Way back in 1998, RZA released Bobby Digital In Stereo, his debut studio album that featured him rapping as an alter-ego named Bobby Digital. The album was a success, becoming certified Gold and receiving positive reviews. Now, RZA is returning to his Digital persona with an upcoming project, RZA Presents: Bobby Digital and The Pit of Snakes, which is set to release July 22. The album will be accompanied by a graphic novel about the character, written by RZA, Vasilis Lolos, and Ryan O’Sullivan.
RZA’s already dropped one single off the project, “We Push,” and now he’s given us the opening track, “Under The Sun.” RZA has described Pit of Snakes as a “soundtrack” to the forthcoming graphic novel, and “Under The Sun” certainly fits that description. The instrumental is evocative of an Ennio Morricone Western score, made up of a lonesome picked guitar and sparse bongo percussion which open up into an expansive and operatic chorus. RZA’s lyrics are similarly cinematic, detailing his character’s long journey. “He traveled across waters many oceans, rivers, and lakes, slept in the desert amongst the pit full of snakes,” he begins.
Check out the song, along with its graphic novel-inspired visuals, below.
Quotable Lyrics
Bend air like the air bender
Pull strings like on rare fenders
Laying in beds, made of Egyptian silk and rare timber
Horses in the stable, exotic sources on his table
Voice blasting through it on the air waves, face gracing on the cable