RZA

Bobby Digital takes the back seat as RZA serves up his first solo album. It's a mixture of straight rhythm and vocal tracks that flow easily (see "Grits") and some dissonant pieces that throw you for a loop. (The Zapp-styled "We Pop" manages to fuse together the two worlds.) With all the recent interest in RZA's soundscapes, this album puts him back into the emcee game.

Franchise-holder as franchise, his beats stronger young-and-thug than grown-and-numerological ("Drink, Smoke and Fcuk," "Chi Hung"). (Grade - ***)