Though the album was credited to GZA alone, there are numerous guest appearances from the entire Wu-Tang Clan, like all their earlier solo albums. Liquid Swords is characteristic of the Wu-Tang Clan in its minimalist, menacing and ominous beats by producer RZA, and its cinematic themes relating to Asian cinema, particularly Samurai cinema. GZA also covers many themes, such as chess, crime and philosophy. The album begins with a monologue from a little boy; his monologue, and many of the other skits scattered throughout the album, are from the cult film Shogun Assassin. These samples, along with eerie beats gives Liquid Swords a distinctive, creepy, unsettling sound, proving influential to many subsequent East Coast hip hop artists.
The album is also known for its distinctive cover, designed by DC-Milestone comic book artist Denys Cowan who was commissioned by Garfield, an avid comic book fan under the auspices of GZA Graphics, a subsidiary company of GZA Entertainment owned by Genius and Garfield. The concept of the chessboard with its sword-wielding warriors was conceived by Genius, an avid chess player. The Genius version of the Wu-Tang Clan logo, the "G" using the logo iconography, was rendered by Wu-Tang Clan DJ Mathematics.
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