Home > Los Angeles Music > CD Review > Bobby Digital, 'Digi Snacks'

Backstory: As the driving force behind the enormously popular Wu-Tang Clan, Robert Diggs is a man of many faces. As Wu's finest rapper and beat-maker, he is the RZA, a legend on the decks and the mic. As the Rzarector, he was the most potent rhyme fiend in the supergroup Gravediggaz, whose effort "6 Feet Deep" teamed up with Wu's "Enter the 36 Chambers" to make 1994 the last year of hip-hop’s golden age. And as solo artist Bobby Digital, he's stretched his hedonistic alter ego as far as it could go. In the words of the first single from this Digital joint, you can't stop RZA now.

Why you should care: RZA is hip-hop legend. From Wu-Tang to his solo efforts and across multimedia into film, anime and, yes, chess (see below), Robert Diggs and his various personas are cultural icons. RZA's beat-junkie tentacles reach into the indie cinema of Jim Jarmusch and Quentin Tarantino as much as they do into crossover rock and rap. And unlike almost every DJ in existence, he can rhyme freestyle or from paper with the best in the biz. He's what hoops calls a triple-threat.

Verdict: Bobby Digital's previous lives were a bit hornier than this mature digital incarnation. The singsong chorus of "Long Time Coming" rings strangely, steeped as it is in horror-show soundtracking. The tone set off by the darkly drugged opener "Digi Snacks Intro" lasts the whole effort. The cameos and backbeats start to kick in nicely on "You Can't Stop Me Now," where Red Hot Chili Pepper John Frusciante's guitar noodles sweetly in and out of the disc's best tune. RZA amps up slightly on "Money Don't Own Me" and the finale "Old Day," but otherwise keeps Bobby Digital's profile low indeed.

X-Factor: RZA recently launched Wu Chess, the first hip-hop and chess social networking site on Earth.

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