Words from the Genius
Studio album by
The Genius
ReleasedFebruary 19, 1991
Recorded1990
GenreHip-hop
Length63:39
LabelCold Chillin'/Reprise/Warner Bros. Records
26475
Producer
GZA chronology
Words from the Genius
(1991)		 Liquid Swords
(1995)
Wu-Tang Clan solo chronology
Words from the Genius
(1991)		 Tical
(1994)
Rerelease cover
Words From The Genius (1994 re-release)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Music City(favorable)[2]
RapReviews7/10[3]

Words from the Genius is the debut studio album by the American rapper GZA, under his previous stage name "The Genius". The album never charted, and GZA went on to co-found the Wu-Tang Clan in 1992 after the album's failure.

Album background

It was released on February 19, 1991. It is significant as one of the few albums released by a Wu-Tang Clan member before the founding of the group in late 1992 and one of only two pre- Wu-Tang clan releases any of the members recorded with a major label (the other is Ooh, I Love You, Rakeem EP by Prince Rakeem (RZA)).

Album re-release

It was re-released in 1994, with the song "Come Do Me" replaced by "Pass the Bone." Both versions are now out of print. In 2006, an expanded version was released by Traffic Entertainment Group, the owner of the bulk of the Cold Chillin' Records catalog.

"I was signed to Cold Chillin' 'bout five years ago," GZA recalled in 1995. "They put out an album but didn't promote it. They tried to put it out again last year after everything happened with the Clan, put a '94 date on it, but still didn't put any money behind it, so it didn't sell twice. I'm still proud of it, though. The beats ain't all that but, lyrically, shit was bangin'. So it wasn't all peaches and cream, but I was determined to break through. 'A quitter never wins, and a winner never quits.' Wu-Tang!!"[4]

Critical reception

The album received mixed reviews. Steve Juon, writing for RapReviews, stated: "Words From the Genius doesn’t go down as an all-time classic. [...] There are plenty of worthwhile moments here though. The anti-violence 'Stop the Nonsense,' the braggadocious 'Feel the Pain' and the Patrick Harvey produced 'What Are Silly Girls Made Of' stand the test of time even without the trademark dirty, grimy, kung-fu sampling sound GZA would become better known for with RZA’s help. This is pre-Wu, this is proto-Wu, but it’s not hard to see what Gary Grice would become in short order."[3]

Track listing

Words from the Genius track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Come Do Me"Gary Eldridge GriceJesse West4:47
2."Phony As Ya Wanna Be"GriceEasy Mo Bee5:04
3."True Fresh M.C."GriceEasy Mo Bee3:39
4."The Genius Is Slammin'"
Easy Mo Bee4:23
5."Words from a Genius"
  • Grice
  • Harvey Jr.
Easy Mo Bee5:05
6."Who's Your Rhymin' Hero"GricePatrick Harvey4:34
7."Feel the Pain"GriceEasy Mo Bee3:39
8."Those Were the Days"GriceEasy Mo Bee4:37
9."Life of a Drug Dealer"
  • Grice
  • Harvey Jr.
Easy Mo Bee3:39
10."Stop the Nonsense"GriceEasy Mo Bee3:41
11."Living Foul"GriceEasy Mo Bee4:22
12."Drama"
  • Grice
  • Harvey Jr.
Easy Mo Bee3:59
13."Stay Out of Bars"GricePatrick Harvey3:55
14."What Are Silly Girls Made of"GricePatrick Harvey4:32
15."Superfreak"GricePatrick Harvey4:38
1994 Re-release
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Pass the Bone" (featuring Prince Rakeem)
3:52
2."Life of a Drug Dealer"
Easy Mo Bee3:39
3."The Genius Is Slammin'"
  • Grice
  • Harvey Jr.
Easy Mo Bee4:23
4."Those Were the Days"GriceEasy Mo Bee4:37
5."What Silly Girls Are Made of"GricePatrick Harvey4:32
6."Living Foul"GriceEasy Mo Bee4:22
7."Words from the Genius"
  • Grice
  • Harvey Jr.
Easy Mo Bee5:05
8."Who's Your Rhymin' Hero"GricePatrick Harvey4:34
9."Phony As You Wanna Be"GriceEasy Mo Bee5:04
10."Stop the Nonsense"GriceEasy Mo Bee3:41
11."Superfreak"GricePatrick Harvey4:38
12."Stay Out of Bars"GricePatrick Harvey3:55
2006 Re-release
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Come Do Me"Gary Eldridge GriceJesse West4:47
2."Phony As Ya Wanna Be"GriceEasy Mo Bee5:04
3."True Fresh M.C."GriceEasy Mo Bee3:39
4."The Genius Is Slammin'"
Easy Mo Bee4:23
5."Words from the Genius"
  • Grice
  • Harvey Jr.
Easy Mo Bee5:05
6."Who's Your Rhymin' Hero"GricePatrick Harvey4:34
7."Feel the Pain"GriceEasy Mo Bee3:39
8."Those Were the Days"GriceEasy Mo Bee4:37
9."Life of a Drug Dealer"
  • Grice
  • Harvey Jr.
Easy Mo Bee3:39
10."Stop the Nonsense"GriceEasy Mo Bee3:41
11."Living Foul"GriceEasy Mo Bee4:22
12."Drama"
  • Grice
  • Harvey Jr.
Easy Mo Bee3:59
13."Stay Out the Bars"GricePatrick Harvey3:55
14."What Are Silly Girls Made of"GricePatrick Harvey4:32
15."Superfreak"GricePatrick Harvey4:38
16."Pass the Bone" (featuring Prince Rakeem)
3:52
17."Words from the Genius" (Prince Rakeem Remix)
  • Grice
  • Diggs
Prince Rakeem3:31
18."Come Do Me" (Dub Remix)Grice
  • Jesse West
  • Melquan
4:50
Spotify Edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Pass the Bone" (featuring Prince Rakeem)
3:52
2."Life of a Drug Dealer"
Easy Mo Bee3:39
3."The Genius Is Slammin'"
  • Grice
  • Harvey Jr.
Easy Mo Bee4:23
4."Those Were the Days"GriceEasy Mo Bee4:37
5."What Are Silly Girls Made of"GricePatrick Harvey4:32
6."Living Foul"GriceEasy Mo Bee4:22
7."Drama"
  • Grice
  • Harvey Jr.
Easy Mo Bee3:59
8."Words from the Genius"
  • Grice
  • Harvey Jr.
Easy Mo Bee5:05
9."Who's Your Rhymin' Hero"GricePatrick Harvey4:34
10."Phony As You Wanna Be"GriceEasy Mo Bee5:04
11."Stop the Nonsense"GriceEasy Mo Bee3:41
12."Super Freak"GricePatrick Harvey4:38
13."Stay Out of Bars"GricePatrick Harvey3:55
14."True Fresh M.C."GriceEasy Mo Bee3:39
15."Feel the Pain"GriceEasy Mo Bee3:39
Total length:64:11

References

  1. ↑ Jason Birchmeier. "Words from the Genius - The Genius | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-09-16.
  2. ↑ "Genius - Words From The Genius : the album description, tracks, reviews". Music-city.org. Retrieved 2015-09-16.
  3. 1 2 The Genius (GZA) :: Words from the Genius - RapReviews
  4. ↑ Select, January 1996


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