GZA

Gary Grice born in Brooklyn, New York on August August 1966, better known by his stage name GZA or The Genius, this American hip hop artist known as a founding member of the seminal hip hop group the Wu-Tang Clan and for his inclusion on their group albums, his group mates' solo releases and a successful solo career.

Grice developed an interest in hip-hop by attending block parties as a child in the late '70s. He formed a three-man group with his cousins, who would later be known as RZA and Ol' Dirty Bastard. The group, All in Together Now, saw the three rapping and DJing, switching off names and performing local shows; since they lived in different boroughs, RZA and Dirty would travel out to Staten Island to meet up with their cousin, after which the three would travel across NYC and challenge other MCs to battles.

After some years of this, GZA was signed to Cold Chillin' Records as a solo artist under the name The Genius. He put together an album called Words from the Genius, produced mostly by Easy Mo Bee, but after he noticed that his solo sales weren’t doing as well was expected; The Genius became fed up and asked for release from the label.

After joining the Wu-Tang Clan, a group of nine which included himself, RZA and ODB, GZA boasted some high-profile appearances on the group's debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers, including a solo track, "Clan in da Front." Combined appearances on other Clan albums such as Only Built 4 Cuban Linx and Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version brought him much recognition and respect. These guest appearances were followed up in 1995 with GZA's sophomore solo effort, Liquid Swords, produced entirely by RZA; the album was met with critical and commercial acclaim, and is still considered one of the best albums to come out of the Wu-Tang camp; in 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source Magazine's 100 Best Rap Albums of all time.

GZA spent 2004 touring, both solo and with the Clan, and made an appearance with RZA in Jim Jarmusch's film Coffee & Cigarettes, opposite comedian Bill Murray. In 2005, GZA and DJ Muggs (the producer for Cypress Hill) released the LP Grandmasters. Muggs provided all the beats for the album, which saw GZA using chess as a metaphor for the rap game.

In 2009, the GZA made appearances on 2 more Wu-Tang albums. The first being on a song entitled "Stomp Da Roach" on the album Dopium, by fellow clan member U-God, the other being appearances on the tracks "We Will Rob You" and "House of Flying Daggers", on Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II.
The Genius continued to tour during the year, appearing on the Rock The Bells lineup and also performing at the NXNE music festival in Canada.

-wiki