Releasing his second studio album in early November 1995, GZA / Genius definitively consecrated himself as one of the best lyricists in hip-hop and one of the most respected and feared performers on the circuit during the nineties. The album is devoid of any weaknesses and is practically perfect, starting with the iconic cover: on a chessboard in the middle of space, duelists challenge each other with liquid swords (the reference is to the film "Legend of the Liquid Sword", 1992), on the right GZA is cutting the neck of a rival, while in the center the luminous symbol of the Wu-Tang, whose "g" is obscured by a chain. The stylized MC symbol appears twice, right and within the title. Entirely produced by RZA, except for the bonus track, whose beat is created by 4th Disciple, the album features the collaboration of all the official members of the Wu-Tang Clan, as well as Life, Dreddy Kruger and Killah Priest.
It opens with a fantastic skit, extracted from the beginning of the movie "Shogun Assassin" (1980) and narrated by a child, between dark strings, "Kill Bill" vibes [side note: being a note from over five years ago, I didn't remember why I put it on and I didn't understand for what reason that passage reminds me of the Tarantino movie. By checking, this skit of "Shogun Assassin" is entirely inserted by the director in "Kill Bill 2"]. The scene sets the mood and themes of the entire project. Lively drum on which RZA throws an intro, then comes the beat and, guess what... it's one of the best ever made by Prince Rakeem, with two samples by Willie Mitchell. The hook sung by the two performers sounds flawless, The Genius delivers a wonderful braggadocio cut, in which he claims to be better than the others. He simply is, right now.
2. "Duel of the Iron Mic" (ft. Ol' Dirty Bastard, Masta Killa & Inspektah Deck aka Inspectah Deck)
This is the first of a series of Wu-Tang posse: another skit from "Shogun Assassin", second skit from "The Dragon, the Hero" (1979), then a jazzy, deep boom bap begins, on which GZA opens the game with an excellent silky, smooth, shiny flow. Ol' Dirty Bastard is recluse on the short hook, slow regular second verse of an inspired Masta Killa, then Inspektah Deck completes the work with an absolute and definitive third verse dope, flawless rap. It's among the best Wu-Tang posse, enhanced by a Morricone sample and a short one from David Porter's "I'm Afraid the Masquerade Is Over" (the same as Biggie's "Who Shot Ya?", but it's sampled a different section).
3. "Living in the World Today" (ft. The RZA & Method Man, both uncredited)
The third pick is a socio-conscious song, with uncredited RZA and Method Man on the hook: wonderful sample from Ann Sexton's "I'm His Wife (You're Just a Friend)", hard drum, regular smooth delivery by GZA that becomes one with the beat.
4. "Gold" (ft. Method Man, uncredited)
This song features an intro by Johnny Blaze (uncredited), then The Genius delivers solo on a somber and dystopian boom bap with samples from Stanley Black's triumphant "Meadowland", it seems the production is about to fall over: the beat is a gem of RZA that the MC doesn't waste, providing a classic on drug and hustling. As with the best rhythms of The Abbot of this period, the choice to let it breathe at the end is excellent.
5. "Cold World" (ft. Life & Inspektah Deck aka Inspectah Deck)
This is the umpteenth pearl of an album that flies forward towards perfection: boom bap jazzy, sharp, dark, very deep, sample from the wonderful "Love and Ambition" by Elmer Bernstein, another skit from "Shogun Assassin", sung hook by the uncredited Life, cousin of GZA, then the artist delivers slow and fluid, it closes Inspector Deck with a regular style. Socio-conscious track on ghetto life that passes quickly despite being over five minutes long.
6. "Labels" (ft. The RZA & Masta Killa, uncredited)
The cut number six is one of the most famous of GZA, "Labels": intro by RZA, single line by Masta Killa, both uncredited, simple boom bap with heavy drum and clean, crisp xmas bells, single energetic, hardcore, flowing verse by GZA against record labels.
7. "4th Chamber" (ft. Ghost Face Killer aka Ghostface Killah, Killah Priest & The RZA)
From the first seconds, is an absolute classic and one of the best songs made by the Wu-Tang Clan: raw skit from "Shogun Assassin" accompanied by the movie soundtrack, then distorted synths, hard, fantastic uptempo drum, beautiful sample by Willie Mitchell's "Groovin'" united with a extract from the song theme of "Dharmatma" (1975) — the first Bollywood movie to be shot in Afghanistan —, heavy boom bap, very tense, bleak, with "Blade Runner" (1982) vibes. Ghost Face Killer is at his best and destroys the cut with a raw and energetic flow, it follows Killah Priest with a calm and slow style, RZA is inspired on his soundscape providing a raw, bumpy, good rap, then GZA is the last MC, calm, sharp, he always seems in control of the situation and this is one of the great strengths of this CD. They are all trying to outdo each other, Ghostface opens in a great way, Killah Priest brings out a dope verse that is addressed to everyone (even to Raekwon who is not present in the track, but is there with them as he's finishing recording his first album), RZA delivers one of his best verses with one of his best performances ever, GZA completes one of the best posse tracks ever with mastery. Amazing song.
8. "Shadowboxin'" (ft. Method Man)
The next one is another certified classic: skit from "Shaolin vs. Lama" (1983), boom bap, tight sample from "Trouble, Heartaches & Sadness" by Ann Peebles, Johnny Blaze delivers his first verse on the record with style, scratched hook, Maximilion boasts spectacular flow, then there's still Meth on the third verse, effortlessly fluid.
9. "Hell's Wind Staff / Killah Hills 10304
"Hell's Wind Staff" is a skit on drug dealing between RZA, GZA, Masta Killa, Ghostface Killah and Dreddy Kruger, with someone singing in the background. Then, "Killah Hills 10304": GZA represents Shaolin through a song on drugs over a jazzy boom bap rhythm synthesized with an alternative flavor, tense, deep, with a lean drum. Single verse, delivered cleanly and flawlessly, then the beat breathes brightly for a minute.
10. "Investigative Reports" (ft. U-God, Chef Raekwon aka Raekwon & Ghost Face Killer aka Ghostface Killah)
The tenth track coincides with the last posse of the supergroup: boom bap tense, deep, very dark, sample from "I'd Be So Happy" by Three Dog Night, RZA decides to intersperse the verses of Raekwon, GZA and Ghostface Killah with television skits. U-God provides intro, hook and outro: Lou Diamond in the first verse, flowing, dope, unmatched, this is his year, and that of Wu-Tang. Maximilian on the same level, it closes Tony Starks, fantastic.
11. "Swordsman"
Is a track-event, the only solo of The Genius: it seems that half the album is soloist, but in reality, there's always someone uncredited somewhere. Raw, tight, edgy, dark production, lean regular drum, good loops, slow delivery of GZA. It's one of his finest solo track ever, at the peak from the lyrical point of view.
12. "I Gotcha Back" (ft. The RZA)
This is the latest piece from the record: Bobby Digital's taut, gloomy and cinematic boom bap, using samples from The Mar-Keys' "Morning After", The 45 King's "Red Alert" and, yes, "As Long as I've Got You" by The Charmels. That is, the sample of "C.R.E.A.M.": if you pay close attention, you can hear it in the background, distant, almost imperceptible, it's there. Rhythm left to breathe for a few seconds, then hook with RZA and the single verse of GZA, socio-conscious joint delivered with a lucid, clear and slow style. Infinite hook of the two, then outro with skit from "Shogun Assassin".
13. "Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth" (ft. Killah Priest)
The album features a bonus track, performed entirely by Killah Priest, an affiliate member of the Wu-Tang Clan and part of Sunz of Man: 4th Disciple achieves a rhythm that's at the same level as the previous ones signed by RZA. Jazzy boom bap, excellent samples, midtempo drum, perfect soundscape for Killah Priest: the MC, at his best in career, brings out bars focused especially on religious themes, with a smoothness and confident flow, realizing a great track.
Final Thoughts
Second studio album of Gary "Genius / GZA" Grice, Wu-Tang Clan's fourth solo, after the debuts of Method Man, Ol' Dirty Bastard and Raekwon: this is his most famous work and is considered as a debut, mistakenly, because the MC of Brooklyn debuted in 1991, before the formation of the Wu-Tang, with "Words From the Genius", released by Cold Chillin' Records. Production is entirely entrusted to RZA: in 1995, he's in his prime and creates a soundscape that perfectly accompanies GZA on this long journey of almost an hour. The Abbot offers a cold, dark, dystopian, harsh soundscape, different than the one provided in "36 Chambers" and closer to the music of "Only Built", with several cinematic and melodic aspects: it's a raw, misty and violent street sound, but also clear, based on the skits of the film "Shogun Assassin" (which opens and closes the disc), on a brilliant use of samples from different genres and on dynamic drums that make up a perpetually tense and dark atmosphere. 4th Disciple carves out a place in the history of the supergroup: Dirt McGirt's "Brooklyn Zoo" is the first cut in a Wu record not to be produced by RZA, being made by True Master, while "Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth" is the second.
Lyrically, it's a very thoughtful disc that excels in all the elements that make up the poem. GZA mixes socio-conscious and thug themes, with many excerpts regarding ghetto life, drugs, violence, bravado, some battle rap, Five Percenters references, and also various moments not immediately understandable. These edgy, tight and hard-to-match lyrics are performed with great technique and remarkable rapping, calm, relaxed, cold and polished, sometimes hardcore. GZA himself doesn't consider it to be his best lyrical project, but the album prevails over almost everything else released over the course of the hip-hop decade.
It's the second and one of the very few studio albums to feature all members of the Wu-Tang Clan (Cappadonna wasn't an official member at the time). RZA is the main guest with six appearances, credited only once with the "4th Chamber" verse, followed by Method Man and Masta Killa with three (both credited only once), Ghost Face Killer and Inspektah Deck with two, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Chef Raekwon and U-God with one. Also participating are Life (uncredited in "Cold World"), Dreddy Kruger of Royal Fam (uncredited in "Hell's Wind Staff"; sometimes erroneously credited in "Duel of the Iron Mic") and Killah Priest of Sunz of Man, which takes part in the classic "4th Chamber" posse and then releases the solo bonus track "B.I.B.L.E.". The Wu-Tang emcees do an excellent job, Rollie Fingers, Johnny Blaze, Lou Diamonds and Tony Starks stand out for extraordinary performance, in general no one disappoints, but you can feel that Ghostface has a different pace than everyone else.
Released by Geffen, the album is distributed by MCA: it achieves considerable commercial success, reaching the top ten on the Billboard 200 and second place in the rap chart, being praised by critics. The product is very well received in Europe and in the UK in particular, where it's considered one of the best releases of the season, while in the US it's rediscovered among the best albums of the period only in retrospect, like the previous Wu release, Chef Raekwon's hot and summer opera omnia to which GZA's cold and autumnal LP is often compared and contrasted. RZA makes his ideal album with a dozen tracks and The Genius signs an authentic masterpiece. 10/10.
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