Disco de GZA/Genius: “Legend of the Liquid Sword [PA]”

Wow. I can't believe I have slept on this album for so long. GZA shreds through this album with some of the illest rhymes, concepts, ideas, and flow I have heard in awhile. I loved every minute of it and suggest to every Wu and Hip Hop fan alike to cop this album ASAP!

Bar none one of the top 100 Hip Hop Albums of all time.

After "Beneath The Surface", GZA took 3 years off and came back in 2002 with his next album called "Legend Of The Liquid Sword". By the title, you might be thinking it might sound like "Liquid Swords", but no, it doesnt... at all lol. But let me get into the album a little bit more.

Lyric wise, GZA seemed like he did a little better on this album than he did on Beneath The Surface, maybe he didnt but to me it just seems like it a bit. There are NO skits on this album, which is by far good and shows GZA didnt show lazyness here. Every single song has great lyrics, so lyrically, I think GZA definately stepped up big time. "Knock Knock" has some NICE lyrics in the verses. "Fame", WOW, let me tell you something, READ the lyrics to this song and tell me if your amazed out of your AZZ! THEN! Read the lyrics to "Animal Planet" and tell me if you arent amazed again. GZA is a genius so he isnt trippin out when he calls himself that. He deserves to be called a genius. Lyrically he did better on this than he did on Beneath The Surface. If you want to see GZA step up, get this!

Production wise, still hardly not RZA production but then again its still good! Some beats I liked were "Silent", "Knock Knock", "Stay In Line", "Fam", "Fame", "Highway Robbery", "Luminal", "Sparring Minds" and "Rough Cut". These are all really good beats. The rest are decent efforts. But it sort of has the same sound as Beneath The Surface but a little better in my opinion. So production is good.

Overall, this album has a little bit more potential than B.T.S had, so if you liked that album then you will definatly like this album.

***SUPPORT GZA AND REAL HIPHOP AND BUY THIS***

My Top 5 Songs

1.Silent

2.Stay In Line

3.Animal Planet

4.Fame

5.Sparring Minds

Pretty much the only flaw this CD has in my opinion, which is the same complaint that most of the people criticize this album for is the editing of some tracks. If not for that, this CD would get 5 stars. This album is obviously not as good as Liquid Swords and is better than Beneath the Surface (which is still in my mind a solid album). This album brings back some grimy beats with exceptional lyrics, which is nothing more than expected from GZA. The best lyricist in the Clan other than, dare I say Masta Killa. Best tracks on this piece are Auto Bio, Animal Planet, Fam(despite being edited), Fame, Highway Robbery(chorus does not fit song, ill other than that) Silent, Sparring Minds, Stay In Line, and What You Know About. Pick this up if you want some real Hip Hop, not any of that 50 Cent/G-Unit garbage. Must buy for any Wu fan.

Like most Wu-Tang followers, I gave up on them after Raekwon's second album. But when "Ghost-deini" dropped Supreme Clientele in 2000, I believed in them again. However, that same year, The W, littered with guest stars, came out and I stopped buying their albums. So why did I buy this album? Because I wanted the uncensored version of "Knock Knock" (but it's even censored on here, what a shame). I checked out the rest of the album and I was pretty impressed.

GZA was never a bad lyricist; in fact, he's the best next to Raekwon. And I remember him from the classic Liquid Swords dropping jewels like "Labels". On his third album, Legend of the Liquid Sword, he has two songs like that ("Animal Planet" and "Fame"). Both are good, but the beat on "Fame" is a little dull. The wutang.com remix would have been better to put on here. I also enjoyed "Did He Say That", the RZA-produced "Rough Cut", and "Silent" with Ghost and Streetlife who was M.I.A. for some time.

I'll never compare this album to other Wu-Tang productions because that would be stupid (this is 2002, not the '90s). I see myself playing this album for a while. And instead of saying the Wu is back, I'll just say GZA is back.

Legandary material by the GZA! You wonder why it takes GZA so long to put out albums? Lyrics like these would take rappers like Birdman and P. Diddy decades to write. Whether you're a Wu Tang fan or not you have to cop this album because lyricists like GZA are extremley rare in hip hop today. Not to mention his flow is off the hook along wit his beats. It makes you wonder why the clan hardly ever uses him. We all know he should have been on CREAM, Gravel Pit, I Can't Sleep ect. Just listen to his verse on The Jump Off, one of the illest verses of all time. Besides Method Man, GZA blows away the other Wu members. So if you're a Wu Tang fan you already know GZA's tight. So it's great to see his flow matched wit dope beats like on this album. The dopest tracks include: "Auto Bio"- the beat is perfect for GZA's flow. "Did ya say That"-GZA attacks the industry over another incredible beat. "Knock Knock"-Tight but the hook is kinda weak. "Animal Planet"- Crazy!!! The beat makes it an instant classic along wit the lyrics where GZA uses animals to describe certain people.(hustlers to chimps, feds to dogs, snitches to parrots ect.) "Fame"- GZA tells a story using celeb's names. The bass is crazy. "Uncut Material"-great beat produced by GZA himself. The hook is off the hook. Bottom Line: you need to cop this album! -Da Func Deezy, Holla at ya boy! And remember what GZA said: "A rhyme is a terrible thing to waste." Peace out yo!