加里·格莱斯

Gary Eldridge Grice (born August 22, 1966), better known by his stage names GZA ( JIZ-ə) and the Genius, is an American rapper. A founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, GZA is the group's "spiritual head", being both the first member in the group to receive a record deal and being the oldest member. He has appeared on his fellow Wu-Tang members' solo projects, and has maintained a successful solo career starting with his second album Liquid Swords (1995).

His lyrical style often eschews typical hip-hop themes in favor of science and philosophy. An analysis of GZA's lyrics found that he has one of the largest vocabularies in popular hip-hop music, despite dropping out of high school during the 10th grade. He teamed up with an education group to promote science education in New York City through hip-hop. His style has been characterized as "armed with sharp metaphors and a smooth flow".

Early life

GZA was born Gary Grice in Brooklyn, New York, on August 22, 1966. He developed an interest in hip-hop by attending block parties as a child in the early 1970s, becoming involved in breakdance, graffiti, and DJing. Early on he developed an interest in writing, studying Mother Goose and nursery rhyme. In 1974–1976, before moving from Brooklyn to Staten Island, he listened to The Last Poets; however, he was attracted by profanity rather than content, and didn't understand the underlying messages until many years later. The Last Poets, as well as songs by The Isley Brothers, the Commodores, and the O'Jays were a big part of his life growing up, especially regarding the tone and cadence of speech. Later, he began to listen to hip-hop and R&B, example being Secret Weapon and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. In 1982, Grice dropped out of high school in the tenth grade.

He formed a three-man group with his cousins, Robert Diggs and Russell Jones, who later was known as RZA and Ol' Dirty Bastard. At the time he didn't like the sound of his voice. In the group, FOI: Force of the Imperial Master, and later All in Together, the trio rapped and DJed, switching names and performing local shows. They lived in different boroughs; GZA and Ol' Dirty traveled from Brooklyn to Staten Island to meet with their cousin RZA. Then they went to places in New York City challenging other MCs to battles. GZA left school in the 10th grade, but enjoyed studying science as he developed his skills as a lyricist.

After several years, GZA was signed to Cold Chillin' Records as a solo artist under the name The Genius. He released his debut album, Words from the Genius (1991), produced mostly by Easy Mo Bee, but it failed to sell due to lack of promotion. That combined with his rocky experience on tour, caused GZA to be fed up and he asked to be released from the label. The album's beats are similar to the classic boom-bap sound of the early 1990s, while the lyricism subject is the everyday situations of an individual living in the parts of New York. At the time he worked as a bicycle messenger.

Wu-Tang Clan

In 1992, GZA joined the Wu-Tang Clan, a group of nine, formed by his cousin RZA. GZA had some high-profile appearances on the group's debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993), including a solo track, "Clan in da Front". Combined with appearances on other Clan members' albums including Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version (1995) and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (1995) that brought him much recognition. According to Method Man, "we form like Voltron and GZA happens to be the head".

Solo career

1995–1999: Liquid Swords, Beneath the Surface

The guest appearances were followed in 1995 by GZA's second studio album, Liquid Swords, produced and recorded entirely in the basement studio by RZA, with the participation of all original Clan members. It was released on November 7 by Geffen Records. The album's complex composition included dialogue sampled from the film Shogun Assassin. The album was met with positive reviews and sold well. It is considered to be one of the best albums from the Wu-Tang camp. It peaked at the No. 9 spot on the Billboard 200 chart and No. 2 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. On October 8, 2015, the Recording Industry Association of America announced that the album had earned a Platinum certification for having sold more than 1 million copies. It became the first Wu-Tang-related album to get certified since 2004, when Method Man and Ghostface Killah both earned plaques. In addition, he directed music videos for four album singles.

After appearing on the Wu-Tang Clan's second album, Wu-Tang Forever (1997), his third studio album Beneath the Surface was released by MCA Records in 1999. The album and its singles "Crash Your Crew" and "Breaker, Breaker" met with critical acclaim. The album earned a Gold certification by RIAA, peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 chart, and topped the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart.