RZA As Bobby Digital In Stereo

[Fragmented]

i don't like this album being honest, 7 out of 10 for me

[pablobaluba]

i like digi in stereo better than supreme clientele

yeah...true/ a very underrated lp....a new definition of undergrund

[STARKS_WALLABEES]

Yo man i agree, this album is classic RZA shit. My favourite RZA album , way better than BOAP imo and was just listening to Kiss Of A Black Widow the other day ... that kinda shit is what makes this album so cool , not many other mc's would think of likening a hoodrat bitch to a black widow spider , both destroy their lovers after reproducing - haha maad clever shit .

Peace .

[leaguer1]

Reviewed seven years after its release. My opinion has never really changed from my first listen to now.

The Setup: I think its good, not classic. Also, I never liked the Bob Digi persona. I just think going "BOOODOOODOOO" and "DIGI YEAH YOU KNOW WHO IS HE" is stupid.

I'm fine with everyone having an experimental album here and there. The problem was the timing. The first Wu album after Wu-Tang Forever? Come on RZA! But anyway....

I feel that this is RZA's best album. I really didn't feel the second Digi at all, and I think this album was more of a HIT then Birth of a Prince.

Sidenote: Lots of bullshit skits to break up the album. Never like that.

15 joints: Lets face it, it has some wack songs on it.

Upside: It also has thunderbolts of genius in it. Unspoken Word and Mantis really shine. Meth and Holocaust really bring their A-game to their verses on the album. Kiss of a Black Widow is my favorite track. What a amazing song. Amazingly enough is that RZA didn't even produce that track.

Nice cover (whatever that means)
Nice try (very creative RZA - even with my bitching you always have my respect)

Conclusion: after all my complaining there is still a lot of highs on this project. 7/10.

PS: Islord is wack.

[crass]

Check this review of it from pitchforkmedia.com

RZA
Bobby Digital in Stereo
[V2; 1998]
Rating: 2.9</B>

Wu-Tang albums show up in Pitchfork mailboxes more frequently than issues of Jane and Lowrider. In 1999, we can look forward to twelve assorted Wu-Tang records. They should consider pooling all their records and just releasing a third proper Wu-Tang Clan album. Make it a decuple album-- call it Encyclopedia Wu-Tannica. But no. Of course, every Wu-Tang member has to step aside to do a solo project to prove that, yes, in fact, even alone, he sounds just like the Wu-Tang Clan, but with less people.


First up for the nine-nine is RZA's Underoo-Tang fantasy "concept" album, Bobby Digital in Stereo. Yes, your "extremely drug-induced" bells and whistles should be flaring right about now. Think "Stan Lee presents... Da Muthaf*&%in' Ghetto!" Supposedly there's a plot, but you wouldn't know it from listening to the album. Bobby Digital, who shields his anonymity with a bedsheet and plastic party mask, embodies the alter-id of RZA. According to the story, Bobby's list of superpowers includes smoking lots of weed, shooting Glocks, disrespecting women, smacking women in the face with his penis, and talking on a cellphone. Sort of like an x-rated Blankman.

As far as hip-hop concept albums go, this concept looks quite circuitous. Here's the concept in a nutshell: RZA, a rapper, has an alter-ego that's a hardcore gangsta rapper. The thinly veiled plot, about as sturdy as the script for Twister, provides a cheap vehicle for RZA to cruise through tired cliches. If further removed from the genre, it might be considered satire. But like I say, just because Scream makes fun of lame, unscary teen horror movies doesn't mean it isn't a lame, unscary teen horror movie.

RZA (b. Robert Diggs) undeniably cooks spooky beats. Early-century strings, brisk beats and bleeps, and female soul-crooning percolate through the minimal mix, coming off in its best moments like Portishead and Björk on a hip-hop trip. However, at this point in his career, RZA can crank out heartbeat tracks like this from his hypothalamus in his sleep. And with the glut of all things Wu, hip-hop is supersaturated with such sounds.

Lyrically, RZA has proven in the past that he can do better. Randomly stringing anime references, martial arts lingo, crotch-grabbing bravado, and product names, RZA's rhymes tumble from his lips like marbles. A creative vocabulary saves some grace, but the "pussy's," "bitch's" and "motherfucker's" far outweigh the "tighter than prescription bottles" and "Mr. Potatohead Ore-Ida deep-fried krinkle cuts." Sometimes I wonder if Wu-Tang members look around the kitchen and read labels for lyrics. I mean, it's a clever technique, but an empty one.

Bobby Digital earns the dubious distinction of having the most annoying rap song of the year, "B.O.B.B.Y." For the chorus, RZA spits out the spelling "B-O-B-B-Y-D-I-G-I-T-A-L" over and over, sounding like a street-tough Cookie Monster. There are some keepers, such as the Isaac Hayes-ish "Love Jones", but mostly this album is a result of RZA having a recording studio in his den. -Brent DiCrescenzo, November, 1998

[abasi]

Terrorist is the best song on the cd
mybe not best but the most addictive

[SurreaL]

..In Stereo is to me a personal classic.

I agree.

[thundergod]

I love the whole concept for this and what followed in RZA's library. The evolution of Robert Diggs. From B-boy late teens(Bobby Digital) , to The Prince(pre Wu- Tang he was Prince Rakeem). Thats why BOAP is half Digi it is the transition to the prince thats why you hear him say "yo dont even call me bobby nomore". Next should be a Rza album since Prince Rakeem was only an EP. Followed by Rzarectah cause that was a year after 36 came out. Then we should get the Cure! cause he would go back to Rza. I listen to this more than any other solo joint.

[Shin Densetsu]

This is the album I was dissapointed with most from Rza. Rza is one of my fav all time producers and emcees, and my fav of the clan, but man I was dissapointed with this. I had to skip multiple tracks and thought some of it was just uninspired. I did like the "rza" songs on here like lab drunk, domestic violence, I was definitely bumping NYCeverything, which I thought had some awesome metaphors from bob digi. I just couldn't play this album straight through. I personally like BOAP a lot more, its got more depth and better production. Sure some of you may call me out on this but if anything this demonstrates the Rza's growth as an artist. And maybe it was supposed to be a progression from the young bob digi to the matured rza, but to me that is no excuse for an album to becoming partially dissapointing. Don't get me wrong its got some heaters, but I would have to give this a 6/10.

[Hollow Dartz]

well i think the album is bangin, i skip like 3 tracks but on a normal day while you playin your game or on your computer u can blast it. 4/5

["G" (the Promoter)]

I'm going to add my side notes..................When RZA was going to buy the "street team" vehicles,his original idea was to use the then new VW's (that's why theyre on the back of the cover), but he went with conversion vans (like the Bobby Digital one I used to drive). "Domestic Violence", with the woman going off in the background...that shit was REAL at times when you'd call RZA's lab back in the day LOL! The first time I heard DV I was fucking rolling thinking about times I had called. One of my favorite RZA tracks is "Mantis", love the beat, and RZA's flow

[Kryptik Skillz]

I loved that album. Rza's lyrics were sick on this material. I'm the type a cat that perfers lyricisim over anything else, and the lyrics on this album were ill as fuck.

[Alex36]

8/10 mabye a 7, one great album there though

[SHEEPISH LORD OF CHAOS]

I Think Personally Every Rza Lp Has A Different Feel It

To Me Bobby Digital~in Stereo Was More Organic And Cooked Up Wit A Mix Of The Wu Sound With Some Different Give It A 10/10

Digital Bullet Was Too Me Aight It Has It's Shining Momments Such As Be A Man, Glocko Pop, Must Be Bobby, Do U, Show U Love, Can't Loose,brooklyn Babies, And Couple Others

Birth Of A Prince Was Too Me A Hybrid Lp With Bobby Digital And Rza On The Same Album You Could Hear The Stark Contract In Flow And Lyrically Topics Man Boap Was The Bridge To The First Two Bobby Lp's Crossing Into The Rza As A Artist

[benzo]

It's been a favorite of mine for years. Almost like "Wu Meets the DISCO Culture" or some shit. RZA went 180 degrees from that grimey, 36 Chambers sound to a futuristic, experimental type production. And "Lab Drunk", shiiit.........if you're not feelin that one then RZA ain't for you.