RZA as Bobby Digital in Stereo

RZA's first solo album is built around a character, Bobby Digital, a hedonistic, fun-loving alter ego with a superhero's swagger. RZA explained the split simply: "Bobby Digital is just me feeling my nuts. RZA is my heart." To bring that character to life, he went to a comic-book artist.

Bill Sienkiewicz, known for his expressive painted work on Marvel titles such as The New Mutants and Elektra: Assassin, drew the cover. It shows RZA as Bobby Digital holding a huge green futuristic gun, surrounded by a swirling collage of women, cars, explosions and city streets in Sienkiewicz's loose, painterly style.

The image placed the Wu-Tang leader's love of comics, kung fu films and pulp heroes front and centre, at a time when the Clan was building its own mythology. Released on 24 November 1998 through Wu-Tang, Gee Street and V2, the album was followed by more Bobby Digital projects, and the cover remains one of the clearest crossovers between hip-hop and comic art.