Inspiration has no origin. This is true for any art form, including hip-hop.
For GZA, the New York City rapper, the inspiration for his first album, Liquid Swords, came from a Shogun movie of the same title. The album had songs about lyrical swordplay, and a child from the Shogun movie introduced the tracks.
GZA's new album Legend of The Liquid Sword is reminiscent of the former album, but it focuses more on the legend of GZA's career. Instead of an anonymous child, GZA's young son introduces the new album by telling his father's story.
"I wanted to go back to kind of the same feel I had on the first album," GZA says. "The Liquid Sword is about being lyrically sharp."
GZA says that his new album and tour are more than just a comeback, they're a continuation of the metaphorical prose that fueled his first three albums, especially The Liquid Sword.
On Dec. 15, GZA will bring his "lyrically sharp" rhymes to the Cajun House in Scottsdale.
GZA, who is also known as Genius, is a member of the famed rap power pack, The Wu Tang Clan. The name Genius is a remnant of the early days of his work with fellow Wu Tang rappers RZA and ODB [Ole Dirty Bastard]. He says that back in 1985, the three were known as Scientist, Professor and Genius.
"You think it's corny now but back in the '80s everybody had names like that," he says. "At first I liked Professor better than Genius because it rhymed with more things, but it just stuck."
Over the years Genius has become his moniker. His fans have come to expect fresh lyrics loaded with double entendres and thematic allusions. GZA attributes his ability to perform lyrical gymnastics to the fact that he grew up alongside the hip-hop culture like it was a childhood friend.
"I started out before rap was on wax," he says. "The first time I noticed MC-ing was at a block party in the late '70s. So I've been around a long time."
On the track "Animal Planet," GZA describes the ecology of the city by comparing its people to various wild animals. In the song leopards, parrots and wildebeests roam the streets and struggle to make it in the concrete jungle.
GZA grew up in New York's wilderness, traveling around all of the different parts of the city, and he says that his music has benefited from that diversity.
"When I was young there were new styles coming from all over the place," he says. "Each area had its own trademark. You could identify a Queens rapper or a Brooklyn MC."
While many artists of GZA's caliber are easily recognizable by the traits derived from their home turf, GZA says he has been able to embody many of the different styles.
"I was born in Brooklyn, started rhyming in Staten Island, and I popped off in the Bronx," he says. "Hip-hop is a crazy art form and I was able to take something from all of the different boroughs."
GZA's new CD is one of the first of a new wave put out by MCA that features new security devices. An advanced copy of the album sent out to the media has a warning that any attempt to download or copy the CD will be tracked by a "special identification code."
Perhaps more deterring is the repeated message, "property of MCA records," repeated roughly every 20 seconds throughout the advanced recording.
"It's good in a way," GZA says. "But if people want it they'll start scheming hard until they get it. It's almost impossible to keep it completely locked down."
GZA says that as an artist, these changes in technology have taken some getting used to. Advanced copies and file sharing were unheard of when he started making rhymes in the '80s.
"That stuff's new to me too," he says. "About a week ago I was doing an interview with this guy and I forgot to bring a CD for him to listen to. The brother was like, 'it's OK, I'll go get mine,' and I was wondering how he already had a copy."
The business of hip-hop is changing. What was once an underground pastime where vinyl and wax were all that mattered is now a multi-million dollar industry. But GZA says that the energy fueling the music remains intact.
"All over New York there's mixed tapes and CDs pumpin'," he says. "Sales may have dropped a little but [hip-hop] is still forever growing."
Reach the reporter at joy.hepp@asu.edu.
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GZA/Genius with J-live, Pokaface, Cut Throat Logic and DJ Darrel D. Cajun House, 7117 E. Third Ave., Scottsdale. 7:30 Monday. $18 advance, $20 day of. 480-945-5150 or Ticketmaster, 480-784-4444. |
