Grandmasters

There’s something about GZA’s style that makes him feel like more of a six-moves-ahead tactician than a freestyle-ready improviser or a haymaker-ready hook-thrower. It’s an approach that might alienate segments of a broader mainstream rap audience, but has had an invaluable impact on successive MCs from Ka to Boldy James who find strength in deep-focus delivery. Cypress Hill’s DJ Muggs has always worked well with the more atmospheric of the East Coast MCs, and even if the jump-cut loops and vocal soul samples he brings to the table can nod blatantly to RZA, they also play perfectly to GZA’s strengths as a cool-headed lyricist with beneath-the-surface intensity — an ideal next step if Liquid Swords left you craving more.