liquid swords album

Today In Hip Hop History: Wu Tang Clan’s GZA Released His Sophomore LP ‘Liquid Swords’ 29 Years Ago

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Genius GZA Liquid Swords

Liquid Swords

On this date in 1995, the head of the Wu’s “Voltron” released his first solo LP under the moniker “the GZA”.

“We form like Voltron and GZA happens to be the head.” -Method Man

After appearing as the closer on the Wu Tang’s premiere single “Protect Ya Neck” and dropping his own solo joint “Clan In The Front” on WTC’s classic Enter The 36 Chambers LP, The Genius, who changed his name to the GZA after the formation of the Wu Tang Clan in 1992, fulfilled the expectations of a solo album with Liquid Swords, which was released 27 years ago today.

This should not, however, be confused with the first solo album Words From The Genius, which was released under the alias “The Genius” before his claim to fame with Wu Tang.

With in-house album cover art of a war-torn chessboard from Wu Tang DJ/Producer Allah Mathematics along with Milestone Media creative director Denys Cowan and released on Geffen Records, the debut album of one of WTC’s founders was recorded in RZA’s basement, as was the rest of the early Wu projects including Meth’s Tical and OB4CL. It also featured all of the original members as well as introduced some of the supporting members of the Killa Bees including Killah Priest, Dreddy Krueger and Allah Life, who sung the hook on “Cold World”. Other smash singles from this album include “Labels”, “4th Chamber”, “I Gotcha Back” and the timeless title track.

Salute to the GZA for one of the most formative concept albums in Hip Hop during the 20th century.

The post Today In Hip Hop History: Wu Tang Clan’s GZA Released His Sophomore LP ‘Liquid Swords’ 29 Years Ago appeared first on .

Today In Hip Hop History: GZA’s ‘Liquid Swords’ Certified Gold 28 Years Ago

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Genius GZA Liquid Swords

On this day in Hip Hop history, GZA of Wu-Tang Clan’s second album, Liquid Swords, was certified gold by the RIAA.

The album was initially released on Nov. 7, 1995. The LP was recorded entirely in the basement studio of fellow Wu-Tang Clan member RZA (who also produced 12 of the 13 tracks on the project) in Staten Island, New York. Much to the theme of previous Wu-Tang releases, this album consisted vastly of dialogue sampled from the kung fu film Shogun Assassin.

The tone of this project was quite dark and ominous while dropping bombs of knowledge and understanding of the physical world. The way GZA rapped on this album sounded like he was playing a game of chess against the listener. His lyrical genius attacks capturing pieces of their minds through his Asiatic philosophy.

The post Today In Hip Hop History: GZA’s ‘Liquid Swords’ Certified Gold 28 Years Ago first appeared on The Source.

The post Today In Hip Hop History: GZA’s ‘Liquid Swords’ Certified Gold 28 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

Today In Hip Hop History: Wu Tang Clan’s GZA Released His Sophomore LP ‘Liquid Swords’ 28 Years Ago

by
Genius GZA Liquid Swords

On this date in 1995, the head of the Wu’s “Voltron” released his first solo LP under the moniker “the GZA”.

“We form like Voltron and GZA happens to be the head.” -Method Man

After appearing as the closer on the Wu Tang’s premiere single “Protect Ya Neck” and dropping his own solo joint “Clan In The Front” on WTC’s classic Enter The 36 Chambers LP, The Genius, who changed his name to the GZA after the formation of the Wu Tang Clan in 1992, fulfilled the expectations of a solo album with Liquid Swords, which was released 27 years ago today.

This should not, however, be confused with the first solo album Words From The Genius, which was released under the alias “The Genius” before his claim to fame with Wu Tang.

With in-house album cover art of a war-torn chessboard from Wu Tang DJ/Producer Allah Mathematics along with Milestone Media creative director Denys Cowan and released on Geffen Records, the debut album of one of WTC’s founders was recorded in RZA’s basement, as was the rest of the early Wu projects including Meth’s Tical and OB4CL. It also featured all of the original members as well as introduced some of the supporting members of the Killa Bees including Killah Priest, Dreddy Krueger and Allah Life, who sung the hook on “Cold World”. Other smash singles from this album include “Labels”, “4th Chamber”, “I Gotcha Back” and the timeless title track.

Salute to the GZA for one of the most formative concept albums in Hip Hop during the 20th century.

The post Today In Hip Hop History: Wu Tang Clan’s GZA Released His Sophomore LP ‘Liquid Swords’ 28 Years Ago first appeared on The Source.

The post Today In Hip Hop History: Wu Tang Clan’s GZA Released His Sophomore LP ‘Liquid Swords’ 28 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

Today In Hip Hop History: GZA’s ‘Liquid Swords’ Certified Gold 27 Years Ago

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tumblr 960c430e18878d96415424c93355d233 2855398f 1280

On this day in Hip Hop history, GZA of Wu-Tang Clan’s second album, Liquid Swords, was certified gold by the RIAA.

The album was originally released on November 7, 1995. The LP was recorded entirely in the basement studio of fellow Wu-Tang Clan member RZA (who also produced 12 of the 13 tracks on the project) in Staten Island, New York. Much to the theme of previous Wu-Tang releases, this album consisted vastly of dialogue sampled from kung fu film, Shogun Assassin.

The tone of this project was quite dark and ominous while dropping bombs of knowledge and understanding of the physical world. The way GZA rapped on this album sounded as if he were playing a game of chess against the listener. His lyrical genius attacks capturing pieces of their minds through the use of his Asiatic philosophy.

Upon its release, Liquid Swords peaked at the #9 spot on the Billboard 200 chart and #2 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. The project is critically acclaimed due to the complexity of its composition. Over the years it has been referred to on many occasions as one of the best rap albums of all time. Selwyn Seyfu Hinds of The Source is quoted saying on this album GZA is:

“a highly focused master-craftsman” and that “throughout Liquid Swords he maintains a clear, precise flow, one that reflects deadly-sharp purpose and skilled execution.”

The album was awarded 4 out of 5 mics by The Source upon release. Critics, journalists, and magazines alike had nothing but positive remarks in regards to this album. Matt Hall of Select wrote in 1995 that “…Liquid Swords sneaks under the tape to qualify as Rap Album of the Year.”

Said to be one of the best solo projects out of Wu-Tang, this album helped GZA build his kingdom in the rap game. After this release, he and Wu-Tang Clan went on to be the most successful rap group in the history of music.

The post Today In Hip Hop History: GZA’s ‘Liquid Swords’ Certified Gold 27 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.