80 min listen
032: Genius/GZA - Liquid Swords (1995)
032: Genius/GZA - Liquid Swords (1995)
ratings:
Length:
136 minutes
Released:
Oct 1, 2019
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
This week on Discord & Rhyme: witty, unpredictable talent and natural game. In the early ‘90s, Bobby Diggs, aka Bobby Digital, aka the RZA, served as de facto leader for a nine-piece Staten Island (or Shaolin) collective that changed the face of hip-hop. The Wu-Tang Clan’s rhymes were clever, aggressive, filled with pop culture references, and came at you from all sides, paired with production from the RZA, who preferred to sample empty space and dissonance over conventional hooks. Between 1994 and 1996, the members of Wu-Tang unleashed a whole volley of classic solo albums, and 1995’s Liquid Swords by the GZA, alias the Genius, might be the greatest of all of them. On this episode Rich leads Mike, Ben, and Phil through RZA’s chaotic sound landscapes and GZA’s murderous rhymes tight with genuine craft, both of which helped him realize that hip-hop is one of the greatest things in the entire world.NOTE: This episode is marked Explicit, which you may or may not be able to see in your podcatcher, due to some strong language and violent imagery (i.e., we said a bunch of swears). Don't say we didn't warn you! Cohosts: Rich Bunnell, Mike DeFabio, Phil Maddox, Ben MarlinComplete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/032-geniusgza-liquid-swords-1995Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod
Released:
Oct 1, 2019
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
001: Earth, Wind, & Fire - All 'N All (1977): For one of the most popular, beloved, and commercially successful bands of the 1970s, Earth, Wind, & Fire have become something of an afterthought by the 2010s. Bandleader Maurice White’s death in February 2016 earned a few loving obituaries, but mostly got lost in the shuffle between Bowie and Prince’s respective passings. More recently, Taylor Swift’s gentrified, tone-deaf cover of their signature hit “September” underscored a sad reality: Earth, Wind, & Fire have passed the Beach Boys “Endless Summer” threshold and become a Greatest Hits band, their songs part of the cultural wallpaper. For the inaugural episode of Discord & Rhyme, host Rich Bunnell uses EWF’s 1977 release All ‘n All to illustrate that EWF were far more than a playlist’s worth of hit singles. All ‘n All is the arguable peak of an incredible run of late-’70s albums, several of which deserve to be viewed as part of the canon alongside Revolver, Songs in the Key of Life, a by Discord and Rhyme: An Album Podcast