Hip-hop vets GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan and DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill have teamed up in the strongest display of coastal unity since DJ Muggs dropped Soul Assassins in 1997. The result is Grandmasters, an album laced with lyrical wit and eccentric beats. The title is an allusion to the game of chess, one of GZA’s favorite pastimes, and is a dominant metaphor throughout the album as these two grandmasters of hip-hop showcase their skills.
The album opens with a lazy intro where DJ Muggs and GZA give themselves shout outs over a looped beat. It picks up with the second track, “Those That’s Bout It,” with GZA boasting of his rhyming skills. He crafts intricate stories on tracks like “Exploitation of Mistakes,” which flows as if read from a police report, and “Queen’s Gambit,” an account of a sexual escapade ingeniously told through football metaphors. The late Ol’ Dirty Bastard returns from the grave on “All in Together Now” as DJ Muggs takes it back to ‘93, dropping in classic 36 Chambers, beats along with his own creations. Grandmasters’ shinning track, though, is “Illusory Protection,” where Muggs’ beats sync with GZA’s all-out assault on rappers who “confuse science fiction / with science fact / who couldn’t separate the block / from the recording track,” matching GZA’s energy and anger perfectly.
DJ Muggs mixes his own production style with obvious Wu-Tang influences, and the results vary. Most of the time, his tracks provide a perfect musical background for GZA to paint his vivid verbal landscapes, but at times his beats sound like uninspired loops. Grandmasters is an ode to hip-hop’s origins and evolution. GZA’s lyrical wit, combined with DJ Muggs’ unique production, results in an album that stays true to the genre’s roots. Devoid of any poppy, commercial hits, Grandmasters may not be for the casual listener, but true lovers of hip-hop will thoroughly appreciate GZA’s lyrical expertise.
