It's been 7 years since founding Wu-Tang member GZA released a solo single. Now he returns with "The Mexican," teaming up with Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello as well as Hanni El Khatib, and Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Ruban Nielson. The song will not be featured on his upcoming album, Dark Matter.
The song is a new rendition of British band Babe Ruth's 1972 tune "The Mexican," which is regarded as one of the most influential songs for old school hip hop. It has been sampled by classic rap artists such as Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash, the Funky Four Plus One, and Pete Rock.
According to GZA, he has been wanting to sample this song for some time now.
"The Mexican," produced by GZA and Jose Reynoso, shows us the fusion of classic rock and hip hop with a touch of Latin flavor. The gritty, cinematic lyrics over the quick-paced Latin guitar riffs is clearly disparate from his previous works. Listen above as The Genius debuts a new sound for his fans.
Dark Matter doesn't have a release date set at this time, and is not available yet for pre-order. For more music, news, and videos from GZA, visit his Zumic artist page.
Source: GZA Genius SoundCloud