"True hip-hop is just an expression of obscurity. To be able to express obscurity at any given moment."

So says the RZA and you know, he's right. But the crucial thing here is that "at any given moment" bit. For me, the spirit of hip hop, musically, has always been about taking the most unexpected, obscure, abstract sounds or ideas and turning them into the catchiest, most accessible, most obvious sure-fire smash hit imaginable. Which is why one of my most over-used words when talking about the stuff I've really liked in the past year and a half has been "effortless" (perfect lyrical definition: Pharell casually walking away unscratched from a crashed Rolls Royce during his tossed-off but brilliant lil' mini-verse on 'Hot Damn').

Still, what's really interesting is to speculate on what else RZA might mean above. Y'know, the man's mind functions in mysterious ways... Speaking of which, Birth Of A Prince = best Wu album since Supreme Clientele. More on that to follow.