Thug Life Army

Renowned hip-hop artist RZA, aka - Robert Diggs, will be composing the soundtrack for Afro Samurai. The talented RZA is arguably best known as a musical mastermind and MC in the influential hip-hop group the Wu-Tang Clan followed by a solo career as a rap artist and hip-hop producer.

Afro Samurai the animated series is produced by Japanese studio Gonzo and will premiere on Spike TV this fall. FUNimation Entertainment will bring the story to DVD in spring 2007.

Afro Samurai, the animated epic, is based on a graphic novel by Takashi Okazaki, of a black samurai's hunt for the gunman who murdered his father. Academy Award-nominated actor Samuel L. Jackson stars as the uncompromising hero in this stylish series that crosses cultural boundaries as a fusion of animated samurai action and hip-hop culture.

"Having RZA create the music for Afro Samurai is ideal. His passion for hip-hop, anime, and samurai culture, and his renowned expertise of scoring music to great stories are second to none," said Eric Calderon, vice-president of creative affairs at GDH K.K. "Combining this with our incredible high quality animation will give Afro Samurai a mix that no one has ever seen and heard together in one entertainment experience. This is simply going to change everything that we know about the possibilities of the animated medium for TV."

Well established in hip-hop RZA also has an increasing list of Hollywood credits including composing both of Quentin Tarentino's "Kill Bill" movies, Jim Jarmusch's "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai" and "Blade: Trinity", as well as "Barbershop 2: Back in Business" and "Unleashed." RZA has also experienced motion picture success as an actor and was in "Derailed," "Coffee and Cigarettes", "Scary Movie 3" and "Ghost Dog."

"As a fan of martial art and old Japanese Samurai movies, I have always wanted to be a part of such creativity and to have my own spice added is even better. Many hip hop artist and musicians from the late 80's to now have been inspired by this form of entertainment, and today's animators have been stimulated by hip hop. But, usually these two forms of expression never meet in the same realm of artistry," said RZA.

"Afro Samurai offers me the opportunity to mix the innovational world of hip hop with the visual imagination of Japanese animation. The vibe of Afro Samurai is so soulful and cool, that when I was asked to compose the series my creative juices immediately reacted. I felt it was something meant for me to do; in many ways Afro and myself share the same spirit."

Please visit http://www.afrosamurai.com  for the latest news and information on this evolution in entertainment.