Of A Prince (CD) (2003) (FLAC + 320 kbps)

RZA’s first full-blown “RZA as RZA” solo album is not The Cure, the long-promised masterpiece that has gathered a great deal of mystique throughout the years. Hampered by a valley that’s thankfully cleaved by some considerable peaks, Birth of a Prince is instead a durable addition to the Wu-Tang legacy. By no means is it a masterpiece, and it’s not even one of the best Wu-Tang solo albums — but it has enough going for it to prevent most of the followers from losing interest. Following the all-but-completely unheard The World According to RZA — an ambitious project featuring lyricists representing continents other than North America — as well as arriving almost simultaneously with his contributions to the score of Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill, Vol. 1 (beneath the CD cradle is an ad for the film, and the disc is kicked off by a reference to it), Birth of a Prince neither diminishes nor bolsters RZA’s stature. Along with an ineffective middle patch, some of the guest appearances hold the record back. The Megahertz-produced “We Pop” serves up a vicious dose of zapping funk, but one of the worst verses in the history of hip-hop (“All y’all can see is the back of my jersey/Blowin’ in the wind goin’ back to Jersey/Off to Brooklyn, left ya back in Jersey/I was doin’ a buck-90 like a throwback jersey”), delivered by an uncredited up-and-comer(?), kills the effect. The opening and closing thirds show RZA firing on nearly cylinder — lyrically inspired, conceptually dense, sequentially tight. While many will no doubt see this as an unfocused record, those who take it on more of a song-by-song basis will value it as a respectable addition to RZA’s body of work — an addition with plenty to offer amid some weak tangents.

Tracklist:

01. Bob N’ I
02. The Grunge (feat. Beretta 9 & Bams)
03. We Pop (feat. C.C.F. Division, Ol’ Dirty Bastard & Lady Platinum)
04. Grits (feat. Masta Killa & Allah Real)
05. Fast Cars (feat. Ghostface Killah & Tash Mahogany)
06. Chi Kung (feat. Beretta 9, Cilvaringz & Feathers)
07. You’ll Never Know (feat. Cilvaringz)
08. Drink, Smoke & Fuck
09. The Whistle (feat. Masta Killa & Prodigal Sunn)
10. The Drop Off (feat. C.C.F. Division, Lady Platinum & Daddy-O)
11. Wherever I Go (feat. C.C.F. Division, Allah Real & Daddy-O)
12. Koto Chotan (feat. Masta Killa & Tash Mahogony)
13. A Day to God is 1,000 Years
14. Cherry Range (feat. Beretta 9 & Xavier Naidoo)
15. The Birth (feat. Daddy-O)
16. See the Joy

Download:

FLAC – Wayshare

320 kbps – Wayshare