A hallmark of Wu-Tang albums was their cinematic quality, dating back to their debut in 1993 (Enter the Wu-Tang [36 Chambers]) and throughout the subsequent solo releases. It was RZA who directed and scored the collection of songs that made up the script. So when RZA was tapped as music director of Ghost Dog and then Kill Bill Vol. 1, the Wu-czar crafted sonic backdrops with all the emotion and drama of a vet. One would be foolish to argue that if you want some kung-fu music with a contemporary edge, anyone other than RZA would be sloppy-seconds.

Apparently, Japanese animation studio GONZO and director Fuminori Kizaki were no fools when it came time to select a music director for the anime series Afro Samurai, starring Samuel L. Jackson. They hired RZA to help tell the tale through music and the resulting soundtrack is a fitting companion: The RZA Presents: Afro Samurai – The Soundtrack. Throughout the album, RZA splices in well-timed interludes that link with the cuts to practically create a movie of its own.

Amazingly, you could probably take 36 as is, drop it behind some Japanese anime and come out with a pretty dope score and soundtrack. That’s how well crafted the album was. Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, followed a similar path as an album full of raucous, Wu-school hip-hop cadenced, Forrest Whitaker samurai code interludes. Afro Samurai, however, is a bit of a departure The title character – a black samurai with an afro constantly flowing in the wind like a spool of cotton candy – is a young man with a dark, cold demeanor. Afro’s mission is revenge, which means slaying Justice, who severed the head of Afro’s Pops when he was a kid. This bleak and twisted storyline allows RZA opportunities to lay out his usual dank and eerie soundscapes. The combat affords legend emcees Big Daddy Kane and GZA to team up on “Cameo Afro” and spit volatile battle rhymes over a riot-like RZA beat, while “Certified Samurai” features a trio led by Talib Kweli swaggering hard. But, Afro also features some straight-up, in-the-mood, turn-off-the-lights, let-me-love-you-down R&B. Stone Mecca’s “Oh” and “The Walk” are crooning ballads fit for Quiet Storm radio. It seems peculiar coming from RZA (“Baby”, featuring Maurice, is so sappy that it’s corny), yet it’s only right. Samurais get down, too.

RZA is also heard in all his orchestral splendor on this joint (“Bazooka Fight 2”, “Tears of a Samurai”), displaying a grasp of harmony and arrangement that doesn’t befit a dude with little classical training.

He foreshadowed these capabilities close to 15 years ago. Now, with his fourth soundtrack under his black belt, RZA is a bona fide music auteur.