Birth of a Prince is the third solo studio album by American rapper and record producer RZA. It was released on October 7, 2003, through Sanctuary Records. Recording sessions took place on June–September 2003 at 36 Chambers Studio in New York. Production was handled by Bronze Nazareth, Barracuda, Jose "Choco" Reynoso, Megahertz, True Master, and the RZA himself, who produced the majority of the tracks. It features contributions from fellow Wu-Tang Clan members Masta Killa, Ghostface Killah and Ol' Dirty Bastard, as well as Wu-Tang affiliates Allah Real, Free Murder, ShaCronz, Cilvaringz, Beretta 9, Prodigal Sunn and Tash Mahogany, and German singer Xavier Naidoo.
| Birth of a Prince | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 7, 2003 | |||
| Recorded | June–September 2003 | |||
| Studio | 36 Chambers Studio (New York, NY) | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 58:19 | |||
| Label | Sanctuary | |||
| Producer |
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| RZA chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Birth of a Prince | ||||
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The album peaked at number 49 on the Billboard 200 and number 20 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in the United States, number 123 on the French SNEP Top 200 Albums, number 26 on the Official Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart and number 20 on the Official Independent Albums Chart in the United Kingdom. Its lead single, O.D.B.-assisted "We Pop", found mild success in the UK, reaching number 28 on the Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart and number 29 on the Official Independent Singles Chart.
Unlike RZA's other solo albums, Birth of a Prince was not released under the 'Bobby Digital' alias, though RZA refers to himself as Bobby repeatedly and his rhymes are mostly in the Bobby Digital style rather than the pre-1998 style.
Critical reception
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 62/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllHipHop |   [2] |
| AllMusic | [3] |
| Blender | [4] |
| laut.de | [5] |
| Pitchfork | 3.1/10[6] |
| Playlouder | 5/5[7] |
| RapReviews | 7/10[8] |
| Stylus | 3.1/10[9] |
| The Village Voice |  [10] |
| Tiny Mix Tapes |   [11] |
Birth of a Prince was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 62, based on eleven reviews.[1]
Adam Alphabet of Playlouder praised the album, calling it "the piece of the RZA puzzle we've been waiting a decade for. It's that important".[7] Serena Kim of The Village Voice found the album "as esoteric as you'd expect RZA to be. But it's also more Wu".[12] James Poletti of Dotmusic labeled it as "the latest in a long line of frustratingly hit and miss solo efforts".[13] G. Beato of Blender found the album "more proof of RZA's eccentric genius".[4] Robert Gabriel of The Austin Chronicle wrote: "any way you slice it, the Wu is still coming through".[14]
In the mixed reviews, AllMusic's Andy Kellman wrote: "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".[3] Dave Heaton of PopMatters claimed: "on most of this album he doesn't sound completely off his game, just uninspired, both as an MC and a producer".[15] Owen Strock of Dusted resumed: "RZA still sounds determined, but his rhymes are self-obsessed, repetitive, and dulled by constant calls for drugs and women".[16]
In the negative reviews, John O'Connor of Pitchfork called it "a career low".[6] Scott McKeating of Stylus wrote: "all in all, Birth of a Prince seems more like a stepping stone to better things than a fully fledged work in its own right".[9]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bob n' I" | Robert Diggs | Jose "Choco" Reynoso | 2:52 |
| 2. | "The Grunge" | Diggs | RZA | 1:56 |
| 3. | "We Pop" |
| Megahertz | 4:53 |
| 4. | "Grits" |
| RZA | 4:17 |
| 5. | "Fast Cars" | True Master | 3:59 | |
| 6. | "Chi Kung" |
| Barracuda | 4:20 |
| 7. | "You'll Never Know" |
| RZA | 3:23 |
| 8. | "Drink, Smoke + Fuck" | Diggs | RZA | 3:23 |
| 9. | "The Whistle" |
| RZA | 3:02 |
| 10. | "The Drop Off" |
| RZA | 3:27 |
| 11. | "Wherever I Go" |
| RZA | 4:49 |
| 12. | "Koto Chotan" |
| RZA | 2:50 |
| 13. | "A Day to God is 1,000 Years" |
| Bronze Nazareth | 3:57 |
| 14. | "Cherry Range" |
| RZA | 3:25 |
| 15. | "The Birth" |
| Bronze Nazareth | 4:38 |
| 16. | "See the Joy" |
| RZA | 3:10 |
| Total length: | 58:19 | |||
Personnel
edit- Robert "RZA" Diggs – vocals, producer & arranger (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 7–12, 14, 16)
- Russell "Ol' Dirty Bastard" Jones – additional vocals (track 3)
- Alfred "Allah Real" Lynn – hook (track 4)
- Dennis "Ghostface Killah" Coles – vocals (track 5)
- Yumika Parjcey – keyboards (track 16)
- Djibril Toure – bass (track 16)
- Ramsey Jones – drums (track 16)
- Khalil Murray – flute (track 16)
- Emi Augustin – trumpet (track 16)
- Jose "Choco" Reynoso – producer (track 1), engineering, mixing
- Dorsey "Megahertz" Wesley – producer (track 3)
- Derek "True Master" Harris – producer (track 5)
- Angelo "Barracuda" Desogus – producer (track 6)
- Justin "Bronze Nazareth" Cross – producer (tracks: 13, 15)
- Emily Lazar – mastering
- Sean Mallinson – package design
- Ivo Kljuce – photography
- Tom Bennett – management
Charts
edit| Chart (2003) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| French Albums (SNEP)[17] | 123 |
| UK R&B Albums (OCC)[18] | 26 |
| UK Independent Albums (OCC)[19] | 20 |
| US Billboard 200[20] | 49 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[21] | 20 |
References
edit- ^ a b "Critic Reviews for Birth Of A Prince - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
- ^ Newman, Jason (November 1, 2003). "Birth of a Prince". AllHipHop. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
- ^ a b Kellman, Andy. "The Birth of a Prince - RZA | Album | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
- ^ a b Beato, G. "RZA : Birth of a Prince Review on Blender :: The Ultimate Guide to Music and More". Blender. Retrieved September 30, 2007 – via Wayback Machine.
- ^ Johannesberg, Stefan. "Saufen, Frauen und Sportwagen. Mit ganz viel Seele". laut.de (in German). Retrieved May 12, 2024.
- ^ a b O'Connor, John (November 4, 2003). "RZA: Birth of a Prince". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
- ^ a b Alphabet, Adam (October 30, 2003). "PLAYLOUDER | review - Birth Of A Prince". Playlouder. Retrieved November 10, 2003 – via Wayback Machine.
- ^ Juon, Steve 'Flash' (October 7, 2003). "RZA :: Birth of a Prince :: Wu-Records/Sanctuary". www.rapreviews.com. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
- ^ a b McKeating, Scott (October 15, 2003). "RZA - Birth of a Prince - Stylus Magazine". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved March 9, 2004 – via Wayback Machine.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (November 11, 2003). "Greatest Whatevers". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on November 18, 2003. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
- ^ "Music Review: Rza - Birth of a Prince". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
- ^ Kim, Serena (November 3, 2003). "Bildungshiphop". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on November 4, 2006. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
- ^ Poletti, James (November 10, 2003). "LAUNCH, Music on Yahoo - Wu-Tang Clan - 'Birth Of A Prince'". Dotmusic. LAUNCHcast. Retrieved February 14, 2004 – via Wayback Machine.
- ^ Gabriel, Robert (October 31, 2003). "RZA: Birth of a Prince Album Review". The Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on December 15, 2003. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
- ^ Heaton, Dave (December 18, 2003). "RZA: Birth of a Prince, PopMatters". PopMatters. Archived from the original on December 26, 2003. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
- ^ Strock, Owen (December 4, 2003). "Dusted Reviews: RZA - Birth of a Prince". www.dustedmagazine.com. Archived from the original on January 10, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – RZA – Birth Of A Prince". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
- ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
- ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
- ^ "RZA Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
- ^ "RZA Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
External links
edit- RZA – Birth Of A Prince at Discogs (list of releases)