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Liberator 4.5
DJ Muggs + GZA
Grandmasters

Hip-Hop math equation: What do you get when you add Hip-Hop's most disrespected element with Hip-Hop's most exploited element? A Katrina like disaster, right? Not when the forces behind the effort are none other than grandmaster DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill and grandmaster-emcee GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan. The addition of those names into that equation guarantees a formula for success. A Masterpiece in fact, the album "Grandmasters: DJ Muggs v. GZA" is 11 tracks of raw Hip-Hop with a twist. The album kicks off with DJ Muggs sucking you into a zone with a base heavy beat, so slow it almost sounds screwed, as he "chops" and cuts it like a samurai avenging his father's death. Once the opening has taken place, GZA proceeds to answer the call to arms as he sharpens his lyrical sword, swinging it with precise execution. Tracks like "Destruction of a Guard," "Exploitation of Mistakes," "Smothered Mate," and "Unprotected Pieces" give ammunition to any arguer -- GZA is one of Hip-Hop's illest storytellers. But delivering vivid pictures like Kodak isn't GZA's only gift; his lyrical manipulation is more than evident on tracks like "Those That's Bout It," and "General Principles" as he tells listeners, "Name a crew that could stop the force that I strike with/ yet alone try to hold the pen that I write with/ you could even chop off the fingers that I type with/ those I hold the mic with/ thinking I might quit." (He assures us he won't). "Advance Pawns" and "Queens Gambit" reveal the deep level of thought that went into the making of the album. The album earns its title not only because the two are grandmasters of their Hip-Hop elements, but also because they share a love of chess. Who wins the match in the battle between DJ Muggs v. GZA is tough to decide. What is for sure, however, is that it's a must have Hip-Hop classic. Go cop it and see for your self.

words: Dave "dread" McDuffie