Sampling and Skits
The sampler workstations used in the album were the E-mu SP-1200, Ensoniq EPS 16+ and ARS-10, and all were borrowed from other people in Staten Island. These helped RZA mix and use different soul samples, as well as Japanese film bites to form their unique “raw” style. “His dramatic and profligate use of kung fu dialogue and Wu-member repartee affirms this. On most albums such material would function as cute skits. On Wu projects they play like the Zen moments in a bloody action flick (Tate, p. 259).” This was essentially a form of escapism from their less-than ideal situations while growing up. As well, this further supports the continued cinematic references and styling of the album as a whole.
In the track titled “7th Chamber”, a film sound bite of fighting is used. This goes directly into one of the groups more famous skits on the album. This skit describes the finding of a dead body, and the way they seem to just blow it off as normal further depicts the type of environment they grew up in.
One of the more gruesome skits no the album is during the opening of the track titled “Method Man” the group is bantering back and forth about what they would jokingly do to each other. This from of joking is strikingly different from most people’s perceptions of conversations, yet, it expresses more from their life.
Overall, these samples and skits formed the album into an almost cinematic style work that encompasses shared forms of escapism and unity. The film usage includes many 1970s and ’80s Japanese films that were all linked with the group’s childhoods, and also captured this escapism.
The RZA used this technology to envelop their childhood and their interpretation of the sound of NY. As well, the group express their thoughts and speak out on societal and political issues. For example, in the song “Bring Da Ruckus” the Ghostface Killah’s verse starts. “However, I master the trick just like Nixon, Causin’ terror, quick damage your whole era”. This shows how they believe that Nixon corrupted a generation with his policies and what he set up these marginalized communities to be in for.
Controversy and Opposition
While there are some who contest, there is creativity that goes into sampling. “Boom Bap producers varied their drum sounds through a number of techniques. This included layering sound, adding distorting effects, speeding up or slowing down the tempo to shift the pitch, and tweaking the equalization (Huey, 147)”. This creates a backdrop for the rappers to express their lyrics in a meaningful and purposeful way. The whole point is to capture the ideals and sound of what they can relate to. Sampling can help bring in an organic aspect, bringing in something classic and turning it around into something new and profound.
The song “Can it all just be so simple” shows this very well. The RZA samples a vocal chop of the song “The Way We Were / Try to Remember (1974)” by Gladys Knight & the Pips. This vocal sample leads the beat. It is also an important vocal sample, as they are reminiscing about why it cannot just be so simple? Why do their lives have to be difficult? This supports the expressed sentiment of hardships.
The RZA has influenced many as well. Issac Hayes stated that “(never) has any Black pop artist used strings in a sexier or spookier manner.” “Cinematic is a term overused to describe RZA’s production but it’s accurate—ambience, atmosphere, mise-en-scène all matter as much to him as beats, and sometimes more so (Tate, 258).”
