Sweet Rapper (From Oxford Mail)

Sweet Rapper

6:00pm Thursday 26th January 2012 in Music News By Tim Hughes

HE’s the real king of New York. A rapper who influenced a legion of innovators, GZA is a genuine street warrior, his only weapons: his acerbic wit and lyrical flow.

A founder member of the Wu-Tang Clan, the Brooklyn-born hip-hop star crafts rhymes like artistic masterpiece. And their effect is devastating. It’s not for nothing that on the streets of NYC they call him Genius.

The man behind such seminal albums as Words From The Genius, the gold-selling Liquid Swords and Beneath The Surface, brings his microphone to the Oxford O2 Academy on Saturday – his first show in the city.

And he couldn’t be happier. “I look forward to seeing what an Oxford crowd is like,” he says. “And I’m sure it won’t be the last time.”

The gig follows a recent slot as guest lecturer at Oxford’s US equivalent, Harvard.

“It was an honour and an amazing experience to lecture at Harvard,” he says. “And I’m going to be lecturing in Oxford when I get there too.”

Cited as the most influential hip-hop act of all time, Wu-Tang Clan sparked off the careers not just of GZA, but of fellow members RZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa and the late ODB – its rollcall runs like a Who’s Who of East Coast hip-hop.

“I have so many influences who have endured since childhood,” he says. “They range from prophets to philosophers, artists to poets, writers, film-makers and scientists. The Wu-Tang Clan always drank, ate and slept hip-hop. I love it.”

So has he been listening to any of our own hip-hop artists – young stars who were listening to GZA while they were in short trousers? “I haven’t been listening to anything as I’m in writing mode,” he says. “I know there’s some great talent in the UK though.”

So what does the man, who helped propel the Wu-tang Clan to global notoriety, have up his sleeve for the coming year? “I have a project coming up that will blow everyone away,” he says. “I can’t discuss the details yet, but like me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and I’ll give you the most accurate and timely updates.”

* GZA plays the Oxford O2 Academy on Saturday. Doors open at 6.30pm. Tickets are £15 in advance from ticketweb.co.uk