GZA - Beneath the Surface

[crass]

this album has the same problem that LOTLS has: the drums are so sterile and sound too much like a program. it's easy to separate samples from the drums, if you know what i mean. i guess a simpler way to put it is the tracks don't sound full enough. but yes it's a dope album but in my opinion doesn't hold a candle to liquid swords

[4th Day Legend]

good to see there's so many peeps that like BTS, it's up there with the greatest classics to me
Masterpiece album from start to finish, great beats, great lyrics, great featurings n clan shine


peace

[leaguer1]

beneath the surface comes so close to classic its infuriating. But its just not long enough. The Skits chop this album up.

We are left with banga after banga that is up to Liquid Swordz standard with joints like "Amplified Sample", "Beneath the Surface", "Publicity", "High Price, Small Reward", "Hip Hop Fury" the powerhouse "Mic Trippin" , and finally my favorite "Crash Your Crew"

But 7 classics is only half the album. The skits, "1112" , "Victim" , and "Stringplay" are ultimately what holds the album back from a grandslam. As is, its still a solo homerun, and a great album.

shoutout for the dope intro/outro beat too.

[Dante]

beneath the surface comes so close to classic its infuriating. But its just not long enough. The Skits chop this album up.

We are left with banga after banga that is up to Liquid Swordz standard with joints like "Amplified Sample", "Beneath the Surface", "Publicity", "High Price, Small Reward", "Hip Hop Fury" the powerhouse "Mic Trippin" , and finally my favorite "Crash Your Crew"

But 7 classics is only half the album. The skits, "1112" , "Victim" , and "Stringplay" are ultimately what holds the album back from a grandslam. As is, its still a solo homerun, and a great album.

shoutout for the dope intro/outro beat too.

1112 and Stringplay are classic GZA tracks IMO. I agree about Victim tho, i wasnt really feeling that track. Breaker, Breaker is my favorite joint for that album. Now, if there were no skits, and if GZA had a verse on that Outro track, this album would of been a cerified classic IMO. The beat to "Outro" had GZA written all over it, that beat was sick as fuck.

[deadlymelody]

This is a pretty damn good effort. I don't listen to this album all that much. I can say that Mic Trippin and Breaker, Breaker are some of the best lyrical efforts from GZA

Complexed, Complicated, Compressed, Elongated
Sick line

[Leo Angel]

BTS is the second best GZA solo IMO

1. Intro n/a
2. Amplified Sample 8/10 - dope opening song
3. Beneath The Suface 10/10 - personal classic, lovely beat, good chorus and, what's the most important, GZA & Priest bring magnificent verses.
4. Skit #1 n/a (but I hate all these boring skits on this album)
5. Skit #2 n/a (two shitty skits, one after another?? I can't understand it...)
6. Crash Your Crew 8/10 - raw beat, like from 36 Chambers era, but only one GZA verse on this... ODB is crazy as usual
7. Breaker, Breaker 9/10 - kinda funky beat, GZA wordplay on here is incredible, ill track
8. High Price, Small Reward 9/10 - if it was longer it would be maybe even 10/10, GZA and Masta rip it
9. Hip Hop Fury 10/10 - personal classic, real Wu banga, MCs spitting fire (I particularly love Hell Razah and Timbo King verses plus RZA chorus)
10. Skit #3 n/a blah, blah, blah
11. 1112 7,5/10 - it's too long, which is kinda boring, I think they simply should drop Njeri verse, she gots terrible flow and boring voice
12. Skit#4 n/a one more useless skit
13. Victim 6/10 - strange song, I hate this chick singing the chorus and still don't feel Njeri, sorry. maybe the worst track on the album
14. Publicity 10/10 - classic, superb beat and lyrics
15. Feel Like An Enemy 9/10 - very dope track, Wu fam destroy this rugged beat
16. Stringplay 8,5/10 - this's not Shadowboxin' pt. II, it's obvious, but it's still nice to hear GZA and Method exchanging verses over some serviceble beat
17. Mic Trippin 9/10 - yeah, I really feel this track, GZA lyrics are amazing
18. Outro 7/10 - an ok outro, finally not some worthless bubbling like in these shitty skits, GZA decided to go rest and doesn't appear on the track, why??

Overall, 8,5/10. It should be longer! There's in fact only 13 tracks (two of them doesn't inlude GZA, which sucks plus some of them are really short ). Still very dope album produced by Wu Elements, GZA is lyrical Genius as always and most of the guest spots is allright. Njeri and Joan Davis should be excluded of this album

[famenchuan]

Im giving it a 9.0 because Gza always comes with 9.5 lyrics and the beats were 8.5 which in my opinion is really good in my opinion. I usually score 5 as a average album, 2.5 below average, 8.0-9.0 good-great

[McTom]

I finally got this album second-handed, it seems to be pretty hard to get around here... I like it. The beats and the rhymes are excellent. But, I think this album also proves GZA's lazyness. I don't mean in the way he drops his verses, 'cause he is as sharp as ever, but I mean the AMOUNT of verses he drops. It his album, but there aren't real that much solo's, and on the other numbers he has usual just as one verse, on one ("Feel Like An Enemy" he doesn't even spit himself). On the best track of the cd - which is a bit too short -, "High Price, Small Reward", Masta Killa steals the show. But overall, a worthy sequel of Liquid Swords, which proves GZA's unique delivery once more.

[DoomSystem]

CLASSIC CLASSIC CLASSIC album... just about as good as Liquid Swords... almost

A real album you can listen to all the way through..... GZA is the deepest lyricist in the clan and aguably in all of Hip-Hop... He don't get the credit because he doesn't say anything outrageous or try to sound hard... but as far as lyricism and visual rhyme flow... there's very few who can stand close ...

THE PHYSICAL SHATTER FROM THE BLAST
PYROPLASTIC FLOW
SETS FORTH A TOWER OF ASH


I never new what that meant... but I was watching the National Georgraphic channel the other day... and he's talking about a Volcano erupting...

Pyroplasitc flow is the flow of molten lava from a volcano...

Get it... when a volcano erupts... there an explosion (SHATTER FROM THE BLAST) ... and then the lava starts coming out (PYROPLASTIC FLOW) and then all the ash starts raining down...

Its a briliant line line...he's describing his rhymeflow but at the same time he's talking about a volcanic eruption.... fuckin insane shit

[THE W]

.........

[Skellington]

Wack, weakest GZA album.

Was most dissapointed when I got that album

[Rebel_INS]

1.Intro
2.Amplified Sample - 4.5/5
3.Beneath The Surface - 5/5
4.Skit #1
5.Skit #2
6.Crash Your Crew - 4.5/5
7.Breaker, Breaker - 5/5
8.High Price, Small Reward - 5/5
9.Hip Hop Fury - 5/5
10.Skit #3
11.1112 - 5/5
12.Skit #4
13.Victim - 5/5
14.Publicity - 5/5
15.Feel Like An Enemy - 5/5
16.Stringplay - 4.5/5
17.Mic Trippin - 4.5/5
18.Outro - 5/5

Lyrically a dope album, GZA still comes correct. I liked most of the production, theyre was some dope beats but the lack of RZA brings it down a bit. Different sound from Liquid Swords but still a very dope album.

[TheCat]

people slept on this hard. This is on the same level as Liquid Swords to me, it's just a different style. GZA's like a movie director with his albums. I think he's more consistent than Ghost.

i love GZA's work but saying he is more consistent then GF?? i mean Gzas only had 3 albums from what i can remember!

I still think Liquid Swords is the best solo album, although ask me tomorrow i will probably say Supreme Clientelle.. lol

anyways on subject,, i rate this album highly, its just shame Liquid swords was such a classic, if it wasnt for his liquid swords people would praise Beaneth the Surface.. 4/5 for me...

[dnpmonk25]

Classic without a doubt! Still play it constantly along with the other classics. I remember when it came out along with alot of other solo's,GZA was by far the best. Hell I even saw him live for the album tour, the show was sick! If you dont think its a classic do me a favor and listen to his lyrics and try to realize the time and effort he puts in to every verse. I believe he is one of it the best MC's ever that really makes you visualize what hes speaken.

[DJMethods]

just got this.... I waited cause cats on here always bag it

How can you bag this? Fucking ill! On my first listen, had only heard "Breaker, Breaker" before which I loved, but damn every song so far has been on point.

Sickest Wu MC without a doubt, it's not even arguable.