Birth Name: Gary Grice

a.k.a.: The Genius, Maximillion, Justice

Wu-Tang Clan's GZA/Genius grew up on the streets of Staten Island with strong connections with Brooklyn and Manhattan. It was there he started spittin' rhymes as a kid with his younger cousins Prince Rakeem the RZA and Ol' Dirty Bastard. "I taught RZA," Genius says, "RZA taught Ol' Dirty and that's how it was."

In 1989, Genius got a deal with Cold Chillin' Records and released Words From the Genius with producer Easy Mo Bee the following year. But after disappointing sales and conflicts with his label, Genius returned to his roots (Staten Island) and his cousins.

Genius, RZA and Ol' Dirty Bastard formed the Wu-Tang Clan in early 1991. The Clan, a loose collective of nine MCs, including Genius, RZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, U-God, Inspecta Deck and Masta Killa, put out their first single, "Protect Ya Neck," the following year. "Protect Ya Neck" became an underground hit and paved the way for the Clan's overwhelming success to come.

In 1994 Genius took a break from Wu-Tang to record the lead single to the soundtrack to Fresh,"I Gotcha Back," and rode the momentum of that success to release his second solo album, Liquid Swords, this time on Geffen Records. Beneath the Surface, Genius' latest CD, was released on MCA Records in 1999.