Wu Tang Clan's GZA To Release Astronomy Themed Album

15 June 2012

In recent months, Wu-Tang Clan rapper and founding member GZA has spent much of his time with scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology whilst also giving lectures at Harvard and New York University. The world renown MC has more excitingly also just completed an album currently titled Dark Matter. Due to hit stores later this year, it's an astronomy themed piece of work inspired by his interest in quantum physics.

In order to help inspire his writing for the album which aims to address subjects such as the solar system, black holes, and beyond, the 45 year old rapper spent time with several physicists and astronomers over the last year. The CD will come packaged with an illustrated book containing a glossary of terms and the album's lyrics. As for the production of the record, it is largely orchestral.

“I will take a quantum leap and discuss the universe while taking us on a journey through deep space. Traveling at lightspeed from the galactic center of one galaxy to the farthest corners of another. I hope my listeners will enjoy this cosmic adventure within a world of colossal planets, gas giants, meteorites, comets, and asteroids in the most extreme conditions.” - GZA

Composer and producer Marco Vitali, a Juilliard-trained violinist, is helping to score Dark Matter. When speaking to the WSJ, he recalled a recent meeting in which GZA explained the images that the music should convey:

"We talked about frenetic energy, outer space, molecules crashing into each other, organized chaos," Mr. Vitali said. "The grandeur of the fact that the universe was born in a millionth of a second, in this explosion that created billions of stars, these overpowering ideas that are bigger than we can conceive. How do we make the record feel like that?"

GZA lovingly known by close friends and collaborators as "the genius", is already working with Philipe Costeau to discuss ideas for another science-themed project, this time focusing on Earth's oceans.

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