Gary Eldridge Grice (𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 August 22, 1966), better known by his stage names GZA (/ˈdʒɪzə/ JIZ-ə) and The Genius, is an American rapper. A founding member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, GZA is the group’s “spiritual head”, being both the first member in the group to receive a record deal and being the oldest member. He has appeared on his fellow Wu-Tang members’ solo projects, and has maintained a successful solo career starting with his second album Liquid Swords (1995).

After some years of this, GZA was signed to Cold Chillin’ Records as a solo artist under the name The Genius. He released his debut album, Words from the Genius (1991), produced mostly by Easy Mo Bee, but it failed to sell due to lack of promotion. This, combined with his rocky experience on tour, fed up GZA and he asked to be released from the label. The album’s beat selection is similar to the classic boom-bap sound of the early 1990s, while the lyricism subject is the everyday situations of an individual living in the parts of New York.  At the time he worked as a bicycle messenger.

In 1992, GZA joined the Wu-Tang Clan, a group of nine, formed by his cousin RZA. GZA had some high-profile appearances on the group’s debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993), including a solo track, “Clan in da Front”. This, combined with appearances on other Clan members’ albums such as Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version (1995) and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… (1995) brought him much recognition. According to Method Man, “we form like Voltron and GZA happens to be the head”.

1995–1999: Liquid Swords, Beneath the Surface

These guest appearances were followed up in 1995 with GZA’s second studio album, Liquid Swords, produced and recorded entirely in the basement studio by RZA, with the participation of all original Clan members. It was released on November 7 by Geffen Records. The album’s complex composition included dialogue sampled from the film Shogun Assassin. The album was met with positive reviews and sold well. It is considered to be one of the best albums from the Wu-Tang camp. It peaked at the #9 spot on the Billboard 200 chart and #2 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. On October 8, 2015, the Recording Industry Association of America announced that the album had earned a Platinum certification for having sold more than 1 million copies. It became the first Wu-Tang-related album to get certified since 2004, when Method Man and Ghostface Killah both earned plaques.[19] In addition, he directed music videos for four album singles.

After appearing on the Wu-Tang Clan’s second album, Wu-Tang Forever (1997), his third studio album Beneath the Surface was released by MCA Records in 1999. The album and its singles “Crash Your Crew” and “Breaker, Breaker” met with critical acclaim. The album earned a Gold certification by RIAA,[19] peaked at #9 on the Billboard 200 chart, and topped the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart.

2000–2009: Legend of the Liquid Sword, Pro Tools

In 2002, a sequel to his second solo album was released, Legend of the Liquid Sword.[13] It was well-received by critics, yet did not sell well and failed to go Gold. GZA spent 2004 touring, both solo and with the Clan, and made an appearance with RZA in Jim Jarmusch’s film Coffee and Cigarettes, opposite Bill Murray. The two also appeared on the Chappelle Show’s skits “Wu Tang Financial” and “Racial Draft”.

In 2005, GZA and DJ Muggs (the producer for hip-hop group Cypress Hill) released collaboration album Grandmasters. Muggs provided all the production for the album, which saw GZA using chess as a metaphor for the rap game, with most of the songs having a chess-themed title. ]

In the summer of 2008, his fifth solo studio album Pro Tools was released by Babygrande Records. It featured production from Black Milk and Jay “Waxxx” Garfield, RZA, Mathematics and True Master. A very controversial song on the album was entitled “Paper Plate”, a smooth flowing response aimed at rival rapper 50 Cent. After the release, GZA toured various parts of Europe on a “Liquid Swords Tour”, where he performed songs from Liquid Swords as well as Pro Tools. He later toured parts of the US.

2010–present: Dark Matter

In the meantime, he continued to work on a related, new studio album called Dark Matter, which is based on a journey through spacetime, universe and physics. In late 2015, GZA canceled European tour dates to focus on working on the album with composer Vangelis. It is planned to be one in a series of albums related to Earth, with the following conceived around oceans. GZA hinted that the albums will be without parental advisory, profanity and nudity.

In February 2015, GZA released a single “The Mexican” (a cover of Babe Ruth’s song), featuring guitarist Tom Morello and singer Kara Lane. They performed the song live along with The Roots on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.  On June 30, 2016, he released a new space-themed track, “The Spark”, produced by Paul Ryder, for NASA’s project “Destination: Jupiter”, in celebration of the agency’s ongoing Juno Mission.

In 2020, GZA provided a voice role in Netflix’s Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts as Bad Billions, and contributed a song to the series.