Beneath the Surface | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
File:Gzabeneaththesurface.jpg | |||||
Studio album by GZA/Genius | |||||
Released | June 29, 1999 | ||||
Recorded | 1998–1999 | ||||
Genre | Hip hop | ||||
Length | 46:00 | ||||
Label | MCA Records MCADE-11969 |
||||
Producer | GZA Arabian Knight RZA John the Baptist Inspectah Deck Mathematics Arabian Knight |
||||
GZA/Genius chronology | |||||
|
|||||
Wu-Tang Clan solo chronology | |||||
|
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
RapReviews | 7/10 link |
Stylus Magazine | (B) 2003 |
Stylus Magazine | (mixed) 2007 |
Warr.org | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
USA Today | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Yahoo! Music | favorable link |
Beneath the Surface is the third solo studio album by Wu-Tang Clan member GZA, an American hip hop musician. It was his second album released as a member of the Wu-Tang Clan.
Contents |
Reviews were mostly positive, though it failed to live up to Liquid Swords acclaim and commercial success. However, critics pointed to production as the album's main weakness, noting a distinct lack of RZA-produced tracks, resulting in a messy collage of beats rather than a cohesive sound. There were also complaints about the presence of skits and the vast number of guest spots. However, the album did manage to be certified Gold by the RIAA
Alternative Press (10/99, p. 92) - 5 out of 5 - "...the first clear indication...of where the most important act of the hip-hop decade want to take their legions of followers....[RZA's] a master of structure and strategy..."
CMJ (7/12/99, p. 26) - "...solid fusion of RZA-esque string play and thumping jeep beats provide an equally formidable backdrop for the Genius's ever-heady lyrical chessboxing....Surface is a family affair with impressive guest spots....Behold the first true Wu-Banger of 1999."
Rap Pages (9/99, pp. 172–4) - "...an album for thinking individuals....GZA is masterful at wordplay, and the accompanying music makes the listening all the more pleasurable..." - Rating: A
# | Title | Time | Producer(s) | Performer(s) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Intro" | 1:16 | GZA | ||
2 | "Amplified Sample" | 3:31 | Mathematics |
|
|
3 | "Beneath the Surface" | 4:29 | Inspectah Deck |
|
Sample: "Back To You" by Jean Plum |
4 | "Skit #1" | 0:37 | GZA | ||
5 | "Skit #2" | 0:31 | GZA | ||
6 | "Crash Your Crew" | 3:07 | John the Baptist |
|
Sample: "I Choose You" by Willie Hutch |
7 | "Breaker, Breaker" | 3:38 | Arabian Knight |
|
|
8 | "High Price, Small Reward" | 1:43 | Mathematics |
|
|
9 | "Hip Hop Fury" | 3:44 | Arabian Knight |
|
|
10 | "Skit #3" | 0:47 | GZA | ||
11 | "1112" | 4:18 | RZA |
|
|
12 | "Skit #4" | 0:45 | GZA | ||
13 | "Victim" | 4:04 | Arabian Knight |
|
|
14 | "Publicity" | 2:37 | Mathematics |
|
Sample: I (Who Have Nothing)" by Terry Knight and the Pack |
15 | "Feel Like An Enemy" | 3:12 | Mathematics |
|
|
16 | "Stringplay (Like This, Like That)" | 3:18 | Arabian Knight |
|
|
17 | "Mic Trippin" | 2:59 | Mathematics |
|
|
18 | "Outro" | 1:34 | Arabian Knight |
|
"Breaker, Breaker"
|
Omid Walizadeh, also known as Omid or OD, is an underground hip hop producer based in Long Beach, California. He has produced tracks for Freestyle Fellowship,Busdriver,2Mex,Subtitle, and Awol One, among others.
Omid graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a bachelor's degree in recording arts. He has produced tracks since 1992.
Inspired by the underground hip hop movement at the Good Life Cafe in the early 1990s, Omid released a collaborative album, Beneath the Surface, in 1998. It features over 30 rappers, mainly from Los Angeles.
The solo debut album, Distant Drummer, was released on Beneath the Surface in 2002. It was inspired by Dan Simmons' novel Hyperion, the music of Sun Ra, among other things.
In 2003, Omid released the album, Monolith, on Mush Records. It features contributions from Abstract Rude, 2Mex,Buck 65,Luckyiam, Aceyalone, Murs, and Slug, among others. The title comes from Arthur C. Clarke's novel 2010: Odyssey Two.
Omid released the instrumental album, Afterwords 3, on Alpha Pup Records in 2007.
Season four of Stargate SG-1, an American-Canadian television series, began airing on June 30, 2000 on Showtime. The fourth season concluded after 22 episodes on February 14, 2001 on British Sky One, which overtook Showtime in mid-season. The series was developed by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner. Season four regular cast members include Richard Dean Anderson, Michael Shanks, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, and Don S. Davis.
In the scene in "Divide and Conquer" that flashes back to the events in Upgrades, where Carter and O'Neill are trapped on opposite sides of the forcefield, lines were written but the actors chose not to say them. In "Watergate", melted toxic wax was used to give Maybourne a frozen look. Tom McBeath couldn't breathe it in or would have risked his own health. The actual ending of the episode where O'Neill proposes that the two races had just exchanged hostages was not the intended ending, which is why the episode appears to end so abruptly. In "Beneath the Surface", Thera and Jonah were supposed to kiss to confirm that they were in a relationship, but this was dropped because O'Neill had already kissed Carter earlier in the season in "Window of Opportunity".
GZA]
On a man-made lake, there's a sheet of thin ice
Where unskilled skaters, *cut* figure-8 twice
*Thats* 16, uncut, direct from the cult
Head on assault, the result, death by the bolt
In a vote, it spoke aboat the average loss commission
That was seen by a king in a prophetic vision
Like a plane crash from a bomb blast
Special broadcast, slot time with *com-cast*
It kept the jury quiet, and now a riot will form
While satanic man, now hang in his dorm
I swing, on you fake, radio personalities
Boost ya ratings, *with* hypes behind casualties
Fire shots, for low-pressure water gun play
Instantly, slap ya *five* like it's Palm Sunday
I fashion the first tool, from the elements
The earth use, and built it to a complex
Network, of communications, you're up against a hopeless, situation
I screen every vehicle, through enemy observation
Swarmin unpredictably, we spread terror
Increase the force significantly, change the error
Check my wind pattern, it's headin west
Success is freedom, failure could mean death
Humans sweat, aim shovels
Dig up the debris and rubbel
Permanent, damage caused by the double-
U, Now who, *cowardlessly* urge you to merge through
And think the workers'll serve you
*The sonic* marvel, who just dropped the next novel
Worldwide, practically marred in marble
*Theres* accountless, amount of MC's I saved
And those same niggas wanna squander those gifts I gave
[Chorus: RES sample]
Scratch underneath the surface, where does your purpose lie?
It seems our world is worthless, like we're pawns beneath the sky
Change the race by reason, and ashes just the wind
The left is so our we're breathin, keep ourself from givin in
[Killah Priest of Sunz Of Man]
Love and hatred, home is most sacred
Both species, they lay naked in the tombs of oasis
Think back on niggas I ate with, spent the day with
Guns we played with, niggas I relate with
We broke bread, I heard through a vine niggas workin for the Feds
Sent out secretly to take my head
I lay back and meditate to the words they say
Skip town for a *month and grew some dreads*
Had a friend tell my family I was dead
Return at the last fall of the autumn leaves
Operate the plan accordingly, in case the Feds are recordin me
Sign all documents, usin forgery, cuz just *the mere* thought of me
*I'm* like Solomon, spoke bluntly
Told the word I'm black and calmly
Howls from the grave haunt me
The smell of death's upon me, I dwell in the hills like Gandhi
Been in the presence of mad peasants, and old kings
Who sold everything, on a quest for god's divine
Slept in caves to get a clear mind
Who prayed 3 times, when the moon lit and *when* the sun rise
I met dwellers in the desert, talked to shepherds
Been in the mouth of many leopards
Felt the death kiss, of Satan's mistress
Walked *through* vacant districts, for 4 religions, studied Pagan scriptures
True philosophers and physicians, on a cure missions
Who harden their hearts, to ward the weak, sick and ifflicted
Candles lit, gamble with a bitch
Who made me love her, when I touch her, soft *paws* hide claws
Bees with sweet honey in they mouth
Have bitter stingers at they tail
Walk through the chambers of death, take a hold on to hell
Embracing her was like embracing a *dirt well*
[Chorus]
[Outro: RES sample]
Scratch underneath the surface