AMG Review of Afro Samurai: The Resurrection

David Jeffries
All Music Guide

If you make a dark-streets-meets-karate anime there’s probably a law that when it comes to the soundtrack, the Wu-Tang’s RZA gets first refusal. The rapper/producer’s soundtrack to #Afro Samurai: The Resurrection is the first release on his Wu Music Group imprint. It recalls his work on 1999’s #Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, but ten years on and he’s gotten more subterranean and mysterious. It's only when higher-profile guest stars like Ghostface Killah, Kool G Rap, and even Sly Stone show up that he’s drawn out of his Wu-bunker and influenced to create more hook-filled backing tracks. The rest is a smoky kung-fu dream with lesser-known Wu-soldiers like Rugged Monk and Black Knights spitting the shaolin rhetoric over foggy loops and haunted strings. Taking into consideration Stone’s minimal contribution, this release is primarily for the die-hard Wu-fans who get plenty to dissect, analyze, and cross-reference with all of RZA’s other fringe releases.