Throughout hip hop history, one can come across certain acts that produce a work so strong it forever attaches them to it. So much so that it becomes a standard that all future works of said act are held to, many times to the detriment of said works' actual legacy. However while Raekwon experienced this with the Purple Tape simply because he's too stubborn to revisit the reasons why it soared above the rest of his discography, some of Nas' albums, namely It Was Written and (to a lesser extent) Life Is Good, remain unfairly shitted on by many of his fans simply because they love Illmatic too damn much. Now granted, this practice might not mean a big deal when talking about Nas, because lord knows he has released his fair share of stinker albums, but when we're talking about an artist like Gary Grice bka the Genius aka Wu-Tang Clan co-founder the GZA, whom I've previously stated to have never dropped a bad album, this shit starts to become insulting.
Because, let there be no mistake about it, GZA's sophomore album Liquid Swords is one of the most acclaimed albums in musical history. In my book, it stands as the absolute pinnacle of his entire Clan's solo output. As such, you seriously might endanger your life in some circles if you talk shit about this album. Good thing this internet anonymity comes in handy during these blasphemy urges you get from time to time, eh? The simple fact of the matter remains, though, that the vast majority of his fans haven't checked for anything else from him because they're too fucking butthurt that he didn't make Liquid Swords again.
Which brings me to my subject for this post. See, I too was once a firm believer in the saying: 'If it ain't Liquid Swords, it ain't worth my time.' But as time went, I naturally started getting bored of the status quo I childishly imposed upon myself. So, I went searching for more quality in Mr. Grice' catalog. I'd get surprised almost every time I chose to explore an album of his, because the man's lyrical sword has remained satisfyingly sharp, with no signs of dulling anytime soon. He may've lost some flow points in recent years, but by God his bars are still addictive.
Interesting thing is, my journey into GZA's remaining war chest did not start with this album, but with Grandmasters, since it's yet another collaboration of his with another producer who's worthy of his rhymes not named RZA: DJ Muggs from Cypress Hill, following the electric chemistry they've exhibited together on songs like Muggs' Third World. I'll leave talking about Grandmasters for another time, but the key factor here is that I was driven away from this particular album simply because of all the bile it gathered from critics and fans, similar to what happened with Method Man's Tical 2000. Hell, said attention to album reviews drove me further away from GZA's actual debut, Words From The Genius, an album many hip hop heads who claim to love his work have not even heard to this day. You can gather what I'm trying to point out here.
With that we arrive at Beneath The Surface, the only album in GZA's discography aside from his sophomore to sell more than five hundred thousand copies Stateside alone. Granted, most of those were looking for another Liquid Swords, but still. Since Gary had total creative control of this project now that the acclaimed 5-year plan ended, it says a lot that he mostly split the album's production duties between Ronald Bean aka Wu-Element DJ Mathematics and new recruit Suleyman Ansari bka Arabian Knight, with a few obligatory additions. If you're anything like yours truly, then the curiosity has tormented you enough to disregard all the negative feedback this album accumulated throughout the years and keep searching for an unbiased, objective & detailed retrospective regarding this album.
Well, too bad you came here then. Read on.
INTRO
Since it's widely reported that The Power 105.1 Breakfast Club's Angela Yee wrote all the skits to this album, I'd like to issue an extended middle finger to her ass for this pretentious bullshit. The beat by Arabian Knight shows promise, though. If only someone would rhyme on it, it could be something.
AMPLIFIED SAMPLE
DJ Mathematics debuts his first beat on Beneath The Surface, and you can hear the myriad of samples meshing together to create a banger worthy of GZA's first performance on this album. GZA makes the controversial choice to spit a verse, then repeat it immediately afterwards. Now, I'm very half-n-half with the practice of repeating verses on the same song: One one hand I find it a very lazy practice when the verse in question is just some random piffle. One the other though, I love it when the verse is dope as shit, a la Large Professor's Mad Scientist. Since we are talking about Gary Grice after all, I'm of the second opinion with this particular song. Nice start!
BENEATH THE SURFACE (FEATURING KILLAH PRIEST & RES)
Inspectah Deck, the forgotten Wu-Element, submits a beat that cements his status as one worthy of such a branding. He chops up a 7-second Jean Plum loop and manipulates it in a legitimate full-blown instrumental that was dying for the Rebel to destroy. So of course, he gives it to GZA to use as his second single, even though no video treatment came its way at all. Now while I love the lyrics Gary and Sunz Of Man co-founder Killah Priest laid on this beat, I still think Deck could've made better use of it. So much so that I mashed this beat to an acapella of his Show N Prove single and did whatever I could to remove that song's chorus.(100% true story,) The end result is still the absolute worst hip hop-related mashup you'll ever hear in life, given the embarrassing fact that I miserably failed at removing all traces of said hook. Don't believe it's that bad? Check for yourself. You have been warned. Back to this song, though: I've came across a statement that Res' hook here was sampled, but I can't find any significant proof to back up said claim for the life of me. Song's still the shit, by the way.
SKIT #1
Fuck you, Angela Yee.
SKIT #2
While the sentiment is appreciated, this most certainly does not fit the context of the album whatsoever. So again: Fuck you, Angela Yee.
CRASH YOUR CREW (FEATURING OL' DIRTY BASTARD)
Even though Gary shouts out DJ Math on the lyrics, it's actually fresh Wu-Elememt recruit John The Baptist who handled production here. The beat is jarring at first, given the off-kilter Willie Hutch sample. The choir sample that comes in after GZA's finished rhyming yet another lyrical challenge of a verse is the reason this song eventually grew on me, because now I just can't disassociate it with the rest of the instrumental. Oh, and Cousin ODB's hook really makes you miss the man: Russell Jones was an entertainer like no other, without a doubt. Very nonplussing is the fact that this song got the video treatment despite it not being a single. Furthermore, the video version featured an added verse by Sunz Of Man member Hell Razah, a verse that neither adds nor detracts from the song: It's just there, which is to be expected from my least favorite member of said collective. Also, the album version credits RZA on the song when he only provides a minuscule opening ad-lib. That shit pisses me off. Other than that, this was pretty OK.
BREAKER, BREAKER
The project's lead single, and a good representation of what this album was supposed to be at that. Arabian Knight made this beat from scratch and I must say I'm a fan of the result: Dude comes across as a real musician. Probably why RZA added him into the Wu-Element ranks in the first place, duh. Anyways, GZA continues his mission to school prospect MCs in this artform, as he litters his two verses with quotes from the Art of Worldly Wisdom by Balthasar Gracian and still finds a way to flip them in a way that keeps him relevant to said quotes. Truly an awesome song.
HIGH PRICE, SMALL REWIND (FEATURING MASTA KILLA)
DJ Math is back and this time, he keeps his piano-laden instrumental, complete with hard-hitting drums, short and sweet. Read: This shit will knock you the fuck out. The bass slowly coming into the beat is what does it for me every time. Oh and I absolutely love how Masta Killa completely steals GZA's thunder here. No, he really blacks the fuck out on the beat, ripping it apart worse than a hungry carnivore, then pissing on its carcass. GZA's verse was still battleworthy, though. Pity this shit is only slightly less than two minutes long.
HIP HOP FURY (FEATURING HELL RAZAH, TIMBO KING, DREDDY KRUGER & RZA)
Another tag-in by Arabian Knight who provides a dope key-plodding instrumental for GZA and friends to lay to waste. And I must say: Props to everyone for pulling a decent performance outta Hell Razah, who sets shit off nicely, although he bigs up RZA's putrid-ass hook. GZA's up next and he predictably steals the show from his guests with some more addictive lyrical challenges. Royal Fam's two leaders Timbo King and Dreddy Kruger (yay!) step up next and, it must be noted, Timbo's verse was hella disappointing. If y'all Wu stans know your shit, then the Soul In The Hole OST title track should be burnt into your memory. There Timbo lyrically bested a very in-top-form Killa Sin from Killarmy. That alone should let you know what Timbo's capable of. Dreddy sounds a bit winded compared to his awesome showing on Graveyard Chamber by the Gravediggaz, but his battle rhymes still click. Overall, this was an awesome song, even though RZA and Timbo could've done a lot better.
SKIT #3
FUCK YOU, ANGELA YEE!!!
1112 (FEATURING MASTA KILLA, KILLAH PRIEST & NJERI EARTH)
The lone production by Cousin RZA, who gives a slept-on digital beat from his repertoire. The beat here is supposed to get the fuck outta the way as GZA and his three guests compete in an imagery stand-off. And despite it being painstakingly close (as all four turned in timeless performances) I'm delighted to say that Masta Killa edged everyone else out by a quark. (Thanks for that, Snizzy) Why MK? Because dude straight up refused to use the word 'like' in his descriptions. Consistently coming up with verses that are that dense takes a very notable amount of skill and, best believe, MK got that in droves. This was awesome.
SKIT #4
OK, props Angie. This was very heartfelt. However, it still doesn't fit into the album.
VICTIM (FEATURING NJERI EARTH & JOAN DAVIS)
Arabian Knight gives you a dramatic musical composition intended to capitalize on the seriousness of the previous skit and to that end, it does alright. Guest crooner Joan Davis goes against the status quo of Wu crooners and actually delivers an on-key performance that helps guide the track in the intended direction, even if what she's actually saying doesn't really come across as genuine enough. However, all is forgiven when you hear the somber lyrical duet of GZA and Njeri Earth. Both MCs give you one hell of a thesis each, as GZA is prone to do from time to time, on ghetto pitfalls. (I understand if someone reading this blog consistently is bored of this particular topic by now, but come on: You should be examining whatever caused a million of these human beings to continuously find new relevant ways to talk about this subject.) Each verse complimented its writer's attributes very well and, in Njeri's case, continued alongside her earlier showing on this album in establishing her as a lyrical force to be reckoned with. Because we can't have nice things though, homegirl decided to translate this momentum of critical praise into a lengthy hiatus from the game, only to return at a time when most of her fans forgot about her very existence. Well, aside from her on-screen appearance in a cypher on the Eminem vehicle 8 Mile. Yep, she's the head-garmented one in the parking lot. (Although that too didn't really translate into anything, either. Groan.) All in all, a must hear.
PUBLICITY
Because, let there be no mistake about it, GZA's sophomore album Liquid Swords is one of the most acclaimed albums in musical history. In my book, it stands as the absolute pinnacle of his entire Clan's solo output. As such, you seriously might endanger your life in some circles if you talk shit about this album. Good thing this internet anonymity comes in handy during these blasphemy urges you get from time to time, eh? The simple fact of the matter remains, though, that the vast majority of his fans haven't checked for anything else from him because they're too fucking butthurt that he didn't make Liquid Swords again.
Which brings me to my subject for this post. See, I too was once a firm believer in the saying: 'If it ain't Liquid Swords, it ain't worth my time.' But as time went, I naturally started getting bored of the status quo I childishly imposed upon myself. So, I went searching for more quality in Mr. Grice' catalog. I'd get surprised almost every time I chose to explore an album of his, because the man's lyrical sword has remained satisfyingly sharp, with no signs of dulling anytime soon. He may've lost some flow points in recent years, but by God his bars are still addictive.
Interesting thing is, my journey into GZA's remaining war chest did not start with this album, but with Grandmasters, since it's yet another collaboration of his with another producer who's worthy of his rhymes not named RZA: DJ Muggs from Cypress Hill, following the electric chemistry they've exhibited together on songs like Muggs' Third World. I'll leave talking about Grandmasters for another time, but the key factor here is that I was driven away from this particular album simply because of all the bile it gathered from critics and fans, similar to what happened with Method Man's Tical 2000. Hell, said attention to album reviews drove me further away from GZA's actual debut, Words From The Genius, an album many hip hop heads who claim to love his work have not even heard to this day. You can gather what I'm trying to point out here.
With that we arrive at Beneath The Surface, the only album in GZA's discography aside from his sophomore to sell more than five hundred thousand copies Stateside alone. Granted, most of those were looking for another Liquid Swords, but still. Since Gary had total creative control of this project now that the acclaimed 5-year plan ended, it says a lot that he mostly split the album's production duties between Ronald Bean aka Wu-Element DJ Mathematics and new recruit Suleyman Ansari bka Arabian Knight, with a few obligatory additions. If you're anything like yours truly, then the curiosity has tormented you enough to disregard all the negative feedback this album accumulated throughout the years and keep searching for an unbiased, objective & detailed retrospective regarding this album.
Well, too bad you came here then. Read on.
INTRO
Since it's widely reported that The Power 105.1 Breakfast Club's Angela Yee wrote all the skits to this album, I'd like to issue an extended middle finger to her ass for this pretentious bullshit. The beat by Arabian Knight shows promise, though. If only someone would rhyme on it, it could be something.
AMPLIFIED SAMPLE
DJ Mathematics debuts his first beat on Beneath The Surface, and you can hear the myriad of samples meshing together to create a banger worthy of GZA's first performance on this album. GZA makes the controversial choice to spit a verse, then repeat it immediately afterwards. Now, I'm very half-n-half with the practice of repeating verses on the same song: One one hand I find it a very lazy practice when the verse in question is just some random piffle. One the other though, I love it when the verse is dope as shit, a la Large Professor's Mad Scientist. Since we are talking about Gary Grice after all, I'm of the second opinion with this particular song. Nice start!
BENEATH THE SURFACE (FEATURING KILLAH PRIEST & RES)
Inspectah Deck, the forgotten Wu-Element, submits a beat that cements his status as one worthy of such a branding. He chops up a 7-second Jean Plum loop and manipulates it in a legitimate full-blown instrumental that was dying for the Rebel to destroy. So of course, he gives it to GZA to use as his second single, even though no video treatment came its way at all. Now while I love the lyrics Gary and Sunz Of Man co-founder Killah Priest laid on this beat, I still think Deck could've made better use of it. So much so that I mashed this beat to an acapella of his Show N Prove single and did whatever I could to remove that song's chorus.(100% true story,) The end result is still the absolute worst hip hop-related mashup you'll ever hear in life, given the embarrassing fact that I miserably failed at removing all traces of said hook. Don't believe it's that bad? Check for yourself. You have been warned. Back to this song, though: I've came across a statement that Res' hook here was sampled, but I can't find any significant proof to back up said claim for the life of me. Song's still the shit, by the way.
SKIT #1
Fuck you, Angela Yee.
SKIT #2
While the sentiment is appreciated, this most certainly does not fit the context of the album whatsoever. So again: Fuck you, Angela Yee.
CRASH YOUR CREW (FEATURING OL' DIRTY BASTARD)
Even though Gary shouts out DJ Math on the lyrics, it's actually fresh Wu-Elememt recruit John The Baptist who handled production here. The beat is jarring at first, given the off-kilter Willie Hutch sample. The choir sample that comes in after GZA's finished rhyming yet another lyrical challenge of a verse is the reason this song eventually grew on me, because now I just can't disassociate it with the rest of the instrumental. Oh, and Cousin ODB's hook really makes you miss the man: Russell Jones was an entertainer like no other, without a doubt. Very nonplussing is the fact that this song got the video treatment despite it not being a single. Furthermore, the video version featured an added verse by Sunz Of Man member Hell Razah, a verse that neither adds nor detracts from the song: It's just there, which is to be expected from my least favorite member of said collective. Also, the album version credits RZA on the song when he only provides a minuscule opening ad-lib. That shit pisses me off. Other than that, this was pretty OK.
BREAKER, BREAKER
The project's lead single, and a good representation of what this album was supposed to be at that. Arabian Knight made this beat from scratch and I must say I'm a fan of the result: Dude comes across as a real musician. Probably why RZA added him into the Wu-Element ranks in the first place, duh. Anyways, GZA continues his mission to school prospect MCs in this artform, as he litters his two verses with quotes from the Art of Worldly Wisdom by Balthasar Gracian and still finds a way to flip them in a way that keeps him relevant to said quotes. Truly an awesome song.
HIGH PRICE, SMALL REWIND (FEATURING MASTA KILLA)
DJ Math is back and this time, he keeps his piano-laden instrumental, complete with hard-hitting drums, short and sweet. Read: This shit will knock you the fuck out. The bass slowly coming into the beat is what does it for me every time. Oh and I absolutely love how Masta Killa completely steals GZA's thunder here. No, he really blacks the fuck out on the beat, ripping it apart worse than a hungry carnivore, then pissing on its carcass. GZA's verse was still battleworthy, though. Pity this shit is only slightly less than two minutes long.
HIP HOP FURY (FEATURING HELL RAZAH, TIMBO KING, DREDDY KRUGER & RZA)
Another tag-in by Arabian Knight who provides a dope key-plodding instrumental for GZA and friends to lay to waste. And I must say: Props to everyone for pulling a decent performance outta Hell Razah, who sets shit off nicely, although he bigs up RZA's putrid-ass hook. GZA's up next and he predictably steals the show from his guests with some more addictive lyrical challenges. Royal Fam's two leaders Timbo King and Dreddy Kruger (yay!) step up next and, it must be noted, Timbo's verse was hella disappointing. If y'all Wu stans know your shit, then the Soul In The Hole OST title track should be burnt into your memory. There Timbo lyrically bested a very in-top-form Killa Sin from Killarmy. That alone should let you know what Timbo's capable of. Dreddy sounds a bit winded compared to his awesome showing on Graveyard Chamber by the Gravediggaz, but his battle rhymes still click. Overall, this was an awesome song, even though RZA and Timbo could've done a lot better.
SKIT #3
FUCK YOU, ANGELA YEE!!!
1112 (FEATURING MASTA KILLA, KILLAH PRIEST & NJERI EARTH)
The lone production by Cousin RZA, who gives a slept-on digital beat from his repertoire. The beat here is supposed to get the fuck outta the way as GZA and his three guests compete in an imagery stand-off. And despite it being painstakingly close (as all four turned in timeless performances) I'm delighted to say that Masta Killa edged everyone else out by a quark. (Thanks for that, Snizzy) Why MK? Because dude straight up refused to use the word 'like' in his descriptions. Consistently coming up with verses that are that dense takes a very notable amount of skill and, best believe, MK got that in droves. This was awesome.
SKIT #4
OK, props Angie. This was very heartfelt. However, it still doesn't fit into the album.
VICTIM (FEATURING NJERI EARTH & JOAN DAVIS)
Arabian Knight gives you a dramatic musical composition intended to capitalize on the seriousness of the previous skit and to that end, it does alright. Guest crooner Joan Davis goes against the status quo of Wu crooners and actually delivers an on-key performance that helps guide the track in the intended direction, even if what she's actually saying doesn't really come across as genuine enough. However, all is forgiven when you hear the somber lyrical duet of GZA and Njeri Earth. Both MCs give you one hell of a thesis each, as GZA is prone to do from time to time, on ghetto pitfalls. (I understand if someone reading this blog consistently is bored of this particular topic by now, but come on: You should be examining whatever caused a million of these human beings to continuously find new relevant ways to talk about this subject.) Each verse complimented its writer's attributes very well and, in Njeri's case, continued alongside her earlier showing on this album in establishing her as a lyrical force to be reckoned with. Because we can't have nice things though, homegirl decided to translate this momentum of critical praise into a lengthy hiatus from the game, only to return at a time when most of her fans forgot about her very existence. Well, aside from her on-screen appearance in a cypher on the Eminem vehicle 8 Mile. Yep, she's the head-garmented one in the parking lot. (Although that too didn't really translate into anything, either. Groan.) All in all, a must hear.
PUBLICITY
DJ Math is back to prove that he is not to be overshadowed on this album through chopping up a Terry Knight loop and focusing on the violins in a confrontational manner, thereby allowing Gary to unleash another one of his metaphorical displays similar to what he did on Labels. Only this time, his aim is locked on mainstream media magazines. I choose to believe he's dissing them all for the role they collectively played in perpetuating the East Coast/West Coast conflict of the mid-90s. If that's not really the case, I like disses aimed at those culture vultures, anyway. I'm sorry, but ain't no way I'm respecting the dumbing down of an entire artistic movement. It's just not happening here. More power to you, Gary.
FEEL LIKE AN ENEMY (SUNZ OF MAN FEATURING TRIGGA)
Sunz Of Man's presence on this album has been fairly notable, so far. So it's only right that the Wu traditional obligatory handaway track where our host cedes his spotlight to an act of his choosing goes to the foursome. Only one caveat though: 62nd Assassin is nowhere to be found on the entire album. So the remaining trio make do with guest Trigga. (Truly original, that moniker.) The team wreck shop over a dope-ass DJ Math beat in a satisfying manner. Yes, even Hell Razah. I know, right?! Shoutout to GZA for actually helping them out on the hook.
STRINGPLAY (LIKE THIS, LIKE THAT) (FEATURING METHOD MAN)
Arabian Knight works with GZA for the final time for this album, and it's a duet with Method Man. The anal fucktards bashing this album without properly listening to it claim that this song is the sequel to their first team up Shadowboxin' when in fact, the real sequel was As High As Wu-Tang Get off what I consider to be the Clan's best material ever. And as such, I feel that this song is pretty tight for what it is: A simple exercise in punchlines. Even Arabian Knight's beat is simple and minimalistic fun. GZA and Mef reflect this playfulness effectively, and while their previous two collaborations are light years ahead of this, this ain't bad at all. Moving on.
MIC TRIPPIN
GZA bows out with the final Mathematics beat of the album, a magnificent classical music display. This is where GZA drops all pretenses aside: Dude just straight raps for two glorious verses. And you know what? I'm perfectly fine with his final showing on this album being a trademark MCing lesson. This was nice!
OUTRO (LA THE DARKMAN & TIMBO KING)
Aha! So Arabian Knight's beat from the intro chooses to close out the album, huh? I wonder what pretentious horse dung Angela Yee cooked up for us here?! Pardon? This isn't a skit? La The Darkman is on this?! And he's teaming up with Timbo King?! Sign me the fuck up! This time, even though the whole song is barely a minute and a half, you can properly listen to what made this Timbo cat so dope on that Soul In The Hole OST title track. Translation: He and La tear shit up. End album.
FINAL THOUGHTS
FINAL THOUGHTS
Listen boy/girl (pick one): The Mic Trippin song actually offers the best illustration of this album as a whole. See, everyone's problem with Beneath The Surface (aside from, we get it, 'it's not Liquid Swords') is that it wasn't some sort of statement, when in actuality it never should've been. This album, even with Angela Yee’s abhorrent skits, is simply GZA letting loose: Every single song houses a beat dope in and of itself, yet savvy enough to not get in the way of what GZA's been all about all along: Lyricism lessons. And as expected, son delivers. In droves. The guests, especially Masta Killa and Njeri Earth, step up their game accordingly. As I said, the beats, guided by DJ Mathematics and Arabian Knight, are very effective. This is the Wu-Elements we're talking about here, after all. All in all, this album further proves my argument that GZA never dropped a subpar album. Pull ya bottom lip over ya head and swallow. (Thanks, Mef!)
WORTH IT? Don't let the bad talk fool you like it fooled me: Everybody badmouthing Beneath The Surface doesn't know what the bloody hell they're havering about.
TRACKS TO TRACK DOWN:
BREAKER, BREAKER (REMIX)
This remix definitely should've made the proper release, as it houses the immortal Duel of the Iron Mic trio: GZA, MK & Deck. Literally, every time these three got together on a song till this very day has been amazing, and this hidden gem is most certainly no exception. By the way, the hook is the lone tie to the original. Literally everything else is vastly different, which is a great thing in this case. In fact, this beat has nothing to do with the original, instead being a direct tribute to the classic Warm It Up, Kane, a fact furthered by GZA's opening verse, a tribute to said song in and of itself. Let it not be confused, though: All three MCs disintegrate their respective contributions, no survivors. Nuff said.
WORTH IT? Don't let the bad talk fool you like it fooled me: Everybody badmouthing Beneath The Surface doesn't know what the bloody hell they're havering about.
TRACKS TO TRACK DOWN:
BREAKER, BREAKER (REMIX)
This remix definitely should've made the proper release, as it houses the immortal Duel of the Iron Mic trio: GZA, MK & Deck. Literally, every time these three got together on a song till this very day has been amazing, and this hidden gem is most certainly no exception. By the way, the hook is the lone tie to the original. Literally everything else is vastly different, which is a great thing in this case. In fact, this beat has nothing to do with the original, instead being a direct tribute to the classic Warm It Up, Kane, a fact furthered by GZA's opening verse, a tribute to said song in and of itself. Let it not be confused, though: All three MCs disintegrate their respective contributions, no survivors. Nuff said.
Need some more Gary Grice? Happy to oblige.
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