Review: Pro Tools - GZA

Orizio

Here is yet another one of my boring and grammatically ****e Hip-Hop reviews.

Post-Liquid Swords, GZA’s output has been a potrait of disapointment. Maybe it was inevitable - and its a problem with the majority of the Clan individual releases - that the RZA produced sophomore was always going to surpass and tower above all else, and Liquid Swords was arguably RZA’s finest work. Along with Illmatic and The Infamous, Liquid Swords showed everything that was unique and special about mid-90’s Ny Hip-Hop. Over dark and unrelenting beats, MC’s like GZA and Nas were true wordsmiths telling intelligent but uncomprimising stories of streetlife, rarely gloating and judging but simply telling a tragic tale expertly. Indeed, GZA’s brilliance, like Nas, goes back further, and what many forget is that GZA was the star of the Wu’s debut Enter The 36 Chambers, his verse on Clan In Da Front instantly memorable, packed with wit and humour. His lyrics on Liquid Swords are just as playful, but the ability to put a smile on the listener’s face was gone, and rarely to be found again in the rest of his catalogue. Like Raekwon, Meth etc, the GZA’s subsequent releases were disapointing if decent albums, with his DJ Muggs collab being the pick of the bunch because the beats were the strongest, and most original, that GZA rhymed over post-Liquid Swords. As a pure technician, the GZA, like many other exceptional lyricists, rarely puts himself out of his comfort zone, choosing to fine tune his lyrics with every release rather then changing, for example, his monotonous vocal delivery or switch up his flow. And without the genius of RZA in his prime, GZA’s lack of variety and daring makes his fault all the more obvious - the fact that, all too often, his music is just boring - and unfortunately his newest release Pro-Tool does little to allieviate the stagnancy.

The main problem with Pro-Tools is that its all too predictable. You know what the MC’ing is going to sound like - impeccably crafted lyrics with concepts and stories in the mix, complemented or let down(which ever way you want to look at it) by GZA’s consistent flow and rather monotonous voice. And so it is with Pro-Tools, where GZA’s lyrical dexterity and skills are well on display - ‘Path Of Destruction’ tells that tale of the corner kid form a broken neighbourhood, the hook on ‘Alphabets’ cleverly goes ‘Allah be a Born, C Divine, Equality Father …’, ‘Paper Plate’ is that **** you track to 50 and G-Unit using 50’s title tracks to insult him and so on. Basically, if you are the kind of Hip-Hop fan who likes to comb lyrics for cleverness and detail, then Pro-Tools will keep you happy for weeks. GZA is an expert lyricist preciesly because there doesn’t seem to be a word or lyric wasted, because every track has something clever to it, has a story to tell or a concept to entertain with. This is writing at its most economical and precise, and gives a lesson to all those half assed lyricists out there saying nothing and doing it in a lazy way.

However, there is also something vaguely unsatisfying about GZA’s performance, and its not just in the fact that his voice is rather dull and his flow largely one pace. Can we really say that there has been progression lyrically since Liquid Swords? Haven’t we heard similar tales of urban destitution before, of drug dealers, the hopelessness and the corrupted kids? GZA plays the part of the nuetral third person perfectly, telling the tales with impeccable objectivity, but this is both his greatest stregnth and greatest weakness, as there is a lack of emotion and humour thoughout (although his piss taking of 50/G-unit put a smile on this reviewer’s face). What is lacking is the ability to open up to the listener, and convey something personal. There seems to be an inability, or a fear, to connect with the listener on an genuine emotion level, and it means his music is too often to easy to respect and too hard to love.

Cont...

Link.

What did everybody think of the album?

Boom_Bap

I'd probably give it a 5/10. There where only one or 2 tracks that jumped out at me in a positive way, the first one with the RZA is great, it's unfortunate that it's the RZA that dominates this song and not GZA, it being his album and album intro track.
Dont know the name of the other one, its where he is whispering the lyrics when describing a scene, it's like he was hidden in a closet when recording his lyrics.

As a whole, i think the album is too clean, the beats are not as dark or as gritty which i think suits the Gza the best, and as you mentioned, his voice is a bit boring after over the course of the record. But lyrically he is on point, he gets into some deep, complex verbals.

But, i'm gonna give it a few more spins, it may have the potentional to be a 'grower'

Orizio

I have a feeling that was one of Arabian Knight's beats, anyway that was his son whispering on the hook to quite nice effect.

A_SN

WTF, he named his album after a music production software?? Didn't listen to it by the way, I don't have a single rap song in my music collection from after 2003, anything released during the last decade is usually a waste of time, there's much more to be explored in the 60s and 70s funk and 90s Oakland rap . These things are grossly underrated, seriously, mostly Oakland rap.