GZA in Wu Tang An American Saga is a rapper and founding member of the Wu Tang Clan. Actor Johnell Young plays GZA in the series.
The show is on its third season after six months break where the show hypes up the drama and fame of the rapper’s group.
This season shows the group touring and includes part of GZA’s solo debut album Liquid Swords.
The actor who plays the role is excited that the fans of the show are going to see the different persona of the rapper.
While the show is about the WU Tang Clan, episode number 8 of the season is entirely dedicated to the character’s solo album and its story.
Who Is GZA In Wu Tang An American Saga?
GZA in Wu Tang An American Saga is the first member to get a record deal in the group. GZA was born on August 22, 1966.
He has appeared in many of the projects of the group. Being a rapper he puts a story in every lyric he writes.
In the 90’s he joined the group formed by his cousin RZA and other seven members. He and the group created various albums such as Enter the WU-Tang where he had his own solo track called Clan in da front.
His appearances in the albums such as Return to the 36 Chamber and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx brought the fan’s attention toward him.
All the other group members thought of him as the head of the group. According to Method Man, they are like Voltron and Genius is the head of the clan.
He also debuted his studio album Liquid Swords in 1995 which was recorded in the basement studio by RZA. The album is made with all original Clan members.
The album is considered one of the best to ever come out of the group. It debuted at the 9th spot on the Billboard 200 and 2nd spot on the Hip Hop album chart.
In 2002 he released the sequel of his studio album, Legend of the Liquid Sword. It was also well-received by the critics. He has also toured worldwide with his rap group.
Recently his newest project was when he provided a voice in Netflix’s Kipo and the Age of wonder beasts as Bad Billons. He also contributed a song to that series.
Actor Johnell Young Plays GZA In Wu Tang An American Saga
Johnell Young is a budding actor whose portrayal of GZA will be his sixth credited acting job. Young’s biggest part so far has been playing a character in the drama series Tales.
Young appeared in the 2017 Tupac film All Eyez On Me. The actor takes on the character of Wu-founding Tang’s member Genius who is one of the group’s most witty lyricists.
The actor told that he had to do more research and had to do more rapping and get his wordplay correct to portray the character of GZA.
Being from Staten Island, he felt more pressure to appear that he was from the city. That’s where Wu-Tang Clan is from.
After looking into him and actually getting a chance to perform with Genius and see how he moves and rap on stage, Young got a little bit more comfortable.
To rap like him, Johnell listened closely to how his voice sounded which was very unique for him.
While Young was recording he went to King Tech who did the music for the show. He used to put a tissue on his nose before recording to sound like the rapper.
He was hired to play Gary Grice in the Wu-Tang: An American Saga Hulu original series in 2019.
Where is Rapper GZA Now?
Legendary rapper GZA is now on tour performing his famous solo debut album Liquid Swords since January.
As part of the special “3 Chambers Tour” in 2021, the GZA played the iconic album in its entirety with fellow Wu-Tang legends Ghostface Killah and Raekwon.
At his show at Yoshi’s in Oakland, he performed Liquid Swords in addition to a limited attendance pre-show meet and greet with fans where he played 15 games of chess.
He is also heavily involved in the series Wu-Tang An American Saga where he shares promotional videos on his Instagram.
Genius is also involved in producing and selling his merch and promotes them on his social media.
The MC continues to record and tour with the Wu-Tang Clan. He has continued to be busy with his own releases and a number of collaborations, including an album with Cypress Hill producer DJ Muggs.