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GZA
Yonge Dundas Square June 21, 8 pm
With all the teenyboppers down on Queen West for the Much Music Video Awards, true music fans knew where the real show was: Yonge Dundas Square.
Arriving to a massive wave of “W” hand signals and “Wu-Tang” shouts, hip-hop legend Fab Five Freddy didn't waste any time introducing Wu-Tang Clan founder, the Genius himself, GZA.
Although fashionably late by a good 15 minutes, GZA made sure the wait was worth it for the jam-packed crowd by bringing out King Khan on guitar, who was wearing a turban and sunglasses. While it’s a shame The Black Lips had already left town and were probably causing a riot somewhere between Baltimore and their hometown of Atlanta, GZA’s collaboration with Khan was the equivalent of having ketchup and mustard in the same bottle; it was that good.
Opening with the all-too-familiar sample from samurai film Shogun Assassin, GZA launched right into “Liquid Swords,” with the audience pumping their fists in the air and shouting back RZA’s lyrics. Of course, plumes of smoke of various substances popped up throughout the crowd.
Pulling out all the stops, GZA even performed classic material such as “Clan In Da Front,” “Swordsman” and “Cold World,” rapping in his usual sharp, smooth delivery. With Ghostface Killah missing in action, GZA rapped a modified version of “4th Chamber,” which literally sent chills down my spine. Interesting to note, he did not sing the line “sippin’ rum out of Stanley Cups” (not to worry though, nobody in Toronto has done that in over 40 years).
Shortly thereafter, GZA’s mic was cut - apparently because he was swearing - but it did not diminish the atmosphere of the crowd, who were begging for more, including the “shorty” baby in the audience. One has to wonder who in their right mind would bring a baby to a GZA show but there was no time for that. Once GZA was back in business, he held up a shirt of Ol’ Dirty Bastard and rapped ODB’s “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” for his deceased cousin. Khan returned at the end of the set as GZA finished off with “0% Finance” from last year’s release, Pro Tools.
In case you can’t tell, this was by far the best show at NXNE as GZA was at the top of his game and proved why he’s called the Genius.
- Jon Brazeau
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