GZA/Genius – Beneath The Surface

Posted on by keepsmealive Posted in posts by aaronTagged

Toasty Taranna #3: BMV #3: GZA/Genius – Beneath The Surface

I loved Liquid Swords. And yup, Mike was right, I own the chessboxin’ boxed set… SEE IT HERE (2015 KMA post). Anyway, the GZA is always worth a listen, so after a moment’s thought as we were headed to the register to pay, I grabbed this one too.

The GZA’s third solo album (1999) brings that Wu sound and keeps the beats and rhymes damn tight. This one rolls through the hood smoothly, and with style.

Guests on the record are a whole lot of names you might know, especially Wu-Tang Clan members Ol’ Dirty Bastard (RIP) and Method Man, and affiliates like Killah Priest, Masta Killa, Hell Razah, Timbo King, Dreddy Kruger, Njeri Earth, Angela Yee, Prodigal Sunn, and La The Darkman. Other guests include Santigold, Res, Joan Davis, and Trigga.

Some say this isn’t as good as Liquid Swords (why compare, it’s a new project, four years later), that no RZA means it’s not as good (sigh), that it had ambitions too high for its abilities to achieve them (haha whut). I didn’t hear anything here to make me think this was anything other than a solid GZA session, obviously the product of great minds working together to create special things. 

 

Hit It Or Quit It? Hit.

5 thoughts on “GZA/Genius – Beneath The Surface”

  2. Pingback: This Site Never Sleeps
  3. Reply
    stephen1001 says:

    I’m intrigued by the Wu Tang Clan’s timeline – what solo releases were in between the group projects, who guests with whom, etc.
    I think you’ve got the right attitude here, why worry about what came before, just enjoy a solid album!

    Like

    1. Reply
      keepsmealive says:

      I tried looking up the timeline… and found a couple of sites that list the albums and singles in chronological order… up to 2013. Still, that’s a good chunk of it. If anybody’s ever made an exhaustive and complete timeline/disocgraphy, it would be impressive to be sure.

      I did enjoy this album! The detractors of it say that it’s just warmed-over RZA beats being passed off as fresh. I maybe don’t hear enough of this stuff to be an expert, but to me this sounded just fine. If you like Wu then you like GZA, and this one would be a must for a collection. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

Put yer words here:

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.