1. GZA has appeared on his fellow Wu-Tang members' solo projects, and has maintained a successful solo career starting with his second album Liquid Swords.
17 Facts About GZA
1. 2.
An analysis of GZA's lyrics found that he has one of the largest vocabularies in popular hip hop music.
3.
GZA teamed up with an education group to promote science education in New York City through hip hop.
4.
GZA was born Gary Grice in Brooklyn, New York City, on August 22,1966.
5.
GZA developed an interest in hip-hop by attending block parties as a child in the early 1970s, becoming involved in breakdance, graffiti, and DJing.
6.
GZA formed a three-man group with his cousins, Robert Diggs and Russell Jones, who would later be known as RZA and Ol' Dirty Bastard.
7.
GZA left school in the 10th grade, but nurtured his affection for science as he developed his skills as a lyricist.
8.
GZA released his debut album, Words from the Genius, produced mostly by Easy Mo Bee, but it failed to sell due to lack of promotion.
9.
This, combined with his rocky experience on tour, caused GZA to feel fed up and so he asked if he could be released from the label.
10.
In 1992, GZA joined the Wu-Tang Clan, a group of nine, formed by his cousin RZA.
11.
GZA had some high-profile appearances on the group's debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang, including a solo track, "Clan in da Front".
12.
GZA spent 2004 touring, both solo and with the Clan, and made an appearance with RZA in Jim Jarmusch's film Coffee and Cigarettes, opposite Bill Murray.
13.
Muggs provided all the production for the album, which saw GZA using chess as a metaphor for the rap game, with most of the songs having a chess-themed title.
14.
In late 2015, GZA canceled European tour dates to focus on working on the album with composer Vangelis.
15.
GZA hinted that the albums will be without parental advisory, profanity and nudity.
16.
In February 2015, GZA released a single "The Mexican", featuring guitarist Tom Morello and singer Kara Lane.
17.
In 2020, GZA provided a voice role in Netflix's Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts as Bad Billions, and contributed a song to the series.