GZA - Pro Tools

Move over Bobby Digital, because it's GZA's turn to release his new album - 'Pro Tools'. Gary Grice, better known as GZA, started out as a founding member of the Wu-Tang Clan, but his solo career also took off and five releases later he is back with his sixth album, through Babygrande records and Think Differently Music.

Three years after his collaboration album with DJ Muggs, 'Grandmasters' and over 5 years since his solo album, 'Legend of the Liquid Swords', GZA is back with a bang. 'Pro Tools' features producers such as Dreddy Kruger, Mathematics, True Master, Bronze Nazareth and Wu-Tang Clan band mate/cousin RZA, just to mention a few. Featured guests on the album include Masta Killa, Ka, Roc Marciano, True Master, Irfane Khan-Acito, Dreddy Kruger and RZA. GZA's son, Young Justice, also features on a few of the tracks. The album is fifteen tracks long with a live bonus track thrown in as well.

The first single released from 'Pro Tools' is 'Paper Plate'. GZA is on top form here with his diss at 50 Cent and G-Unit. Since The Genius spoke out against 50 during a concert while on tour, the pair have not seen eye to eye. Fiddy then responded by saying that GZA was "irrelevant" to the Wu-Tang. Even though the two have never met, the feud continues with the release of 'Paper Plate'. It has only taken him five years but GZA has finally got a response for Fiddy and G-unit. With lyrics that go, "I get it, you got rich robbing those in the industry, bite off this one, steal from your enemy" and "Enough to make ya Vogue on that cover of GQ, only missing the sheer blouse, homey, you see-through". He goes on to tell them that if they want heat then he will give it, "burnt and crispy". He lets Fiddy know that basically he wanted a war, so now he has got one; "I told ya if I rain, there'll be an eternal drizzle".

Throughout the track the lyrics tell 50 Cent and his friends of G-Unit, which GZA refers to as the "flea unit", that their rhymes are wack and they need to try harder, referring to songs of 50's like 'Candy Shop'. Also, he tells Fiddy that he has been an M.C. For a long time before 50 came along. The best lyrics of the track have to be around the middle when GZA asks "have you ever been stung by a thousand hornets, five hundred killa beez buzzing and really on it, whipped with 'Cuban Linx' and out with 'Liquid Swords', choked by 'Ironman' 'til we crush your vocal chords". The camp of GZA reveal the title of the track - 'Paper Plate' - is implying that 50 Cent's and G-unit's music is disposable. The whole track is done with classic lyrics and is full of witty metaphores. He ends the song perfect, nice and simple by saying, "And I'll finish this, only cuz I let off first".

'Alphabets', produced by True Master, has a really good sound to it. When it comes to the chorus, GZA starts to rhyme off the letters of the alphabet; not by going 'a, b, c', but cleverly, with, "Allah be a Born, Cee Divine, Equality Father, then after that there's the G O D". It is a surprising track and is worth a listen to make your own mind up.

'7 pounds' produced by Black Milk is a must, the beats are some of the best on the album and GZA doesn't do half bad either.

In the first interlude, GZA starts talking about how he once saw a kid with the Wu-Tang logo on his face and that he has never seen a G-unit one, although he points out that he's not saying there isn't one somewhere.

'Firehouse' starts and doesn't sound like something off a GZA album but, as it kicks in, its not that bad. It's produced by Roc Marciano and features Ka on vocals; Ka's voice has a really raspy, quite gruff sound to it but, the track still works.

RZA produces one of the best tracks on the album: 'Life Is A Movie'. He also does vocals on the song along with Irfane Khan-Acito from the Outlines. This is genius from RZA, it's definitely one of his better offerings in the past few years. The verses bounce from RZA to GZA with the chorus by Irfane. The song is mainly to do with irony; GZA says how he sometimes feels his life is like a movie and he doesn't like it, with lines like "The man who hit lotto and lost his ticket in a rainstorm and struck by lightning trying to get it", is just an example of how he explains his bad luck throughout the song.

I'm afraid GZA, The Genius has won the battlle with Bobby Digital with this one. It's his best offering since 'Liquid Swords' and RZA, for some reason, seems to have done much better work on GZA's album than on his own. The better tracks are 'Life Is A Movie', 'Alphabets' and '7 Pounds'. If you like a laugh at 50 Cent's expense then throw 'Paper Plate' in too. 'Pro Tools' flows nicely and offers some good beats; for fans of GZA every track is worth a listen. Sorry RZA but it's 1-0 to GZA!