Happy 30th Anniversary to GZA - Liquid Swords

Happy 30th Anniversary to the GZA's excellent album Liquid Swords.

When you break down the Wu Tang's solo albums, Liquid Swords is always close to the top. 

The Genius, Gary Eldridge Grice, is the elder statesmen of the Wu-Tang Clan and arguably the most intellectual with deep thinking on science, philosophy and education. Liquid Swords is a dynamite offering through and through. Hip-hop has notoriously been a genre that includes filler on albums, yet there is nothing that needs skipping here.

RZA's beats are haunting, cryptic and engaging. GZA is a stout Master of Ceremony and the Wu-Tang guest spots keep things from ever getting dull. The whole album is worth revisiting, but some highlights are "Duel of the Iron Mic" (featuring Inspectah Deck, Masta Killa, and Ol' Dirty Bastard), "4th Chamber" (featuring Ghostface Killah, Killah Priest, and RZA) and "Shadowboxin'" (featuring Method Man). 

RtBE really digs this album and got a chance to see a special show with GZA and The Phunky Nomads at the Blue Note back in 2022. It ended up one of our favorite shows of year and we featured it in our Full Show Friday series. It was great meeting the Nomads and GZA after the show and I can't recommend this combo highly enough if you can catch them on tour. 

On the 30th Anniversary of the fantastic Liquid Swords, play it loud. Here are a few tunes to get you started.