"The math of an elder/ Praise the Lord/ Thank you Genius..."
--The
GZA, "Breaker Breaker"
The Genius' recent sanctifying performance at the Roseland
Theater was an enlightening experience for old and new heads
alike. Extra-solid dope-ass sets by Old Dominion and Lifesavas
maintained a spiritually charged tone that prepped the crowd
for the GZA. Overcoming inept sound, the master of the Wu-Tang
Clan rocked the people, bringing the bold predictions of
his song "Crash Your Crew" ("Allah Math spin the beat back/The
crowd looked while the stage shook") to life.
After the show, I dipped downstairs with the man some call
the Older God to discuss the present and future Wu-Tang,
his own career and the state of hip-hop at the dawn of the
21st century. With sly smiles and quick answers, the brother
supplemented a performance that provided a bright light
piercing through hip-hop's current bleakness with words
of wisdom.
WW: Has Wu-Tang Clan started working on an album
for the year 2000?
The Genius: Not officially.
We still have tracks that we do on the regular. The way
songs are done is like, I might happen to go through the
studio, and the RZA or anybody might be in there. It might
be a track on, and I might get on it. Three days later somebody
might come through, touch it, and that's how everything
is added on.
How do you think Beneath the Surface compares
with other '99 hip-hop albums?
It fit in where the last
one (1995's Liquid Swords) fit in. It's still an
unheard album. Don't nobody really hear it but you and me.
It's still on the low, and it will probably always be like
that with me. That's how the Wu stay--underground hip-hop.
As far as other artists that hear it, especially lyricists,
they'll probably love it secretly. It's a strong album,
lyrically sharp, powerful. You gotta listen to it over and
over and over to really catch it. I'm not sayin' it's deep
and requires a lot of research. It requires thinking. I'm
not trying to have you research and go through all types
of books, you know.
What do you think about the current state of hip-hop?
Hip-hop
is all over the planet. As far as the mind-state, the consciousness
of hip-hop like Wu-Tang, that's maybe 5 percent of what's
out there. The other 95 percent really has no consciousness.
It's all about jewelry, gold, ice, cars, whips and material
shit. We don't really get down like that. I wear fly shit,
but I don't endorse it. On the other level, hip-hop is worldwide,
man. I mean, we do shows all over the world where they don't
know the lingo but they know the single. They might not
know the language, but they know the slang and can relate
because niggas is universal. Trust me, hip-hop is the voice
of the young.
Hip-hop's been taken to many different stages, levels and
boundaries--to the point where it is ridiculous at times.
I still love it, though, because I represent the underground.
With his words, actions and rhymes, the GZA teaches heads
the true way: Don't waste talent rhyming about nothing;
do the knowledge and rhyme about something positive. Peace.
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Willamette Week | originally
published September 15,
1999
|
