2008 Woodie Awards
GZA drops lyrical bombs on Dallas
Opinion
Bryan Shettig
Issue date: 9/5/08 Section: ARTS & LIFE
If GZA is remembered for anything, it will be for his work with the Wu-Tang Clan and for his second solo album, Liquid Swords.
The skeletal, dark sounds of the now 13-year-old album, produced by RZA, also a founding member of the Wu-Tang Clan, complement GZA's nasal but serious rhyming. The samples, taken entirely from Shaolin kung fu movies and the movie "Shogun Assassin," continue the theme from the Clan's debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).
The band's name itself is taken from Mount Wudan, the site of the most famous Daoist temple in China and the birthplace of Tai Chi and Wudan kung fu.
When GZA strolled onto the stage at the Loft in South Dallas on Monday night, he tore through the entirety of the Liquid Swords album with hardly a break between songs. He was joined on stage by fellow New York rapper Killah Priest, who was perhaps the only letdown of the night with his onstage antics and chants for the audience to buy $30 T-shirts.
GZA, also known as Genius, was on point but a tad less enthused performing Liquid Swords, which isn't uncommon for musicians who have performed the same songs hundreds of times over on tour. When the initial set ended, he proceeded to sing several songs from his new album, Pro Tools, including "Alphabets" and "Life Is A Movie," both of which the audience took to, especially the latter song, which featured a beat that sped up and slowed down during the song with GZA's lyrics matching the beat and setting the crowd off as he rapped at a breakneck speed.
The album's name is a reference to the popular music program that is most often used in hip-hop and electronic music and by rockers who need to sound better than they're truly capable of.
"Man, I love singing songs from that album," GZA said between sets as he got more animated in rapping his new material.
He also rapped crowd favorite Wu-Tang Clan songs "Clan In da Front" and "Triumph", which had the (mostly white) crowd raising its hands and making the Wu-Tang logo, or "Wu wings," with their hands. The absence of guest vocalists from the rest of the Clan, including Method Man, Ghostface Killah and Inspectah Deck, was noticeable, and the constant feuding between band members isn't enthusing fans looking forward to seeing it live.
The Wu-Tang Clan has no Texas dates planned for its new tour.
Until the next time the Wu descends upon Dallas, though, GZA's superlative lyrics will have to hold us over.
The skeletal, dark sounds of the now 13-year-old album, produced by RZA, also a founding member of the Wu-Tang Clan, complement GZA's nasal but serious rhyming. The samples, taken entirely from Shaolin kung fu movies and the movie "Shogun Assassin," continue the theme from the Clan's debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).
The band's name itself is taken from Mount Wudan, the site of the most famous Daoist temple in China and the birthplace of Tai Chi and Wudan kung fu.
When GZA strolled onto the stage at the Loft in South Dallas on Monday night, he tore through the entirety of the Liquid Swords album with hardly a break between songs. He was joined on stage by fellow New York rapper Killah Priest, who was perhaps the only letdown of the night with his onstage antics and chants for the audience to buy $30 T-shirts.
GZA, also known as Genius, was on point but a tad less enthused performing Liquid Swords, which isn't uncommon for musicians who have performed the same songs hundreds of times over on tour. When the initial set ended, he proceeded to sing several songs from his new album, Pro Tools, including "Alphabets" and "Life Is A Movie," both of which the audience took to, especially the latter song, which featured a beat that sped up and slowed down during the song with GZA's lyrics matching the beat and setting the crowd off as he rapped at a breakneck speed.
The album's name is a reference to the popular music program that is most often used in hip-hop and electronic music and by rockers who need to sound better than they're truly capable of.
"Man, I love singing songs from that album," GZA said between sets as he got more animated in rapping his new material.
He also rapped crowd favorite Wu-Tang Clan songs "Clan In da Front" and "Triumph", which had the (mostly white) crowd raising its hands and making the Wu-Tang logo, or "Wu wings," with their hands. The absence of guest vocalists from the rest of the Clan, including Method Man, Ghostface Killah and Inspectah Deck, was noticeable, and the constant feuding between band members isn't enthusing fans looking forward to seeing it live.
The Wu-Tang Clan has no Texas dates planned for its new tour.
Until the next time the Wu descends upon Dallas, though, GZA's superlative lyrics will have to hold us over.
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