Earlier this year, the 66th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony took place, and some exciting acts managed to grab some awards, most notably Killer Mike of Run The Jewels for his sixth studio album, Michael.
Last year, the Atlanta emcee (real name Michael Render) put out his critically acclaimed project, which featured various legendary artists rap and sing alongside the lyricist to create magic. From CeeLo Green to André 3000 and JID, the body of work saw figures such as Zane Lowe hail Render for his creativity. However, now the lyricist has come out to praise someone else’s album.
As part of Run The Jewels, Killer Mike joined forces with New York native El-P, and despite his Southern routes, he has always loved artists from the East Coast. That said, it is unsurprising that he is a fan of the iconic Wu-Tang Clan.
Taking to Twitter/X, Render passionately praised the 1995 sophomore album of GZA, Liquid Swords. The body of work is often overlooked, and many purists consider it one of the best hip-hop albums of the 1990s.
Responding to a user who posted the album’s instantly recognisable cartoon artwork with the caption, “How do you feel about this album?” Render replied, “10/10” giving it the perfect score.
Many fans agreed with Killer Mike, with one user commenting, “To me, it’s the best Wu solo project. I love OB4CL [Only Built 4 Cuban Linx], but this is just a touch better.” Another wrote, “From intro till the last song. Classic.”
During the 1990s, all members of the Wu-Tang Clan began releasing solo projects. Method Man dropped Tical, Raekwon put out Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, Ol’ Dirty Bastard presented Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version and Ghostface Killah shook the scene with Ironman. However, Liquid Swords has always stood out to people.
In an interview with Timeout Miami, RZA unveiled that although Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN deserved the coveted Pulitzer Prize, GZA should be recognised for his writing, stating, “When I go back and see some of the lyrics that GZA wrote on Liquid Swords, and Beneath the Surface, some of the writing he did was well-deserving. Take a song like ‘Fame,’ where every verse and every line is somebody’s name. Everything he did to me was at a genius level of writing.”
Liquid Swords is undeniably an outstanding project; from the lyricism and flair GZA shows to the impactful and memorable album cover, the RZA-produced body of work encapsulates the best of 1990s New York hip-hop. Although it only charted at number nine on the Billboard 200, many would say it can stand up to works such as Illmatic.
You can see Killer Mike’s reaction to Liquid Swords below.