THEY DON'T call GZA "The Genius" for nothing. He is a member of the mighty Wu Tang Clan; he has the fourth largest vocabulary of any rap artist; he promotes science education in New York City; and has spoken at the prestigious Harvard University.
GZA will play a solo show at the Róisín Dubh on Saturday April 6 at 8pm, where audiences can experience what cheatsheet.com call his "smooth, yet authoritative" rap sytle, and lyrics which "dismiss the typical rap storylines of nightclubs, provocative women, and tough-talk gun-play in favour of science and wide-ranging philosophies".
To understand why GZA is such an important figure in hip-hop, this assessment from miaminewtimes.com is apt: "He’s arguably [Wu Tang's] most revered lyricist too. Where breakout Wu-Tang stars Method Man and Ol’ Dirty Bastard veered for the cool and the theatrical, GZA specialised in cerebral lyrics, complex rhyming structures, and vocal dexterity."
His most recent album, 2017's Dark Matter, is inspired by his desire to draw audiences towards science. "I see communicating the wonder of science as part of my life mission," GZA has said, adding. "Most rappers don't know diamonds are minerals, they're crystalline, that's what gives a diamond its shine. They talk about gold and they don't even know it's an element."
Tickets are available from www.roisindubh.net; the Ticket Desk at OMG@Zhivago, Shop Street; and The Róisín Dubh.
