Liquid Swords

ウータン・クランの頭脳としてフロント的な立場で活躍するGZAことジーニアス。たまにMaximillion名義の時もあり。また、オル・ダーディ・バスタードとは従兄弟でもある。そんな彼はウータン・ファミリーの中でも古株な存在であり、以前はあのマーリー・マールの「Cold Chillin'」から90年に「Words From the Genius」のアルバムをリリースしているのだ。ファミリーとなってからのこの95年のソロ・アルバムは、メンバーの中でも遅いドロップとなってはしまったが、ボスのRZAをはじめウータンのクリエイター陣にとっては、まさにウータン・ファミリーの頭脳を最高のタイミングでリリースしたい策略からであった。シングルでは“Labels”のネクスト・レベルな大ヒット曲と共に、後に

Rolling Stone (11/30/95, pp.66-67) - 3 Stars - Good - "...It's probably the heaviest Wu-Tang production to date....Genius pulls you into his chamber headfirst....LIQUID SWORDS cuts to the bone, another deadly efficient Wu-banger..." Entertainment Weekly (12/22/95, p.70) - "...an intriguing paradox of wordplay and profanity, juvenilia and wisdom." - Rating: B+ Q (2/96, p.96) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...inventively laid-back sample collage of hip hop that offsets his biting messages...the result is dramatic and hypnotic..." The Wire (10/01, p.46) - "...Genius trades 'romance' for 'crime'...and his icy skills certainly work better with darker scenarios..." Option (3-4/96, pp.104-105) - "...Genius' verbalistics evoke that creepy feeling you get negotiating certain inner-city neighborhoods on pitch black nights..." Melody Maker (12/23-30/95, pp.66-67) - Ranked #42 on Melody Maker's list of 1995's `Albums Of The Year.' Melody Maker (11/25/95, p.36) - "...the keywords...are synthetic and cinematic....the narrator of these ghostly/ghastly horrorcore tales is on the outside looking in, a voyeur...buzzing off the ghetto misery, wondering how to respond....one of the dozen or so best (G-Funk) albums of the year." Rap Pages (1/96, p.31) - 8 (out of 10) - "...LIQUID SWORDS presents the GZA as sword-style rhyme originator, holding court over his young disciples....reverential guest appearances from the rest of the Clan...inject the album with some of its most memorable moments....Wu-Tang continue to challenge and confound all expectations of what their music is about..." Q (Magazine) (p.117) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "GZA's understated tough-guy tales are delivered with laboratory precision and witty street poetry that sounds fresh today." Mojo (Publisher) (p.107) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[This] sees the Wu Tang man and his producer/cousin RZA at their hypnotic, never-bettered best." NME (Magazine) (12/23-30/95, pp.22-23) - Ranked #30 in NME's `Top 50 Albums Of The Year' for 1995. NME (Magazine) (11/11/95, p.46) - 9 (out of 10) - "...The best hip-hop album for years. Fact...The RZA's production...is spooked, creaky, incredibly dense....The tricks he's practised on previous Clan albums...reach their apogee here....Genius' quite brilliant lyrics [have] a complexity, a rush of imagery, a strangely poetic drama of brutality..."