''Grandmasters'' is a collaborative
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...
by American
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
-based record producer
DJ Muggs
Lawrence Muggerud (born January 28, 1968), professionally known by his stage name DJ Muggs, is an American DJ, audio engineer and record producer. He is a member of Cypress Hill, a member of the trip hop band Cross My Heart Hope To Die and the l ...
and
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
-based rapper
GZA. It was released on October 25, 2005 via Angeles Records, serving as Muggs' first in his "DJ Muggs vs." series and GZA's fifth album. Produced entirely by Muggs, it features fellow
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close aff ...
members and affiliates
Raekwon
Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name Raekwon The Chef, or simply Raekwon (), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream succes ...
,
RZA,
Masta Killa
Jamel Irief (born Elgin Turner; August 18, 1969), better known by his stage name Masta Killa, is an American rapper and member of the Wu-Tang Clan. Though one of the lesser-known members of the group (he was featured on only one track on their 1 ...
and
Prodigal Sunn
Lamar Ruff, known professionally as Prodigal Sunn, is an American rapper, actor & film producer. He is a member of Sunz of Man and Wu-Tang Clan original affiliate.
Biography
Prodigal Sunn is an American Rapper, Actor, & Film Producer from B ...
, as well as
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...
's
Sen Dog. The project has a theme of
chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...
as can be seen by the track names. Introductions featuring
chess strategy
Chess strategy is the aspect of chess play concerned with evaluation of chess positions and setting of goals and long-term plans for future play. While evaluating a position strategically, a player must take into account such factors as the rela ...
, including instruction for a
chess opening
A chess opening or simply an opening is the initial stage of a chess game. It usually consists of established theory; the other phases are the middlegame and the endgame. Many opening sequences have standard names such as the "Sicilian Defen ...
using
algebraic notation, are within the album. The album was also released in '
Instrumental
An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...
s' and '
Remix
A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...
' versions. The latter containing a bonus DVD featuring world tour and studio footage.
Background
Track listing
Personnel
*
Gary Grice – main artist, vocals
*
Lawrence Muggerud – main artist, keyboards
(track 3), producer
*
Corey Woods – featured artist
(tracks: 3, 6)
*
Robert Diggs – featured artist
(tracks: 6, 8)
*
Senen Reyes – featured artist
(track 6)
*
Elgin Turner – featured artist
(track 9)
*
Vergil Ruff – featured artist
(track 9)
*Dina Nadezhdina – voice (spoken word interludes)
*Ina Williams – backing vocals
(track 7)
*Mike "Crazy Neck" Sims – guitar
(tracks: 2, 12), piano
(tracks: 4, 7), bass
(tracks: 10, 11), keyboards
(tracks: 10, 12)
*Daniel Seeff – bass
(tracks: 2, 6, 7, 9)
*
Rob Hill – guitar & strings
(track 3), mixing
*Dontae Winslow – trumpet
(track 7)
*Ernesto "Ern Dog" Medina – guitar
(track 11), bass & organ
(track 12), assistant engineering
*
Joe "The Butcher" Nicolo – mixing
*Tyler Nicolo – assistant mixing
*DJ SPR4 – recording, assistant mixing
*
Brian "Big Bass" Gardner
Brian Knapp Gardner, also known as Brian "Big Bass" Gardner, is an American mastering engineer. He has worked on a number of recordings since the mid-1960s, including classic rock, funk, disco, alternative rock, R&B, hip hop, pop punk and danc ...
– mastering
*Mike "Fatoe" Orduña – art direction, design
*Joey Castillo Jr. – art direction, design
*Robert Johnson III – photography
Charts
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grandmasters (Album)
GZA albums
2005 albums
DJ Muggs albums
Collaborative albums
Albums produced by DJ Muggs