Dear Gordon Gee,

The GZA spoke at Harvard. Now, he is speaking at Oxford(U.K.) on January 28th about his beginnings as an MC, his Clan, his inspiration, his process, LIQUID SWORDS, and the state of hip hop. The lecture will be followed by a Q&A. I think OSU needs to compete with these reputable schools and bring the GZA to Columbus. Maybe he could play Liquid Swords while he is town. Or maybe he will do songs off his upcoming Baby Grande Release.

Best,

Wes Flexner

European Dates After The Jump

TOUR DATES

1/27 Sheffield, UK @ O2 Academy
1/28 Oxford, UK @ O2 Academy
1/29 Liverpool, UK @ O2 Academy
1/30 Bournemouth, UK @ Old Fire Station
1/31 London, UK @ O2 Academy
2/1 Gent, BEL @ Vooruit
2/2 Poitiers, FR @ Confort Moderne
2/3 Montpelier, FR @ Rockstore
2/4 Cologne, GER @ Essigfabrik
2/5 Stuttgart, GER @ Die Röhre
2/6 Munich, GER @ Backstage
2/7 Berlin, GER @ Cassiopeia
2/8 Hamburg, GER @ Klubsen
2/9 Zurich, SWI @ Escherwyss
2/10 Neufchatel, SWI @ La Case a Chocs
2/11 Geneva, SWI @ Usine PTR
2/12 Paris, FR @ Le Bataclan
2/13 Glasgow, SCO @ The Arches
2/14 Tilburg, NET @ 5-Elementz
2/15 Amsterdam, NET @ 013
2/16 Birmingham, UK @ The Other Room
2/17 Laax, SWI @ Riders Palace
2/18 Bristol, UK @ O2
2/19 Bratislawa, SLO @ Majestik Music Club
2/20 Vienna, AUS @ Fluc Wanne

MP3: GZA’s Lecture at Harvard (via the Crypt)

As reported last week, the Gza met with M.I.T  Scientists and lectured the Black Men’s Forum at Harvard to gain inspiration for his upcoming album. You are probably as curious as I…How did it go? According to the Gza’s publicist:

GZA talked about childhood influences like nursery rhymes, The Last Poets, kung fu movies, particularly Bruce Lee. He also discussed a broad range of inspirations: “the unique complex design of a spiderweb”; sports, though he’s not a fan, led him to write “Queen’s Gambit” in which he uses the names of many football teams; television forensics shows opened the door to “Exploitation of a MIstake.” To the delight of the audience, GZA cited rhymes from the aforementioned songs as well as a couple others.

jump to keep reading

GZA shared his scientific and spiritual world view: “every being and object within the universe is connected somehow, whether visibly or invisibly, I saw that in the lab today: from micro to macro…the deeper one sees into life, the wider life opens itself to one, you see that from working in the lab.” He closed with some life advice: “Live a life full of humility, gratitude, intellectual curiosity and never stop learning.” He hopes to continue lecturing throughout the world.

While in Cambridge, GZA visited with a number of others on the MIT campus. Phil Richardson from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute told him about his study of the flight patterns of the albatross. John Rinn took the rapper on an exclusive after-hours tour of the Broad Institute the joint Harvard and MIT biomedical research center where he showed him a real time genome sequencer. Soon after the tour started, Eric Lander, leader of the institute and co-chair of Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology stopped by. Penny Chisholm, MIT marine biologist, showed GZA around her lab and gave him a sample of prochlorococcus, a photosynthetic ocean bacterium. Additionally she gave him a fully sealed ecosphere containing four brine shrimp aka sea monkeys, which he immediately named Larry, Mo, Dave, and Curly. David Kaiser and GZA discussed black holes, grey holes, teleportation, and quantum physics. Over at the Media Lab Tod Machover showed GZA his “Opera of the Future” and Ethan Zuckerman’s Civic Media team illuminated their ideas on how technology could shape a better world. On the creative side, GZA met his now “homeboy” Junot Diaz, Pulitzer Prize winning author. The two discussed their processes and hip hop

The Boston Globe covered the GZA’s trip to M.I.T. and Harvard lecture.  And The Crypt recorded the Harvard speech. Sounds like GZA was involved with some serious alchemists.

Wu-Tang Clan’s GZA also calls himself the Genius. No one ever questions that. Put Liquid Swords on around me, and I will break down a zillion insights one can get from that album. Even when joking, the WU-Chappelle Show Skit about diversifing one’s options kinda was well, genius. And is there any question what the best scene in Coffee & Cigarettes is?

Well, the Genius is preparing to visit Cambridge, Mass to drop jewels and build with some of the brightest minds on the planet earth while gearing up for a new album in 2012.

Read more after the jump:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The GZA (above performing with Wavves) will lecture at the Harvard Black Men’s Forum, December 1st.

The Harvard Black Men’s Forum (BMF) is a student led organization focused on providing a space for African-American men at Harvard and combating issues that affect African-Americans at Harvard and around the world. The current President of BMF is Damilare Sonoiki, a junior at Harvard.

The founding member of the Clan will lecture the Havard BMF about about his Clan, his craft, and his creativity on Thursday, December 1 at 5 p.m. There will be a Q & A after the lecture.

While in Cambridge, The Genius, an avid student of many branches of science, will visit the Broad Institute and the MIT Media Lab to build with some the greatest thinkers in their fields to get inspiration for his forthcoming album to be released on Babygrande Records in 2012.

Wavves and the GZA were on Fuel TV last night. They played GZA’s classic song “Liquid Swords”
Billboard Magazine reported yesterday that Wavves will be the guest composer for MTV’s new show I Just Want My Pants Back which debuts after the MTV Video Music Awards, August 28th.
I Just Want My Pants Back pilot episode is directed by Dough Liman(“Mr. and Mrs. Smith”. “Swingers”, “Go,” Bourne Identity”),  and based on David J. Rosen’s novel of the same name I Just Want My Pants Back. The series follows Jason Strider, played by Peter Vack, a 20 something living in Brooklyn struggling with sex, love. career and friendship. Jason puts his friends before his job as a casting agent, and doesn’t pursue his dreams of being a music journalist.

Wavves next EP, Life Sux, will be released on his own label Ghost Ramp Septemeber 20th, 2011. Fucked Up and Best Coast guest on this EP.

Wavves and Fucked Up will play in Columbus at Skullys September 28th.

The GZA tells 50 he is garbage from stage in Europe. Mildy disses Souljah Boy Tell Em. New Wu-Tang album in stores today. The album is pretty dope except for George Clinton still singing about being a dog. It’s 08 George Clinton. Please find a new animal. Be an aligator or a turtle. Anything. Just stop being a damn dog chasing a cat. Turn on that Planet Earth network. They got vampire squids.

Thats the only flaw on the new Wu.