After RZA has released two albums through his alias Bobby Digital, he finally gives his listeners a long-desired album. Birth of a Prince shows the legendary status of the leader from the Wu-Tang Clan.

Soulful edge cutting beats blaze from the beginning to the end of the album. RZA starts off his rebirth with a calm melody sung by a woman saying “it’s a new life for me,” on “Bob N’I.” RZA pops out of the womb on this track, delivering lyrics that do not sound like an infant prince, but a king with plenty of experience to recapture his throne.

RZA cannot celebrate his coming without a club banger like “We Pop.” The clapping beat should have clubs celebrating the rebirth also. The production, along with the chorus and lyrical content, should have heads bobbing.

The song “Grits” relates those who are fortunate in society to those who live day-to-day without a decent meal. RZA recounts how “one pound-box of sugar and a stick of margarine/ a hot pot of grits kept (his) family from starving,” as the successful clansmen draws a picture of what it took for his family to survive. The mellow beat of drums and a guitar on the song also features Wu-member Masta Killa.

“Chi Kung” drops knowledge from the sophisticated mind of RZA. He whispers as the heavy bass delivers a frantic display of creative production colliding with powerful lyrics. The song proves his ability with play-on-words. He rhymes with intelligence, making other emcees rhymes sound elementary.

RZA serves another delicious beat for “Wherever I Go,” which explains why “they drop 50G’s for a RZA beat.” He then teaches on “A Day To God is 1,000 Years.” Wisdom is professed as he speaks of the struggle of light versus the dark and the complexity of God.

RZA finally feeds the cravings for the hip-hop culture. His tongue might be too sharp for some to find the deeper meaning throughout his album, but for the deep serious minds the album caresses the brain’s ability to understand the world at a higher level.

Yes, there is more to music than just club hits, there is music that helps deal with the world from each angle — fun, serious, loving and spiritual. It is not The Cure (the album that RZA has held off because of fear that it might be too deep for listeners) but it heals and prepares RZA advocates for the next level.

Grade: B