'The GZA may just be the Clan's most accomplished verbalist. His verse on Protect Ya Neck, The Clan's debut single was touted as one of the best that year... GZA comes across like a highly focused master-craftsmen.'

19th February 1991. GZA releases his debut album 'Words From The Genius' under Cold Chillin Records. Initially signing with Cold because legends like Big Daddy Kane were, GZA left the label bitter partly because they forced him to have commercial records on the album.

The album never charted and GZA left the label to form The Wu-Tang Clan with his cousins RZA and Ol' Dirty Bastard. He is one of the only Wu members to have a project pre 36 chambers, along with RZA (who went by the name Prince Rakeem) who released 'Ooh I love you Rakeem'.

Iconic GZA freestyle in 1991 with ODB on the beatbox.

Wu-Tang Clan release the legendary single 'Protect Ya Neck' in 1992. Most consider GZA to have the best verse on the song. He has the last verse and disses his former label Cold Chillin Records and the anticipation for 36 Chambers begins.

After the release of 36 Chambers, Wu-Tang begin to release solo albums, with Method Man going Platinum and everyone else who released in the 93-96 time frame going gold. They make history as the only act to dominate both the group field as well as the solo field.

After the success of two earlier Wu-Tang Clan solo albums: Method Man's Tical and Ol' Dirty Bastard's Return to the 36 Chambers, Ghostface and Raekwon began recording Rae's acclaimed debut Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... in early 1995. GZA and RZA would start work on Liquid Swords

"I'm on a different level, trying to be cinematic, like that shit in 'Killah Hill' where the kid gets his leg cut to hide the dope – that shit really happened, but I'm trying to make it more visual. Liquid Swords is a concept of being lyrically sharp, flowing like liquid metal"

This chat compares the number of unique words used by some of the most famous artists in hip hop. It uses each artist’s first 35,000 lyrics. As you can see, GZA is right near the top.

Method Man and GZA on the legendary Shadowboxin. Method Man's first verse is considered to be one of his best ever.

'It comes from this flick, Legend of the Liquid Sword, where people would get their head cut off but it would still be on their shoulders. No one else would notice, because the sword was so sharp. Wu-Tang is a sword style, and this here is the sharpest.'

Similar to other early solo Wu-Tang albums, Liquid Swords was recorded in RZA's basement studio in Staten Island, with some beats playing for over two days straight while recording. When asked in a later interview about his opinion of the album's beats, GZA said 'I loved them'

Regarding the overall sensation of writing Liquid Swords, GZA stated "It's hard to say something is gonna be classic or not. But I can say that I felt the magic with this one. I actually saw it grow and come together, and felt that it was special as we were doing it."

The album was certified Gold and received critical acclaim upon release. Generally considered to be a top two Wu solo album, heads to this day still debate whether this or Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx is better.

4th Chamber featuring Ghostface Killah, Kilah Priest and RZA himself is considered one of the best on the album. Ghostface and RZA in particular are seen to have some of their best verses ever on this song.