Liquid Swords (song)

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"Liquid Swords"
Single by GZA
from the album Liquid Swords
ReleasedOctober 10, 1995
GenreHip hop
Length4:32
LabelGeffen
Songwriter(s)Gary Grice, Robert Diggs, Eddie Brigati, Felix Cavaliere, Joe Zawinul[1]
Producer(s)RZA
GZA singles chronology
"I Gotcha"
(1994) 		"Liquid Swords"
(1995) 		"Cold World"
(1995)

"Liquid Swords" is a song by American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member GZA. It is the second single and title track of his second studio album (1995). The song contains background vocals from RZA, who also produced the song.

Background and composition[]

The song opens with sampled dialogue from the film Shogun Assassin. It also samples "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" and "Groovin'" by Willie Mitchell.[2] In an interview with Wax Poetics, GZA spoke about the song's composition:

This track is just braggadocios. It isn't meant to stand for anything. I'm talking about my skills and how I'm better than the rest. Usually I take a beat home and write to it for a few days, but it wasn't like that with this track. I think RZA played the beat for me and I just spit to it right there. The hook was actually a routine from around '84 that me RZA and Ol' Dirty would do: "When the emcees came, to live out the name." Just like that.[3]

Charts[]

Chart (1995) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[4] 48
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[5] 33
US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[6] 3

References[]

  1. ^ "Liquid Swords". Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  2. ^ "GZA's 'Liquid Swords' Turns 15 Years Old - XXL". XXL. November 8, 2010. Retrieved 2021-08-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ Ma, David. "Wu-Tang Clan's GZA runs down every track off Liquid Swords". Wax Poetics. Archived from the original on May 20, 2016.
  4. ^ "GZA Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  5. ^ "GZA Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
  6. ^ "GZA Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard.
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