Bobby Digital: 25th Anniversary
Bobby Digital in Stereo. Loud Records (1998).
A bold attempt by a hip-hop genius to bring a comicbook style antihero to life on a rap album underwhelms as it hints to what could have been.
his would have dropped yesterday on the proper 25th anniversary of the release of RZA’s Bobby Digital in Stereo, if Thanksgiving festivities (and some day drinking) didn’t throw me off schedule. I hate it when I miss the opportunity to publish a piece on a special day, like a silver anniversary, but when there’s a major holiday involved, that’s how it goes.
Earlier this month, Wu-Tang Clan celebrated the 30th anniversary of their culture-shifting debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers. That album altered hip-hop’s lexicon, its soundscape, and its aesthetic. Its influence is generational, and its critical praise is universal. What more can be said about it that hasn’t been? Personally, this album is in my “holy trinity of hip-hop”. This is one of three albums that changed the way I thought a hip-hop album could/would/should sound like. It is a tremendous work of artistic energy and creative skill — a groundbreaking work in forward-thinking genre. I love it.
In the years that followed the release of Enter the Wu-Tang…WTC head honcho and executive producer, RZA, oversaw the production of several other highly influential Wu solo albums. Tical, Liquid Swords, Return to the 36 Chambers…, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, and Ironman are a hell of a lineup. Wu-Tang Clan was in its fully formed version of Voltron. They were an unstoppable force. Only an equally powerful force — a force of nature, an act of God, or themselves — could stop the Wu.
It’s been well-documented that RZA lost hundreds of tracks to flooding. Yes, flooding. Shoutout to Gino Sorcinelli for his article in Medium. If you didn’t crack open RZA’s The Tao of Wu, Sorcinelli’s piece will tell you all you need to know about the amount of work he had ready to go that was lost. Allegedly, there was a finished Inspectah Deck solo project that was supposed to be one of the Wu’s first solo releases. In the aftermath of all the lost samples RZA had on those drowned tapes, the legendary producer turned to creating original beats on keyboards. Some of the fruits of his initial labors became the classic follow-up album, Wu-Tang Forever. It’s not the perfect gem that its predecessor is, but …Forever is stuffed with bangers, and, you know, “knowledge, god.”
A year and some change after Wu-Tang Forever dropped, RZA hit us with a synthed-out futuristic hip-hop concept album that was more miss than hit, Bobby Digital. I remember being stoked to see in The Source that RZA was releasing a solo album on the heels of …Forever, after absolutely dominating rap music for several years. This was the architect of the greatest group in hip-hop history. This was the motherfucker who took the kung-fu samples from the movies and mixed them into some hardcore street raps. This was the Abbot of the Clan. I expected a sonic tour of the high temple of Shaolin. Even with a weird title like RZA As Bobby Digital, this album couldn’t miss.
I wasn’t ready for what RZA had in store for us back then, but returning to it on the 30th anniversary of its release, I discovered a little bit of magic in …Bobby Digital. Its biggest flaws are that RZA’s keyboard created beats are hit or miss, and there’s no connective tissue that keeps this ambitious idea centered around the main character. Bobby Digital’s narrative is all over the place. The concept is difficult to grasp, but I see what RZA wanted to do. I just don’t think he went all the way with it — committed to not only the character of Bobby Digital, but also the sound and vibe. It’s evident in places, but this album should have dripped with Digital steez.
It’s not a garbage album; I was bitter about it in ’98 when it came out and didn’t meet my expectations. That’s the thing about having expectations, though. It doesn’t come anywhere close to the heights of RZA’s best production during the Wu’s mid-90s run of gems, but it’s better than most of the follow up albums his WTC mates released.
Favorite Tracks
RZA does some cool things, like re-create the bass line from “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nothin’ ta F’ Wit” on “Terrorist”. It also never hurts to bring on your boys from the WTC. Shout out to Masta Killa and Ol’ Dirt Bastard for their contributions on “Kiss of a Black Widow” and “Mantis” (respectively). Those two tracks are bangers, but they didn’t make my top 3 cut.
“N.Y.C. Everything”
This beat is bonkers, and RZA almost rhymes it right off track, but Method Man comes through (as he usually does) with a flow that feels like he’s just stepped into the cypher.
“Holocaust (Silkworm)”
On this transfixing RZA production (a sound that RZA would bring back for his Ghost Dog soundtrack), Ghostface Killah dominates the other rappers, including Bobby Digital himself.
My Lovin’ Is Digi
The best track on the album. The production is cinematic and sounds like it could have been used in Supalfy. This album needed more tracks like this one.
