polaroids of androids

From the opening beat of the intro track to Digi Snacks something immediately feels different to the recent work of RZA, one of hip-hop's premier producers, and the other Wu-Tang related releases that are still fresh in the memory. It's hard to put a finger on it immediately, but by the end of the album the coin finally drops: The foreign feeling you've been experiencing throughout the duration of the album is simple unabashed enjoyment.

It's such a surprise, because while the multitude of Wu-Tang releases over the last 15 years have almost all had their highlights and have consistently been greater than or at least equal to the quality of the entire rest of the hip hop world, none of them have ever replicated the perfect balance of serious craftsmanship, over-the-top theatrics and humour that can be found on Enter the Wu-Tang or the early solo albums of Ol' Dirty Bastard, Ghostface, Raekwon and the RZA himself.

It would be misleading to put this record in the same echelon of these modern masterpieces as it never quite reaches the astronomical benchmarks set by the aforementioned, and after repeat listens definitely loses some of the initial gloss. However, Digi Snacks does manage to successfully capture some of the intangible magic that made those albums so special, and to this effect the album can certainly be considered a success, especially when judged alongside some of the lackluster efforts put out by the hip-hop world in recent times.

Highlights such as Booby Trap, Try Ya Ya Ya, Drama and the manic O Day (showing RZA in a state of near psychosis, resulting in hilarity) are smattered between tracks that while they won't set the world on fire still hold their own against more powerful adversaries. The main argument that can be made against the album is that the quality of the cameos leaves a lot to be desired, with the hooks and choruses being delegated to the weed carrying lesser members of the Wu-family.

After so many highs and lows through the RZA's career, it's really nice to see that he is still capable of producing work of such quality, and is able to replicate the fun nature of his early work that made us all fall in love with Wu-Tang in the first place.