those guys are going to other producers because they want to go after a different market. i am sure there is some label pressure to get some plaques, and RZA wont give you a club hit. rza woint get you mad radio play in todays marketing climate.
as far as the sounds, if you want sounds that recreate those sounds, get some mellotron string sounds. they arent the same, but harness that same rich texture. you can turn any lush strings into a wu tang type sound by dropping the cutoff a little, using a lo fi effect and upping the high end with an eq... it makes for a fairly dark sound. also, experiment with chords. one thing people miss when trying to capture a paricular sound is the chords.... alot of minors for that dark, melancholy effect.
also, short horn swells and long stabs.... with subtle guitar notes, punchy snares, tamborines and short/simple/brooding basslines.
listen to O.V wright, the Bar Kays, ann peebles. RZA has sampled all three of those and he has raped al greens whole catalog. classical records as well.
oh, and its about time Cappadonna's CLASSIC effort "The Pillage" got some love... "MILK THIS COW!!!!! hold your own, nigga......" and beats like that are simply dope, period.. .they trancend eras. they are simple, and yet timeless. just dope... that album was SOOO underated.
