Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
RZA's first full-blown "RZA as RZA" solo album is not The Cure, the long-promised masterpiece that has gathered a great deal of mystique throughout the years. Hampered by a valley that's thankfully cleaved by some considerable peaks, Birth of a Prince is instead a durable addition to the Wu-Tang legacy. By no means is it a masterpiece, and it's not even one of the best Wu-Tang solo albums -- but it has enough going for it to prevent most of the followers from losing interest. Following the all-but-completely unheard The World According to RZA -- an ambitious project featuring lyricists representing continents other than North America -- as well as arriving almost simultaneously with his contributions to the score of Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, Vol. 1 (beneath the CD cradle is an ad for the film, and the disc is kicked off by a reference to it), Birth of a Prince neither diminishes nor bolsters RZA's stature. Along with an ineffective middle patch, some of the guest appearances hold the record back. The Megahertz-produced "We Pop" serves up a vicious dose of zapping funk, but one of the worst verses in the history of hip-hop ("All y'all can see is the back of my jersey/Blowin' in the wind goin' back to Jersey/Off to Brooklyn, left ya back in Jersey/I was doin' a buck-90 like a throwback jersey"), delivered by an uncredited up-and-comer(?), kills the effect. The opening and closing thirds show RZA firing on nearly cylinder -- lyrically inspired, conceptually dense, sequentially tight. 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 -- an addition with plenty to offer amid some weak tangents.
© Andy Kellman /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From $10.83/month
RZA, Producer, MainArtist
© 2003 Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 2003 Wu-Tang Productions Inc under exclusive licence to Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company
Tom Jones, Composer - Robert Diggs, Composer - RZA, Producer, MainArtist
© 2003 Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 2003 Wu-Tang Productions Inc under exclusive licence to Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company
Russell Jones, Composer - Megahertz, Producer - Dorsey Wesley, Composer - Robert Diggs, Composer - RZA, MainArtist - Pete Cuffie, Composer - Frederick Cuffie Jr., Composer
© 2003 Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 2003 Wu-Tang Productions Inc under exclusive licence to Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company
Elgin Turner, Composer - Robert Diggs, Composer - RZA, Producer, MainArtist
© 2003 Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 2003 Wu-Tang Productions Inc under exclusive licence to Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company
Dennis Coles, Composer - Robert Diggs, Composer - RZA, MainArtist - True Master, Producer - Derek Harris, Composer
© 2003 Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 2003 Wu-Tang Productions Inc under exclusive licence to Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company
Robert Diggs, Composer - RZA, MainArtist - Barracuda, Producer - Samuel Murray, Composer - Angelo Desogus, Composer
© 2003 Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 2003 Wu-Tang Productions Inc under exclusive licence to Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company
Robert Diggs, Composer - RZA, Producer, MainArtist - Tariq Azzougarh, Composer
© 2003 Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 2003 Wu-Tang Productions Inc under exclusive licence to Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company
RZA, Producer, MainArtist
© 2003 Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 2003 Wu-Tang Productions Inc under exclusive licence to Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company
Elgin Turner, Composer - Robert Diggs, Composer - RZA, Producer, MainArtist - Virgil Ruff, Composer
© 2003 Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 2003 Wu-Tang Productions Inc under exclusive licence to Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company
Robert Diggs, Composer - RZA, Producer, MainArtist - Timothy Drayton, Composer
© 2003 Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 2003 Wu-Tang Productions Inc under exclusive licence to Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company
Robert Diggs, Composer - RZA, Producer, MainArtist - Timothy Drayton, Composer - Freedom Drayton, Composer
© 2003 Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 2003 Wu-Tang Productions Inc under exclusive licence to Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company
Elgin Turner, Composer - Robert Diggs, Composer - RZA, Producer, MainArtist - Tash Mahogany, Composer
© 2003 Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 2003 Wu-Tang Productions Inc under exclusive licence to Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company
George Gershwin, Composer - Ira Gershwin, Composer - Dorothy Heyward, Composer - Dubose Heyward, Composer - Marilyn Bergman, Composer - Alan Bergman, Composer - Marvin Hamlisch, Composer - Robert Diggs, Composer - RZA, MainArtist - Bronze Nazareth, Producer - Justin Cross, Composer
© 2003 Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 2003 Wu-Tang Productions Inc under exclusive licence to Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company
Robert Diggs, Composer - RZA, Producer, MainArtist - Samuel Murray, Composer
© 2003 Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 2003 Wu-Tang Productions Inc under exclusive licence to Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company
Anthony Cruz, Composer - Robert Diggs, Composer - RZA, MainArtist - Bronze Nazareth, Producer - Warren Dale, Composer
© 2003 Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 2003 Wu-Tang Productions Inc under exclusive licence to Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company
Robert Diggs, Composer - RZA, Producer, MainArtist
© 2003 Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 2003 Wu-Tang Productions Inc under exclusive licence to Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company
Album review
RZA's first full-blown "RZA as RZA" solo album is not The Cure, the long-promised masterpiece that has gathered a great deal of mystique throughout the years. Hampered by a valley that's thankfully cleaved by some considerable peaks, Birth of a Prince is instead a durable addition to the Wu-Tang legacy. By no means is it a masterpiece, and it's not even one of the best Wu-Tang solo albums -- but it has enough going for it to prevent most of the followers from losing interest. Following the all-but-completely unheard The World According to RZA -- an ambitious project featuring lyricists representing continents other than North America -- as well as arriving almost simultaneously with his contributions to the score of Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, Vol. 1 (beneath the CD cradle is an ad for the film, and the disc is kicked off by a reference to it), Birth of a Prince neither diminishes nor bolsters RZA's stature. Along with an ineffective middle patch, some of the guest appearances hold the record back. The Megahertz-produced "We Pop" serves up a vicious dose of zapping funk, but one of the worst verses in the history of hip-hop ("All y'all can see is the back of my jersey/Blowin' in the wind goin' back to Jersey/Off to Brooklyn, left ya back in Jersey/I was doin' a buck-90 like a throwback jersey"), delivered by an uncredited up-and-comer(?), kills the effect. The opening and closing thirds show RZA firing on nearly cylinder -- lyrically inspired, conceptually dense, sequentially tight. 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 -- an addition with plenty to offer amid some weak tangents.
© Andy Kellman /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 16 track(s)
- Total length: 00:58:27
- Main artists: Rza
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Sanctuary Records
- Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
© 2003 Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 2003 Wu-Tang Productions Inc under exclusive licence to Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company
Improve album information
Why buy on Qobuz?
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalog with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets, and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.