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Sound Advice: GZA to Perform 'Liquid Swords' at Upcoming Cincinnati Performance

The 1995 album remains one of the significant Wu-Tang Clan universe offshoots, a crime-world-infested avalanche of words and beats that influenced an entire generation of hip-hop heads to follow.

Jul 26, 2023 at 5:19 am

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Photo: Flowizm, Wikimedia Commons

GZA

This story is featured in CityBeat's July 26 print edition.

Has it really been nearly three decades since Liquid Swords emerged from the labyrinthine mind of GZA? The 1995 album remains one of the significant Wu-Tang Clan universe offshoots, a crime-world-infested avalanche of words and beats that influenced an entire generation of hip-hop heads to follow. And if GZA (born Gary Grice) hasn’t exactly been prolific over the years — he’s dropped only five solo albums under his name, the most recent being 2008’s Pro Tools — he’s long been down to celebrate his best-known work in a live setting, including performing the album in sequence at the 2007 Pitchfork Music Festival.

“I’m an artist that takes a long time to get something done,” GZA said in a January 2023 interview with GoodTimes when asked about Liquid Swords legacy. “I didn’t deliver fast enough — it takes me a while to write a rhyme. It’s not like I’m sitting on thousands of rhymes. I think with this album, I struck back against the industry. I had something to prove. I had to let (everyone) know that I am a genius of rap. It was a remarkable moment that I needed to share. I needed it to be heard, and I needed to be seen.”

GZA is set to perform Liquid Swords yet again, this time backed by a full band, which should be an interesting endeavor given the textured, cinematic nature of the RZA-produced record. At least that is the advanced word following the cancellation of a previously planned stop at Ludlow Garage in April. The rescheduled show is likely to take place in-between the chess matches that have come to dominate GZA’s life since becoming hooked around the time his vivid rhymes and distinctive, laid-back flow illuminated much of the Wu crew’s iconic 1993 debut, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).

GZA plays Ludlow Garage at 8:30 p.m. Aug. 5. Info: ludlowgaragecincinnati.com.