As far as legacies in rap collectives go, it’s hard not to put the Wu-Tang Clan at #1 in any statistical category. The Shaolin MCs have more moving parts than an octopus, thus enabling them to rack on more wins on sheer volume alone.
But as even some of the Wu-Tang members or other Hip Hop legends have discovered, duplicating magic isn’t as easy as announcing it. So the likelihood of an up-and-coming artist winning off a remake doesn’t bode that well for excitement all the same.
Don’t tell that to The Faze, the Cali native whose name has been buzzing in his Inland Empire region for some time now. He’s been touched by the spirit of the GZA/Genius and RZA/Abbott beats for a Liquid Swords tribute mixtape.
And to top it off, he’s not even a super Wu-Tang Clan head. Go figure.
HipHopDX: Did you get a chance to catch up with any members of the Wu while they were out here for their show in L.A.?
The Faze: [Laughs] Nah, I didn’t go. I ain’t really a Wu-Tang fan like that, man.
DX: How are you not a Wu-Tang fan and you’re remaking Liquid Swords?
The Faze: Because! I was with the homie and I was freestyling and shit and every beat that came on, I was like ‘Yo!? what beat is that?’ And he, every one he played was from Liquid Swords so I was like ‘Damn! I’ma make a mixtape!’ Because I liked all the beats.
I’m not a super Wu-Tang fan but I respect it though! It actually made me go back and listen to the album. I thought it was pretty dope.
DX: The album is definitely considered a classic in many circles. So you didn’t study the album beforehand at all?
The Faze: Nah, that’s what I was saying. I went and recorded it after [I freestyled]. That’s why if you listen to them, the songs are so different. You can’t really hear any influence from Liquid Swords on that project.
DX: You can definitely hear the Cali influence you spliced on it. One of the standouts from GZA’s album has been “Labels” where he talks about the music industry and you flipped that concept well. Being an up-and-coming artist and using your experiences talking to different executives, would you say we need record labels these days?
The Faze: I would say if it’s like necessary for what you’re doing but at the same time, if you already have shit going and got your team or whatever, you really don’t need a label. You just need the right resources and know the right people to make it happen. It work for some people and for others, it don’t.
For me, I still got building to do independently. I’m still early in the game right now. I want to build a legacy.
DX: Leading up to this Liquid Swords project, how deep does your discography go?
Faze: Well I was on the Made in America mixtape that Baron Davis put out the Crips and Bloods documentary. That was like in 2008 and he did that with Don Cannon and DJ Drama. Kendrick [Lamar] was on there as K. Dot, Jay Rock, a few others. I put out a solo project [in 2013] called The Suicide Note. It made HipHopDX. I’ve been doing this for a minute.
DX: Which one of your producers put together the Liquid Swords joint?
The Faze: My man Henry! He does shit for Red Bull. They’re all the original RZA beats but he did do the mixing and mastering.
DX: Do you think you have any issues with the sample clearances?
The Faze: Nah, because we ain’t monetizing off of it. We just putting out on SoundCloud and YouTube and not really getting paid on it. I’m just sparring on it a little bit. Nothing big.
DX: You flipped GZA’s “4th Chamber” into “4th Ave & Slauson” for a real cinematic storytelling experience…
The Faze: That’s actually a real story. That just so happened when I was creating Liquid Swords so I just went in and told exactly what happened I put in the music.
DX: What do you think GZA’s reaction will be when he hears it — because he will hear it.
The Faze: It ain’t doing nothing but paying homage anyway. I’m not saying it’s the new Liquid Swords or nothing. It’s just me sparring on beats and paying homage to what’s already been done. And even though I didn’t even listen to it … I didn’t really know about it before I did it … I think his beat selection is dope. I listen to rappers’ beat selection and I liked all those joints.
At the least, [older fans] will say, ‘I don’t really like that he touched it but he did his thing on it.
DX: I think that’s a clearcut example how artists of today can go back to listen to classic rap albums and get inspired.
The Faze: Yeah, because a lot of people even say that [Liquid Swords] is one of their top albums and like I said, I didn’t even know about it. Because you usually hear about the Illmatics, Life After Deaths or Ready to Dies — something like that. Those are the joints I already knew but I really didn’t know about Liquid Swords like that. And it made me go back and listen to other Wu-Tang members too. I seen that they had some dope shit!
The Faze’s (Liquid Swords A Cover Album) HipHopDX premiere is now available!
This guy is the antithesis of an MC who should be doing something like this.
Come on son…
This is Wu, thought provoking lyrical street tales cannot and should not be half-assed by an ignorant dude who doesn’t know his shit. He clearly has nothing to say other than “GZA’s beat selection was good, I fucks with it”.
Bullshit…
How do you rap since mid 2000’s and not hear liquid swords
The Faze: [Laughs] Nah, I didn’t go. I ain’t really a Wu-Tang fan like that, man. <—– OFF WITH HIS HEAD!!!! I HATE YOU FUCKIN' MILLENIALS!!!!
This dude doesn’t deserve to be heard. I was gonna check it out til he said he wasn’t a Wu fan. Liquid Swordz is top 5 all time with the beats, the rhymes whatever. Know your classics, son.
This guys an idiot
I listen Da$h and Huskingpin……
WHATTT??? You haven’t heard Liquid Swords??? Cmon man. When is this premiere? Let’s see what this dude’s got that’s so great.
Why give this clown a platform
“I went back and listened to Wu-Tang, i seen they had some dope shit!” – An ignorant talentless piece of shit with zero knowledge of hiphop.
Did y’all actually hear the project ??? Dude is one of the illest on the come up. Don’t snooz
Lol @ all the mad wu fans, I listened to some of his tracks and the dudes got bars, breath of fresh air. At least he aint a trap rapper, why hate on real hip hop? Yall the reason why dope shit dont exist no more cause you quick to dismiss it before givin an artist a chance.
Fuck yeah, excited about this, when’s the premiere?
At least he went back to listen to the original liquid swords so that’s good we need real hip-hop right now I will check for him
Nah, I ain’t really a Wu Tang fan. I’m just an ignorant hiphop head that’ can’t recognize Wu Tang beats. But I like their beats and nobody know me so I thought using their name would be a good opportunity to promote myself. I know if I didn’t put this project this way nobody would listen to me because I’m just an average mc. But I’m a good opportunist
its a dope idea which i already tried with an artist. soon as he puts this up somewhere its gonna get taken down. lol.
That’s why one day Hiphop as we know it will be completely gone cuz artist like this. How don’t you know about this album? That’s the difference between Hiphop heads and Rock heads. Ask any new “Rockers” about any classic Ramones or Metallica albums and they will tell you all about them from album art to the year it was released to the lyrics. There’s no true appreciation for what has come before. The only thing you hear is how old that artist is nowadays and how “washed up” they are. No respect in the game anymore.
My initial reaction was similar to yours. But after thinking about it, I respected the man. He re did the album cause he likes the beats. I think thats a good reason. It would have been wack if he did it only because of its reputation.
Been in if for a minute but doesn’t know any Wu tang… I wasn’t going to even bother because of the utter ignorance this asshat shows however they’re liquid swords beats so I have to check it out… Be better to listen to than all the other garbage out
SHUT THE FUCK UP AND DON’T COMMENT AGAIN BITCH ASS LOWFLOW MOTHAFUCKA
God damn these comments are terrible. I’m 34 years old and came up on classic hip hop like Wu-Tang, Nas, Biggie, Rakim, Kool G Rap, etc. and this kid is actually a breath of fresh air. He might not be up on the history, but he recognized a timeless sound in Liquid Swords and put out a free project with the instrumentals. It’s actually pretty refreshing to hear someone that is spitting over something classic without and prior influence of hearing the original. Take Elzhi’s “Elmatic” remake of Illmatic – that was a remake, and it was ill, but it was clearly influenced by the original project. This is not. This is a new, younger talent, spitting dope shit over classic beats. Stop trying to boycott this kid who obviously has talent and an ear for dope shit.