Beneath the Surface
Encyclopedia
Beneath the Surface is the third solo studio album
by Wu-Tang Clan
member GZA
, an American hip hop music
ian. It was his second album released as a member of the Wu-Tang Clan.
acclaim and commercial success. However, critics pointed to production as the album's main weakness, noting a distinct lack of RZA-produced tracks, resulting in a messy collage of beats rather than a cohesive sound. There were also complaints about the presence of skits and the vast number of guest spots. However, the album did manage to be certified Gold by the RIAA
Alternative Press (10/99, p.92) - 5 out of 5 - "...the first clear indication...of where the most important act of the hip-hop decade want to take their legions of followers....[RZA's] a master of structure and strategy..."
CMJ (7/12/99, p.26) - "...solid fusion of RZA-esque string play and thumping jeep beats provide an equally formidable backdrop for the Genius's ever-heady lyrical chessboxing....Surface is a family affair with impressive guest spots....Behold the first true Wu-Banger of 1999."
Rap Pages (9/99, pp.172-4) - "...an album for thinking individuals....GZA is masterful at wordplay, and the accompanying music makes the listening all the more pleasurable..." - Rating: A
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
The Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group from Staten Island that consists of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group...
member GZA
GZA
Gary Grice , better known by his stage names GZA and The Genius, is an American hip hop artist and founding member of the seminal hip hop group the Wu-Tang Clan. He has also appeared on his fellow clan members' solo projects and has maintained a successful solo career...
, an American hip hop music
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
ian. It was his second album released as a member of the Wu-Tang Clan.
Reception
Reviews were mostly positive, though it failed to live up to Liquid SwordsLiquid Swords
Liquid Swords is the second solo studio album by American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member GZA, released November 7, 1995, on Geffen Records. Recording sessions for the album began mid-way through 1995 at producer RZA's basement studio in Staten Island New York...
acclaim and commercial success. However, critics pointed to production as the album's main weakness, noting a distinct lack of RZA-produced tracks, resulting in a messy collage of beats rather than a cohesive sound. There were also complaints about the presence of skits and the vast number of guest spots. However, the album did manage to be certified Gold by the RIAA
Alternative Press (10/99, p.92) - 5 out of 5 - "...the first clear indication...of where the most important act of the hip-hop decade want to take their legions of followers....[RZA's] a master of structure and strategy..."
CMJ (7/12/99, p.26) - "...solid fusion of RZA-esque string play and thumping jeep beats provide an equally formidable backdrop for the Genius's ever-heady lyrical chessboxing....Surface is a family affair with impressive guest spots....Behold the first true Wu-Banger of 1999."
Rap Pages (9/99, pp.172-4) - "...an album for thinking individuals....GZA is masterful at wordplay, and the accompanying music makes the listening all the more pleasurable..." - Rating: A
Track listing
- "Intro"
- "Amplified Sample"
- Producer: MathematicsMathematics (producer)Mathematics, also known as Allah Mathematics, is a hip hop producer and DJ for the Wu-Tang Clan. As well as producing many tracks for the Wu-Tang Clan and for its solo and affiliate projects, Math has released two solo albums.-Biography:Born and raised in Jamaica, Queens, New York Mathematics was...
- Producer: Mathematics
- "Beneath the Surface"
- First verse: GZAGZAGary Grice , better known by his stage names GZA and The Genius, is an American hip hop artist and founding member of the seminal hip hop group the Wu-Tang Clan. He has also appeared on his fellow clan members' solo projects and has maintained a successful solo career...
- Second verse: Killah PriestKillah PriestWalter Reed, better known as Killah Priest, Iron Sheik from the Middle East, or Masada, is an American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan affiliate who was raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant & Brownsville neighbourhoods in Brooklyn. He is known for intensely spiritual lyrics loaded with metaphors and religious...
- Chorus: Res/Santigold
- Producer: Inspectah DeckInspectah DeckJason Hunter, better known by his stage name Inspectah Deck, is an American rapper, producer, and member of the Wu-Tang Clan...
- Sample: "Back To You" by Jean Plum
- First verse: GZA
- "Skit #1"
- "Skit #2"
- "Crash Your Crew"
- Intro: RZARZARobert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known by his stage name RZA , is an American Grammy-winning music producer, multi-instrumentalist, author, emcee, and occasional actor, director, and screenwriter. A prominent figure in Hip Hop, RZA is the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has produced almost...
- Chorus: Ol' Dirty BastardOl' Dirty BastardRussell Tyrone Jones was an American rapper and occasional producer, who went by the stage name Ol' Dirty Bastard or simply ODB...
- First Verse: GZA
- Producer: John the Baptist
- Sample: "I Choose You" by Willie HutchWillie HutchWillie McKinley Hutchison, known professionally as Willie Hutch was an American singer, songwriter as well as a record producer and recording artist for the Motown record label during the 1970s and 1980s....
- Intro: RZA
- "Breaker, Breaker"
- Producer: Arabian KnightArabian Knight (producer)Sulayman Ansari, better known as Arabian Knight, is a hip hop producer affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan. He has also been credited as Q-Base.- Production credits :- References :...
- Producer: Arabian Knight
- "High Price, Small Reward"
- First verse: GZA
- Second verse: Masta KillaMasta KillaJamel Arief , better known as Masta Killa, is an American rapper and member of the Wu-Tang Clan...
- Producer: Mathematics
- "Hip Hop Fury"
- Chorus: RZA
- First verse: Hell RazahHell RazahHell Razah is an American rapper, best known as a member of Sunz of Man, an early affiliate of the Wu-Tang Clan...
- Second verse: GZA
- Third verse: Timbo King
- Fourth verse: Dreddy Kruger
- Producer: Arabian KnightArabian Knight (producer)Sulayman Ansari, better known as Arabian Knight, is a hip hop producer affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan. He has also been credited as Q-Base.- Production credits :- References :...
- "Skit #3"
- "1112"
- First verse: GZA
- Second verse: Masta Killa
- Third verse: Killah PriestKillah PriestWalter Reed, better known as Killah Priest, Iron Sheik from the Middle East, or Masada, is an American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan affiliate who was raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant & Brownsville neighbourhoods in Brooklyn. He is known for intensely spiritual lyrics loaded with metaphors and religious...
- Fourth verse: Njeri Earth
- Producer: RZA
- "Skit #4"
- "Victim"
- First verse: GZA
- Second verse: Njeri Earth
- Producer: Arabian KnightArabian Knight (producer)Sulayman Ansari, better known as Arabian Knight, is a hip hop producer affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan. He has also been credited as Q-Base.- Production credits :- References :...
- "Publicity"
- Producer: Mathematics
- Sample: I (Who Have Nothing)" by Terry Knight and the PackTerry Knight and the PackTerry Knight and the Pack was, between 1965 and 1967, an American rock band from Flint, Michigan. The band was signed to the Lucky Eleven label throughout its short recording career.-Career:...
- "Feel Like An Enemy"
- First verse & chorus: Hell Razah
- Second verse: Killah PriestKillah PriestWalter Reed, better known as Killah Priest, Iron Sheik from the Middle East, or Masada, is an American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan affiliate who was raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant & Brownsville neighbourhoods in Brooklyn. He is known for intensely spiritual lyrics loaded with metaphors and religious...
- Third verse: Trigga
- Fourth verse: Prodigal SunnProdigal SunnProdigal Sunn is an American rapper, actor and entrepreneur.- Biography :Prodigal Sunn was the only child of indigenous parents and grew up in Brooklyn. During his youth, Prodigal was known as the ‘Sun of Man’ and was later re-christened "Prodigal Sunn" by childhood friend Killah Priest in...
- Producer: Mathematics
- "Stringplay (Like This, Like That)"
- First verse: GZA
- Second verse & chorus: Method ManMethod ManClifford Smith , better known by his stage name Method Man is an American hip hop artist, record producer, actor and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He took his stage name from the 1979 film The Fearless Young Boxer, also known as Method Man. He is one half of the rap duo Method Man...
- Producer: Arabian KnightArabian Knight (producer)Sulayman Ansari, better known as Arabian Knight, is a hip hop producer affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan. He has also been credited as Q-Base.- Production credits :- References :...
- "Mic Trippin"
- Producer: Mathematics
- "Outro"
- First verse: La the DarkmanLa the DarkmanAs a teenager in New York City, the Crown Heights, Brooklyn-bred emcee born Lason Jackson negotiated his first deal just as he was finishing high school...
- Second verse : Timbo King
- Producer: Arabian KnightArabian Knight (producer)Sulayman Ansari, better known as Arabian Knight, is a hip hop producer affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan. He has also been credited as Q-Base.- Production credits :- References :...
- First verse: La the Darkman
Credits
- Arabian KnightArabian Knight (producer)Sulayman Ansari, better known as Arabian Knight, is a hip hop producer affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan. He has also been credited as Q-Base.- Production credits :- References :...
- Producer, Engineer, Executive Producer, Assistant Engineer, Mixing, Mixing Assistant - Dragan "Chach" Cacinovic - Engineer
- Tom Coyne - Mastering
- Joan Davis - Performer
- GZAGZAGary Grice , better known by his stage names GZA and The Genius, is an American hip hop artist and founding member of the seminal hip hop group the Wu-Tang Clan. He has also appeared on his fellow clan members' solo projects and has maintained a successful solo career...
- Producer, Executive Producer - Inspectah Deck - Producer
- John the Baptist - Producer
- Killah PriestKillah PriestWalter Reed, better known as Killah Priest, Iron Sheik from the Middle East, or Masada, is an American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan affiliate who was raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant & Brownsville neighbourhoods in Brooklyn. He is known for intensely spiritual lyrics loaded with metaphors and religious...
- Vocals - La the DarkmanLa the DarkmanAs a teenager in New York City, the Crown Heights, Brooklyn-bred emcee born Lason Jackson negotiated his first deal just as he was finishing high school...
- Vocals - Masta KillaMasta KillaJamel Arief , better known as Masta Killa, is an American rapper and member of the Wu-Tang Clan...
- Vocals - MathematicsMathematics (producer)Mathematics, also known as Allah Mathematics, is a hip hop producer and DJ for the Wu-Tang Clan. As well as producing many tracks for the Wu-Tang Clan and for its solo and affiliate projects, Math has released two solo albums.-Biography:Born and raised in Jamaica, Queens, New York Mathematics was...
- Producer - Method ManMethod ManClifford Smith , better known by his stage name Method Man is an American hip hop artist, record producer, actor and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He took his stage name from the 1979 film The Fearless Young Boxer, also known as Method Man. He is one half of the rap duo Method Man...
- Vocals - Hell Razah - Vocals
- Ol' Dirty BastardOl' Dirty BastardRussell Tyrone Jones was an American rapper and occasional producer, who went by the stage name Ol' Dirty Bastard or simply ODB...
- Performer - RZARZARobert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known by his stage name RZA , is an American Grammy-winning music producer, multi-instrumentalist, author, emcee, and occasional actor, director, and screenwriter. A prominent figure in Hip Hop, RZA is the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has produced almost...
- Vocals, Executive Producer - Trigga - Performer