RZA and System of Down's Shavo Odadjian Finally Release Album as Achozen

BY Alex HudsonPublished Jul 7, 2015

Years ago, Wu-Tang Clan rapper RZA and System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian began working together under the name Achozen, but they never produced their promised album. That has now changed, as they have released an eight-song collection.

Rather curiously, the songs are exclusive to a limited-edition run of Boombotix Boombot Pro portable speakers. (Fans might remember that Wu-Tang Clan released an exclusive edition of their album A Better Tomorrow via the same format last year.) There are guest appearances from former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitar John Frusciante, funk legend George Clinton and Reverend William Burke.

Both RZA and Odadjian rap on the tracks, with the production handled by Odadjian. Achozen had been sitting on these recordings for much of the past decade, but RZA and Odadjian decided to revisit the project as a way to acknowledge the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. (Odadjian is Armenian-American.)

RZA told Rolling Stone, "In January, I had took a listen to the Achozen album again in my studio — sober — and I was like, 'Man, this shit is fucking... how the fuck.. wow. We never gave this to the world.' So I talked to Shavo and he tells me that this is the 100-year anniversary of the Armenian genocide. 'Then we got to do it!'" RZA went on to compare Odadjian's flow to '80s rap, in particular Ice-T.

The Boombotix Boombot Pro containing the album (which seems to be self-titled, if it even has a proper name) can be purchased here. It contains 2GB of embedded memory and can connect wirelessly to music storage devices via Bluetooth. It costs $119.99 USD ($152.49 CAD).

After this, Achozen has around 12 to 15 more songs in the works (including at least five or six more that are complete and ready to go). RZA said that he would like to play guitar on a couple of tracks for the project, and he suggested that future releases would likely also come out through Boombotix speakers.

Achozen:

1. Knowledge (Short Version)
2. That's the Zone
3. White Pony
4. Secure
5. Fabricated Lies
6. Soul Trigga'
7. Salute Sacrifice
8. Toggle Switch

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