Bobby Digital in Stereo

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Bobby Digital in Stereo
File:RZA as Bobby Digital in Stereo.png
Studio album by RZA as Bobby Digital
Released November 24, 1998
Recorded 1997–1998
Genre Hip hop
Length 67:57
Label Gee Street, V2, BMG Records
Producer RZA, Inspectah Deck, King Tech
RZA chronology
Ooh I Love You Rakeem
(1991)Ooh I Love You Rakeem1991		 RZA as Bobby Digital in Stereo
(1998)		 Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (soundtrack)
(1999)Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (soundtrack)1999
Wu-Tang Clan solo chronology
Method Man:
Tical 2000: Judgement Day
(1998)		 Bobby Digital in Stereo
(1998)		 GZA:
Beneath the Surface
(1999)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 4/5 stars[1]
Entertainment Weekly B[2]
NME 6/10 stars[3]
Pitchfork Media (2.9/10)[4]
Rolling Stone 4/5 stars[5]
The Source 3.5/5 stars[6]
Stylus (favorable)[7]

Bobby Digital in Stereo is the solo debut studio album by American hip hop recording artist and record producer RZA, of East Coast hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. It was released on November 24, 1998, and was certified Gold on February 5, 1999, by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It is a well-received experimental album that is based on a story featuring him rhyming as a hedonistic, fun-loving alter-ego named Bobby Digital and showcasing a unique keyboard-driven sound (rather than samples) that the RZA called digital orchestra, receiving mostly positive, though somewhat mixed, reviews.

Background

He explained the origins of Bobby Digital, saying: <templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />

It came from a really good bag of weed one day, right? I was in my studio. My birth name is Bobby Diggs. So at the time, creatively, I felt like I was in a digital frame. I felt like I was in high-speed, where everything was digital, in numbers, mathematics. I said to myself at the same time that as Bobby Digital, I could use a character to describe some of the earlier days of my own life. Partying, bullshitting, going crazy, chasing women, taking drugs. At the same time, I would mix in my love for comic books. It was a mixture of fiction and reality together to make a character I thought would be entertaining, and I could utilize that character to get fans into me as an MC, as a lyricist, and also following the path of my life. It's like pre-RZA. It's what The RZA struggles not to be, in a way, you know what I mean?[8]

Music

Lyrical content

On the pseudonym and character of Bobby Digital, which dominated the album's lyrics, RZA later stated:

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I had to live in a way that I don't really live...I got to dip my weed in honey, and I had mad bitches around me. I probably fucked with 50 bitches this year...women are queens. But if they don't know that themselves, Bobby will prey on them. He'll treat them like bitches if they don't realize that they're queens. I had to get Bobby out of me, or else I'd be emotionally unbalanced. Bobby Digital is just me feeling my nuts. RZA is my heart.[9]

— RZA

Production

The sound of the album is largely keyboard-driven, but there are still samples. On the sound of Bobby Digital, RZA stated:

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I learned how to play chords and progress the chords—I got together at least 16 or 17 different keyboards for this album. I always liked orchestras and strings, so I composed a digital orchestra.[10]

— RZA

Track listing

No. Title Producer(s) Length
1. "Intro"   RZA 0:37
2. "B.O.B.B.Y."   RZA 5:23
3. "Unspoken Word"   RZA 4:44
4. "Slow-Grind African"   RZA 1:02
5. "Airwaves"   RZA 1:47
6. "Love Jones" (featuring Angel Cake) King Tech 4:31
7. "N.Y.C. Everything" (featuring Method Man) RZA 4:17
8. "Mantis" (featuring Masta Killa & Tekitha) RZA 3:33
9. "Slow-Grind French"   RZA 0:53
10. "Holocaust (Silkworm)" (featuring Holocaust, Doc Doom, Ghostface Killah & Ms. Roxy) RZA 5:14
11. "Terrorist" (featuring Dom Pachino, P.R. Terrorist, Doc Doom & Killa Sin) RZA 3:25
12. "Bobby Did It (Spanish Fly)" (featuring Islord, Timbo King, Ghostface Killah & Jamie Sommers) RZA 4:22
13. "Handwriting on the Wall" (featuring Ras Kass) RZA 1:39
14. "Kiss of a Black Widow" (featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard) Inspectah Deck 2:47
15. "Slow-Grind Italian"   RZA 1:01
16. "My Lovin' Is Digi" (featuring The Force M.D.s & Ms. Roxy) RZA 4:26
17. "Domestic Violence" (featuring Jamie Sommers & U-God) RZA 5:18
18. "Project Talk" (featuring Kinetic 9) RZA 1:51
19. "Lab Drunk"   RZA 3:34
20. "Fuck What You Think" (featuring Islord & 9th Prince) RZA 3:10
21. "Daily Routine" (featuring Kinetic 9) RZA 4:23

Personnel

  • Barney Chase – Engineer, Mixing
  • Gabe Chiesa – Engineer
  • Tom Coyne – Mastering
  • Inspectah – Producer
  • King Tech – Producer, Engineer, Mixing
  • Nolan "Dr. No" Moffitte – Engineer, Mixing
  • Carl Nappa – Mixing
  • Tony Prendatt – Engineer, Mixing
  • RZA – Producer, Engineer, Mixing
  • Miles Showell – Mastering, Assembly

Charts

Chart (1998) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[11] 16
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[12] 3

References

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  7. ↑ Stylus
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ "RZA – Chart history" Billboard 200 for RZA. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  12. ↑ "RZA – Chart history" Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums for RZA. Retrieved October 23, 2014.

External links

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