- Grandmasters (album)
Infobox Album | Name = Grandmasters
Type =Album
Artist =DJ Muggs vs. GZA/The Genius
Released = October 25th, 2005
Recorded = 2005
Genre = Rap
Label = Angeles Records
Producer =DJ Muggs
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:5257gjyr66ix link]
*Okayplayer Rating|4|5 [http://www.okayplayer.com/reviews/index.php/weblog/more/grandmasters/ link] | Last album = "Legend of the Liquid Sword"
(2002)
This album = "Grandmasters"
(2005)
Next album = "Pro Tools"
(2008)Grandmasters is an album by
GZA/Genius , aWu-Tang Clan emcee andCypress Hill 's main producerDJ Muggs .Inspiration and Album Title
"
[rhttp://halftimeonline.com/hip-hop-icon-series/gza/4]Chess is the ultimateboard game .Monopoly is not in its league andCheckers doesn’t compare at all. It’s civilized war. It’s a mathematical thing, its science, and it’s strategy. That’s life all the time. Just planning your day, being ten steps ahead and seeing the moves ahead. That’s what chess is about. I’m not the greatest player. I’m not a master or a grandmaster. I lose a lot, but I learn. I’ve been defeated plenty times. I play online and I might have 900 wins and 850 losses but I play all the time. The game is fascinating and I am captivated by that. The album I just dropped is called Grandmasters. That’s the highest level you reach when playing chess and it’s also the highest level of emceeing, producing and deejaying. Most of the titles are chess slang ‘Queen’s Gambit,’ ‘Destruction of a Guard,’ ‘Unprotected Pieces,’ and ‘Illusionary Protection.’ I incorporate chess into certain rhymes. I use chess all time. Chess is a big part of what I do."Album information
It features Wu-Tang Clan members and affiliates such as
Raekwon ,RZA ,Masta Killa andProdigal Sunn as well as Cypress Hill memberSen Dog . All of its tracks are produced by DJ Muggs.It has a theme of
chess as can be seen by the track names. Introductions featuringchess strategy , including instruction for achess opening using algebraic notation, are within the album.Reception
It is a well regarded and critically acclaimed album.
The Wire (p.73) - " [T] here's a nice, hasty feel to the record, as though Muggs just threw a loop into the beat computer and GZA just started going....With Muggs's dirty, dashed-together beats and plenty of great guests...."
Vibe (p.216) - " [With] the Cypress Hill vet's cryptic samples and glassy eyed grooves."
Track listing
Personnel
*Gary Grice - Rapper
*Corey Woods - Rapper
*Robert Diggs - Rapper
*Senen Reyes - Rapper
*Elgin Turner - Rapper
*Vergil Ruff - Rapper
*Lawrence Muggerud - Producer/Keyboardist
*Daniel Seeff - Bassist
*Mike Simz - Guitarist/Pianist/Keyboardist/Bassist
*Rob Hill - Guitarist/Strings
*Dontae Winslow - Trumpeter
*Ina Williams - Background Vocalist
*Ern Dog - Guitarist/Bassist/Organist
*DJ SPR4 - Music Recorder
*Rob Hill - Music Mixer
*Joe "The Butcher" Nicolo - Music Mixer
*Ernie Medina - Engineer
*Brian "Big Bass" Gardner - Music Masterer
*Mike "Fatoe" Orduna - Art Director/Designer
*Joey Castillo Jr. - Art Director/Designer
*Robert Johnson III - Photographer
*Dina Nadezhdina - Spoken Word Interlude Speaker
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.