| Bobby Digital in Stereo | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 24, 1998 | |||
| Recorded | 1998 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 67:57 | |||
| Label |
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| Producer |
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| RZA chronology | ||||
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| Wu-Tang Clan solo chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B[2] |
| NME | [3] |
| Pitchfork Media | 2.9/10[4] |
| Rolling Stone | [5] |
| The Source |  [6] |
| Stylus Magazine | (favorable)[7] |
Bobby Digital in Stereo is the debut studio album by American rapper and producer RZA. 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 an 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 RZA called digital orchestra, receiving mostly positive, though somewhat mixed, reviews.
He explained the origins of Bobby Digital, saying:
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]
On the pseudonym and character of Bobby Digital, which dominated the album's lyrics, RZA later stated:
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
The sound of the album is largely keyboard-driven, but there are still samples. On the sound of Bobby Digital, RZA stated:
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 information is taken from the official liner notes.[11] Tracks 1-17 are Bobby Digital songs, while tracks 18-21 are RZA songs.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Intro" | RZA | 0:36 | |
| 2. | "B.O.B.B.Y." |
| RZA | 5:23 |
| 3. | "Unspoken Word" |
| RZA | 4:44 |
| 4. | "Slow Grind African" |
| RZA | 1:02 |
| 5. | "Airwaves" |
| King Tech | 1:47 |
| 6. | "Love Jones" |
| RZA | 4:31 |
| 7. | "N.Y.C. Everything" (feat. Method Man) |
| RZA | 4:17 |
| 8. | "Mantis" (feat. Masta Killa and Tekitha) |
| RZA | 3:33 |
| 9. | "Slow Grind French" |
| RZA | 0:46 |
| 10. | "Holocaust (Silkworm)" (feat. Ghostface Killah, Holocaust, Dr. Doom and Ms. Roxy) |
| RZA | 5:15 |
| 11. | "Terrorist" (feat. Killarmy and Black Knights) |
| RZA | 3:25 |
| 12. | "Bobby Did It (Spanish Fly)" (feat. Ghostface Killah, Islord, Royal Fam, Jamie Sommers and Ndira) |
| RZA | 4:21 |
| 13. | "Handwriting On The Wall" (feat. Ms. Roxy and Ras Kass) |
| RZA | 1:39 |
| 14. | "Kiss Of A Black Widow" (feat. Ol' Dirty Bastard) |
| Inspectah Deck | 2:47 |
| 15. | "Slow Grind Italian" |
| RZA | 1:01 |
| 16. | "My Lovin' Is Digi" (feat. Ms. Roxy) |
| RZA | 4:28 |
| 17. | "Domestic Violence" (feat. Jamie Sommers, Ms. Roxy and Tiffany) |
| RZA | 5:21 |
| 18. | "Project Talk" (feat. Baretta Nine) |
| RZA | 1:46 |
| 19. | "Lab Drunk" |
| RZA | 3:34 |
| 20. | "Fuck What You Think" (feat. 9th Prince and Islord of Killarmy) |
| RZA | 3:12 |
| 21. | "Daily Routine" (feat. Baretta Nine of Killarmy) |
| RZA | 4:23 |
| Total length: | 67:51 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "B.O.B.B.Y." |
| RZA | 5:50 |
| 2. | "Unspoken Word" |
| RZA | 4:46 |
| 3. | "Airwaves" |
| King Tech | 1:51 |
| 4. | "Love Jones" (with Angel Cake) |
| RZA | 4:35 |
| 5. | "N.Y.C. Everything" (with Method Man) |
| RZA | 4:23 |
| 6. | "Mantis" (with Masta Killa and Tekitha) |
| RZA | 3:38 |
| 7. | "Holocaust (Silkworm)" (with Ghostface Killah, Holocaust, Dr. Doom and Ms. Roxy) |
| RZA | 5:16 |
| 8. | "Terrorist" (Killarmy and Black Knights) |
| RZA | 4:10 |
| 9. | "Bobby Did It (Spanish Fly)" (with Ghostface Killah, Islord, Royal Fam, Jamie Sommers and Ndira) |
| RZA | 4:24 |
| 10. | "Kiss Of A Black Widow" (with Wu-Tang Clan and Angel Cake) |
| Inspectah Deck | 2:50 |
| 11. | "Do You Here The Bells (9 Minute Free Style)" |
| RZA | 11:26 |
| 12. | "Project Talk" (featuring Baretta Nine) |
| RZA | 1:47 |
| 13. | "Lab Drunk" |
| RZA | 4:18 |
| 14. | "Fuck What You Think" (with 9th Prince and Islord of Killarmy) |
| RZA | 3:13 |
| 15. | "Daily Routine" (with Baretta Nine of Killarmy) |
| RZA | 4:23 |
| 16. | "Domestic Violence" (with U-God, Jamie Sommers, Ms. Roxy and Tiffany) |
| RZA | 5:19 |
| Total length: | 72:09 | |||
Notes
Sample list
Weekly charts[edit]
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Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[17] | Gold | 500,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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