GZA

Gary Eldridge Grice (born August 22, 1966), better known by his stage names GZA ( JIZ-ə) and the Genius, is an American rapper. A founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, GZA is the group's "spiritual head", being both the first member in the group to receive a record deal and being the oldest member. He has appeared on his fellow Wu-Tang members' solo projects, and has maintained a successful solo career starting with his second album Liquid Swords (1995).

His lyrical style often eschews typical hip-hop themes in favor of science and philosophy. An analysis of GZA's lyrics found that he has one of the largest vocabularies in popular hip-hop music, despite dropping out of high school during the 10th grade. He teamed up with an education group to promote science education in New York City through hip-hop. His style has been characterized as "armed with sharp metaphors and a smooth flow".