- published: 02 Jan 2015
- views: 100004
Gary Grice (born August 22, 1966), better known by his stage names GZA (pronounced /ˈdʒɪzə/ JIZ-ə) and The Genius, is an American hip hop artist and founding member of the seminal hip hop group the Wu-Tang Clan. Within the clan, he is known as the "spiritual head," being both the oldest and the first within the group to receive a record deal.
GZA has appeared on his fellow clan members' solo projects and since the release of his critically acclaimed solo album, Liquid Swords (1995), he has maintained a successful solo career. Steve Huey of Allmusic has called him "one of the best lyricists of the 1990s," while the editors of About.com ranked him #17 on their list of the Top 50 MCs of Our Time (1987–2007), making him the highest-ranking Wu-Tang Clan member on the list (ahead of Method Man, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon).
Gary Grice developed an interest in hip-hop by attending block parties as a child in the early '70s. He formed a three-man group with his cousins, who would later be known as RZA and Ol' Dirty Bastard. The group, All in Together Now, saw the three rapping and DJing, switching off names and performing local shows; since they lived in different boroughs, GZA and Ol' Dirty would travel from Brooklyn out to Staten Island to meet up with their cousin RZA, after which the three would travel across NYC and challenge other MCs to battles. After some years of this, GZA was signed to Cold Chillin' Records as a solo artist under the name The Genius. He put together an album called Words from the Genius, produced mostly by Easy Mo Bee, but after it failed to sell—and his rocky experience on tour—Grice became fed up and asked for release from the label.
Neil deGrasse Tyson ( /ˈniːəl dəˈɡræs ˈtaɪsən/ born October 5, 1958) is an American astrophysicist and science communicator. He is currently the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space, and a research associate in the department of astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History. Since 2006 he has hosted the educational science television show NOVA scienceNOW on PBS, and has been a frequent guest on The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Real Time with Bill Maher, and Jeopardy!. It was announced on August 5, 2011, that Tyson will be hosting a new sequel to Carl Sagan's Cosmos: A Personal Voyage television series.
Tyson was born as the second of three children in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, but was raised in the Bronx. His mother, Sunchita Feliciano Tyson, was a gerontologist and his father, Cyril deGrasse Tyson, was a sociologist, human resource commissioner for the New York City mayor, John Lindsay, and was the first Director of HARYOU. Tyson attended the Bronx High School of Science (1972–1976, astrophysics emphasis) where he was captain of the wrestling team and was editor-in-chief of the school's Physical Science Journal. Tyson had an abiding interest in astronomy from the age of eleven, following his visit to the Hayden Planetarium at age nine. Tyson recalls that "so strong was that imprint [of the night sky] that I'm certain that I had no choice in the matter, that in fact, the universe called me." He obsessively studied astronomy in his teens, and eventually even gained some fame in the astronomy community by giving lectures on the subject at the age of fifteen.
Lawrence Muggerud (born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name DJ Muggs, is Cypress Hill's DJ and producer. He also produced tracks for Funkdoobiest, House of Pain, Dizzie Rascal, U2, Depeche Mode and more. He is the leader of LA art collective Soul Assassins.
Muggs was born in Queens, New York of Italian and Norwegian descent. Muggs moved to Los Angeles at Twenty. He briefly DJ'd the group 7a3, putting out one album before disbanding. After linking up with B-Real and Sen Dog to form the group Cypress Hill, he went on to produce seven studio albums with the group, from 1991 to 2004. Of the seven, four reached platinum status, and three gold. Meanwhile, he scored hits on the side with Ice Cube's "Check Yo Self" and House of Pain's "Jump Around." During Cypress Hill's early years, DJ Muggs met The Alchemist and his Dilated Peoples brethren on tour, deciding to take the young producer under his wing, providing a jump-start for his career.
In 1997, Muggs released an album under the name Soul Assassins. The album, Soul Assassins I, reached #86 on the Billboard 200 and earned critical praise. Produced by DJ Muggs, it featured a variety of rappers including Dr. Dre, B-Real, LA The Darkman, Mobb Deep, RZA, GZA, Goodie Mob, KRS One and Wyclef Jean. In 2000 he returned to the Soul Assassins with Soul Assassins II, which reached only #178 on the charts but garnered similarly positive reviews. He also put out the record Dust, an atmosphere-heavy trip-hop affair with Greg Dulli, Amy Trujillo and Everlast on vocals. After the 2004 album Til Death Do Us Part, which didn't reach gold but landed #23 on the Billboard 200, Cypress Hill went on a hiatus from recording, enabling its members to focus more on their side projects.
Speakin' of this art form this slang is dangerous
MC's are like sperm cells, a gang of us
Fightin' to reach the egg
Bitin' or loose a leg
Odds are like one in ten million, a thin thread
One from a thousand speaks in his own voice
the other 999 imitate without choice
Never even knowing it until the going gets rough
See the amplified sample I've grown with.
I grab the microphone the unthinkable happens
See the rocket's red glare like the guns; clappin'
They still cage matchin' MC's is scrappin'
Not the UFC but my opponent's tappin'
So don't let a little bit of fear turn to hatred
I was sent as the savior to revive what is sacred
Also stop this uncalled-for behavior
Sylphic rap cats they lactate the flavor
Got word from the wise to let it drop
Set this on fire, take aim and let it pop
Because regardless of who or what
even with doors shut
I'm givin' 'em straight raw you're givin' 'em raw cut
Like Bolivian rock, your watered down hip hop
Rap so outta shape and far from tip-top
Girls next to pebbles
spoons against shovels
dictators next to rebels and
Gods against Devils.
No time for backwards thinkin' let's think ahead,
If you wanna sleep when you awake then make your bed
A lot of MCs came to see me on referrals
not even knowing that they would undergo great perils
This cutting edge methods from the most specialized
[?]
The lord of the art strikes a chord in your heart
Your ear love to hear the guard rip the track apart
To me hip hop is like Einstein to science;
a match made in heaven, most likely alliance
Complex individual that you dream of being
Intellectual charlatan, the all-high-seeing
Got an appetite for heat so then come and bite the beat and
Digest the rest and don't stress the part you couldn't eat.