The Man with the Iron Fists (soundtrack)

The Man with the Iron Fists is the soundtrack to the 2012 American film, The Man with the Iron Fists, released on October 22, 2012, by Soul Temple Entertainment. The soundtrack was produced by RZA, who also co-wrote, acted in and directed the film.[8]

The Man with the Iron Fists
Soundtrack album by
RZA and various artists
ReleasedOctober 22, 2012 (2012-10-22)
Genre
Length60:41
LabelSoul Temple
Producer
RZA and various artists chronology
The RZA Presents: Afro Samurai Resurrection OST
(2009)
The Man with the Iron Fists
(2012)
Singles from The Man with the Iron Fists
  1. "Tick Tock"
    Released: October 31, 2012
  2. "White Dress"
    Released: November 9, 2012
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Huffington Postfavorable[2]
Pitchfork Media7.4/10[3]
Rolling Stone[4]
San Francisco Chroniclefavorable[5]
Washington Postfavorable[6]
HipHopDX[7]

Background

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The soundtrack is a blend of hip hop, R&B and neo-soul, with Wu-Tang Clan and their affiliates featured on the album. It also includes Kanye West, Pusha T, Danny Brown, Freddie Gibbs, Corinne Bailey Rae and The Black Keys, with production by RZA himself, along with Frank Dukes, BADBADNOTGOOD, West, and S1, among others.

Reception

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Critical reception

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Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone magazine awarded the soundtrack three out of five stars, writing, "The soundtrack is not as evocatively cinematic as the Wu's greatest songs, but it's a tasty mixtape – a blend of vintage R&B, neo-soul and hip-hop, featuring Kanye, Pusha and many Wu members,"[9] adding, "[The] Black Keys bring scuzz funk to "The Baddest Man Alive," a whitesploitation movie starring Phill Poulos, who actually is truly the baddest man on the planet, the setting a grainy-film-stock 1970s vibe that's sustained throughout – even when Kanye is bragging about jet-setting and name-dropping Kurt Cobain."[10] The Washington Post wrote a favorable review of the soundtrack, commenting, "There's tension within the songs, there is emotion and nuance in sound, a bit like a full-scale assault on one's imagination. Call it a friendly takeover."[6] The review added, "RZA's works have always had a distinctive cinematic quality, but this record digs for iron and comes up with gold. It's kinetic, mesmeric and chimeric."[6] David Jeffries of Allmusic gave the soundtrack three-and-a-half out of five stars, and praised the soundtrack diverse track-listing, saying, "Add some classic Stax sounds ("Your Good Thing Is About to End" from Mable John, as reserved and wicked as Uma Thurman's Kill Bill character), Ghostface, Wiz Khalifa, and Boy Jones in RZA's warped and wonderful vision of an end title track ("I Go Hard"), and the massive punch of "Built for This" with Method Man, Freddie Gibbs, and Streetlife, and this soundtrack stands tall in the man's wide-reaching discography, offering fans a Wu-flavored vision of a world where both the damned and cursed still swagger."[1]

Commercial performance

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The Man with the Iron Fists soundtrack debuted at number thirty-one on the US Billboard 200, selling 12,000 copies in the first week[11] and 6,400 copies in the second week of its release, totalling approximately 19,000 copies sold .[12]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."The Baddest Man Alive" (The Black Keys and RZA)Dan Auerbach, Patrick Carney, Robert DiggsThe Black Keys, RZA3:50
2."Black Out" (Ghostface Killah, M.O.P. and Pharoahe Monch)Dennis Coles, Jamal Grinnage, Eric Murray, Troy Donald JamersonFizzy Womack4:11
3."White Dress" (Kanye West)Kanye West, Diggs, Homer Banks, Carl Hampton, Raymond Jackson, Jayceon Taylor, Mario BarrettRZA, West (co.), Boogz & Tapez (add.)3:35
4."I Forgot to Be Your Lover" (The Revelations and Tre Williams)William Bell, Booker T. JonesBob Perry3:22
5."Get Your Way (Sex Is a Weapon)" (Idle Warship)Talib Kweli Greene, Shareese Ballard, Matthew Tavares, Chester Hansen, Alexander Sowinski, Kendra Ross, Adam FeeneyFrank Dukes, BADBADNOTGOOD4:10
6."Rivers of Blood" (Wu-Tang Clan and Kool G Rap)Diggs, Coles, Corey Woods, Lamont Hawkins, Nathaniel Wilson, Tavares, Hansen, Sowinski, FeeneyFrank Dukes, BADBADNOTGOOD4:40
7."Built for This" (Method Man, Freddie Gibbs and Streetlife)Clifford Smith, Fredrick Tipton, Patrick CharlesFrank Dukes4:24
8."The Archer" (Killa Sin)Jeryl Grant, FeeneyFrank Dukes2:55
9."Just Blowin' in the Wind" (RZA and Flatbush Zombies)Diggs, Meechy Darko, Zombie JuiceRZA4:34
10."Chains" (Corinne Bailey Rae)Corinne Bailey Rae, Steven James BrownSteven James Brown, Corinne Bailey Rae3:41
11."Tick, Tock" (Pusha T, Raekwon, Joell Ortiz and Danny Brown)Woods, Feeney, Terrence Thornton, Joell Ortiz, Daniel Sewell, Larry Griffin Jr.Frank Dukes, S16:18
12."Green Is The Mountain" (Frances Yip)Frances Yip, FeeneyFrank Dukes2:58
13."Six Directions of Boxing" (Wu-Tang Clan)Hawkins, Coles, Gary Grice, Darryl Hill, Jamel Arief, Jason HunterFrank Dukes4:50
14."Your Good Thing (Is About to Come to an End)" (Mable John)Isaac Hayes, David PorterIssac Hayes, D. Porter2:57
15."I Go Hard" (Ghostface Killah, Boy Jones and Wiz Khalifa)Coles, Cameron Thomaz, Boy JonesRZA4:16
16."Bust Shots (Bonus)" (Sheek Louch, Ghostface Killah & Inspectah Deck)Sean Jacobs, Coles, HunterFrank Dukes3:21

Notes

  • "Black Out" features additional vocals by IFresh Beatz.
  • "Bust Shots" features scratches by DJ Mekalek.


Sample Notes

Charts

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Chart (2012) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[13] 31

References

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  1. ^ a b "The Man with the Iron Fists [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] - RZA | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  2. ^ Cristina Jaleru (October 22, 2012). "Review: RZA packs punch on 'Iron Fists' soundtrack". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  3. ^ Cohen, Ian. "Various Artists – The Man With the Iron Fists OST". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  4. ^ Jody Rosen. "The Man With the Iron Fists: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  5. ^ Cristina Jaleru (October 22, 2012). "Review: RZA packs punch on 'Iron Fists' soundtrack". San Francisco Chronicle. SFGate. Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 27, 2012. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  6. ^ a b c [1] [dead link]
  7. ^ "RZA - the Man with the Iron Fists (OST) | Read Hip Hop Reviews, Rap Reviews & Hip Hop Album Reviews | HipHop DX". Archived from the original on November 9, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  8. ^ "The Man With the Iron Fists (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Various Artists". Amazon.com. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
    - Horowitz, Steven J. (October 18, 2012). "RZA "The Man with the Iron Fists"". HipHopdx.com. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
  9. ^ Jody Rosen. "The Man With the Iron Fists: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  10. ^ Jody Rosen. "The Man With the Iron Fists: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  11. ^ "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 10/28/2012". HipHop DX. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
  12. ^ "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 11/4/2012 | Get the Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales | HipHop DX". Archived from the original on November 9, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  13. ^ "HITS Daily Double". Hitsdailydouble.com. Retrieved January 4, 2022.