Liquid Swords

Liquid Swords
Cassette, CD& Vinyl LP by GZA
Released	November 20, 1995
Recorded
Genre	Hardcore hip hop
Length	55 min 19 s
Record label	Geffen
Producer	RZA
Professional reviews
Entertainment Weekly	Grade: B+	December 22, 1995, p.70
Option	Positive	March/April, 1996, pp.104-105
NME	9 out of 10	November 11, 1995, p.46
The Wire	Positive	link
Melody Maker	Positive	November 25, 1995, p.36
Q	4 stars out of 5	October 2000
Rolling Stone review	3 stars out of 5	November 30, 1995, pp.66-67
Allmusic.com	5 stars out of 5	link
Rap Pages	8 stars out of 10	January 1996, p.31
Robert Christgau	2 stars out of 4	link
GZA Chronology
Words From the Genius (1990)	Liquid Swords (1995)	Beneath the Surface (1999)

Liquid Swords was a 1995 (see 1995 in music) solo album by Wu-Tang Clan member Genius (GZA). Though the album was credited to Genius alone, there are numerous guest appearances from the entire Wu-Tang Clan. Liquid Swords is widely acknowledged as one of the best Wu-Tang solo albums, on par with classics like Ironman (Ghostface Killah) and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx (Raekwon).

Liquid Swords is characteristic of the Wu-Tang Clan in its distinctive, spare, menacing beats by producer RZA, and its cinematic themes relating to kung fu movies . The album begins with a monologue from a little boy; his monologue, and many of the other skits scattered throughout the album, are from the cult film Shogun Assassin.

Track listing

1. "Liquid Swords" - 4:30
2. "Duel of the Iron Mic" (with Ol' Dirty Bastard) - 4:06
3. "Living in the World Today" (with Inspectah Deck) - 4:23
4. "Gold" (with Inspectah Deck) - 3:57
5. "Cold World" (with Inspectah Deck) - 5:31
6. "Labels" (with Ghostface Killah) - 2:54
7. "4th Chamber" (with Ghostface Killah) - 4:37
8. "Shadowboxin'" (with Method Man) - 3:29
9. "Hell's Wind Staff/Killah Hills 10304" (with Killah Priest, Dreddy Kruger ) - 5:08
10. "Investigative Reports" (with Raekwon) - 3:49
11. "Swordsman" performed by (with Killah Priest) - 3:21
12. "I Gotcha' Back" performed by (with Killah Priest) - 5:01
13. "Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth" (with Killah Priest) - 4:32

Personnel

• Method Man - Performer
• Mark A. Humphrey - Photography
• GZA - Performer
• U-God - Performer
• Killah Priest - Performer
• Dreddy Kruger - Performer

Chart positions

Billboard (North America) - album

1995   The Billboard 200                       No. 9
1995   Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums                  No. 2

Billboard (North America) - singles

1994	I Gotcha Back	Hot Rap Singles	                        No. 29
1994	I Gotcha Back	Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	No. 39
1995	Cold World	The Billboard Hot 100	                No. 97
1995	Liquid Swords	Hot Rap Singles	                        No. 3
1995	Liquid Swords	Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	No. 33
1995	Liquid Swords	Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales      No. 2
1995	Liquid Swords	The Billboard Hot 100	                No. 48
1996	Shadowboxin'	The Billboard Hot 100	                No. 67
1996	Cold World	Hot Rap Singles	                        No. 8
1996	Shadowboxin'	Hot Rap Singles	                        No. 10
1996	Cold World	Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	No. 57
1996	Shadowboxin'	Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	No. 41
1996	Cold World	Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	No. 8
1996	Shadowboxin'	Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	No. 9