GZA – Pro Tools [Babygrande]

With Wu-Tang Clan’s 1993 debut Enter the Wu-Tang 36 Chambers, the nine MC's revolutionary approach to hip hop has proved that the Wu is the greatest crew of the post-golden age. Yet when the Wu Empire began splintering with solo releases, only two records reached the cleverness, originality and scope of 36 Chambers: Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx and GZA’s Liquid Swords. This is not to say that the RZA, Method Man, O.D.B., and the remaining clan members didn’t release worthwhile albums, but rather that GZA and Raekwon’s debuts proved to be two of the finest hip hop records of the mid-90’s. However, Raekwon’s follow-ups fell short, whereas GZA (though he has yet to release anything quite like Liquid Swords) has kept his intelligent flows vibrant and interesting. Thus with Pro Tools, the ‘Genius’ remains an accurate alias for Wu-Tangs most gifted MC. The album begins with “Pencil”, in which a classic Bobby Digital (RZA) beat provides the background for verses by GZA, RZA and Masta Killa. As with all of GZA’s flows, on Pro Tools he is clear, grounded, clever and mature. His rhymes are refreshing because they are pathways into the mind of a modest but sharp master, rather than the narcissistic bigotry of many mainstream rappers/hip-poppers. On “Paper Thin” GZA criticizes this faux and exaggerated mob-mentality of the mainstream by attacking 50 Cent and in doing so reiterates his assertion: “MC’s are like sperm cells, they’re dangerous”. The Genius’ jabs at 50, such as, “You ain’t nothing but a pig on a blanket, hog head, the deadliest food at the banquet”, will not birth another infamous rap war, because GZA’s attack is so dead-on that he has left 50 Cent without room to retaliate. 50 may have been shot nine times, but not even “Formula 50” can bring his pulse back from GZA’s lethal killa bee bullets. Like the best Wu-Tang solo efforts, Pro Tools enchantment couldn’t be possible without Gemini figures. Again Bobby Digital's production (along with Mathematics) is vital to the success of GZA’s MCing. With “Life Is a Movie,” a brilliant Gary Numan sample carries the track and RZA’s beat is matched by his post-modern apocalyptic flow: “I’ve got scientist killas that will jam your cell phone, send a text message, kill you over a ring tone”. Although the title is weak, with the help of fellow Wu-Tang members and GZA’s striking flow, Pro Tools is another example that the “Wu-Tang Clan ain’t nothing to fuck with”.

Bardos Freedoom