#the genius

“I stick to college radio mix shows, Historic university to freestyle sick flows!”

The GZA: Liquid Swords

© 1995 Geffen, MCA Records

• —–Professional Reviews—–
• Allmusic.com: 5/5 stars (Album Pick)
• Entertainment Weekly: B+
• Rolling Stone: 3/5 stars
• Pitchfork Media: 10/10 stars
• NME Magazine: 9/10
• Q Magazine: 4/5 stars
• —–Personal Rating—–
• 7/10(Excellent!)

Although the album is considered a classic, from a production and sound quality perspective, Liquid Swords has not aged well which is a trait that many of the first wave of Wu-Tang solo albums suffer from. This in turn may put off younger listeners who are just discovering the Wu-Tang’s catalogue. The GZA’s performance is the highlight of the album as the entire album is nothing more than a metaphorical chess game. His rhymes, which many will mistake as not making any sense, will leave you scratching your head. Whether newer listeners dislike this is an open question but it is worth a listen as The GZA’s lyriscm is rich in metaphor.

20 years ago, this Wu-Tang concert flyer was passed around throughout Atlanta. Not everyone showed up.

I was in Atlanta for a week and had hoped to go to this but there are two reasons I didn’t go:

1) the person I was with wouldn’t have gone with me

2) I left to go back home to the Pacific Northwest on the same Saturday

While in ATL, I heard a few radio promos for it, as they were looking forward to ending Labor Day weekend on a proper note but it being 1995 and it being a month after the release of Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, they group were already on the level of some people maybe showing up, some not at all. I don’t remember who did or didn’t