Wu-Tang Clan member GZA - aka The Genius - is back with his first solo offering since 2002's Legend of the Liquid Sword. But it's not like GZA hasn't been busy. The six-year span has seen a collaborative effort with Muggs of Cypress Hill, a new Wu-Tang Clan album last year, and, in-between, collaborations too numerous to count.
Pro Tools brings GZA back to the mic on his lonesome in fitting fashion. A backing of pianos and simplistic beats provide the backdrop for his introduction. The album kicks off with "Pencil." The beats may be basic, but they're powerful. The sound samples appear in classic Wu fashion with its repetitious turns. GZA gets a little help from fellow Killa Bees Masta Killa and RZA on the cut, allowing the listener to reminisce of the Wu albums of yesteryear. "Alphabets" follows and the opening lines sum up the formula used throughout the album, a formula that is done in a more than adequate fashion:
All I need is a beat with a continuous loop / And a live vibe that'll hypnotize like the flute / Along with something that's rugged by nature like the forest / Composed like the symphony without a chorus
With each track the beats continue, each song still rooted in the classic Wu sound originally created by RZA
though highly influenced by the likes of Ennio Morricone... but with the occasional twist. "Groundbreaking" offers playful keys providing an upbeat ambiance to the track. "0% Finance" chugs along with its driving guitars and up-tempo pace, not unlike a Westcoast track put together by Dr. Dre. "Paper Plate" and "Life is a Movie" feature RZA's work at the board; both songs boast that backdrop sound that we've come to expect from the legendary producer.
Throughout the album GZA unleashes lyrical poetry, demonstrating why he's rated as one of the top MC's in the world of hip-hop. Whether he is rhyming and flowing about his fellow rappers, the state of our society, or just putting together intense images to match his stories, his use of words is top-notch.
Pro Tools is a solid hip-hop effort and definitely one of the better to be released this year. Rating it can be rather difficult though, given GZA's prolific career in the world of hip-hop. And while it may not his best work - not everything can be Liquid Swords quality - it is still above the vast majority of what is put to tape these days and pawned off as hip-hop.
