GZA To Serve As Guest Lecturer @ Harvard University on 12/1@4pm EST

[IronSheik]

The Genius will also talk with specialists to seek inspiration for his 2012 Babygrande Records release.
After recently announcing his new album with Babygrande Records for release in 2012, GZA is planning on hitting up Harvard University as a guest lecturer.
The Genius will speak at a lecture hosted by the Harvard Black Men’s Forum on Thursday, December 1st at 4 p.m. The chat, open to the public, will focus on the Wu-Tang Clan and his creative process, and will be followed by a Q&A session.
While in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the veteran rapper will also visit the Broad Institute and the MIT Media Lab to meet with specialists for inspiration for his upcoming LP.

"Here's the official flyer for the Harvard lecture (thanks, Jeremy). Should answer everyone's questions. And yes, we will record and post afterwards. Hope to see you there." -GZA

[THE W]

what yall chowderheads know about water nigga?


wish i was still living there to go check that out.

[rakimkoolgrapwutang]

damn sounds good. gza is number 1 rapper and very intellectual guy

[tekunique]

hence, "THE GENIUS"

[biblebullet]

I like this

[-The A to the Z-]

Go on my son.

[duotone]

someone should film that and put it online!
go for it! i'm waiting

[the silencer]

This is huge. Good for GZA and long live the mothafuckin Wu

[Miliato]

Wow I'll be swinging down there

[IronSheik]

FYI for those attending this Thursday...

In order to give me more time to speak and answer questions, we've moved the lecture time up to 4:30pm with doors opening at 4:00pm. Please tell all your friends in the Boston area to come through, it's open to the public. Science Center D on the Harvard Campus this Thursday, December 1st. ~GZA

[UNCLE RUCKUS]

anybody going? im thinking about it

[diggy]

If ya go please record it and put it on youtube.

[FeLo]

A packed auditorium erupted in applause on Thursday evening as the Wu-Tang Clan’s GZA delivered some original rhymes and reflected on his life and career in an event hosted by the Harvard Black Men’s Forum in the Science Center.

Although GZA, born Gary Grice, has spent much of his adult life in front of sold-out venues, the rapper expressed nervousness as he began his monologue.

“This is the first time for me. I should be learning from you all,” GZA said. “I’m actually shaking right now, crazy,” he added with a laugh.

As he took the stage, a lecture hall full of fans greeted him with shouts of the trademark Wu-Tang phrase, “Peace.”

The artist, also known as The Genius, began by taking the audience through his childhood in “Shaolin”—Wu-Tang lingo for Staten Island—where his first encounters with wordplay came from a book of nursery rhymes. By his teenage years, GZA and future group-mates RZA and Ol’ Dirty Bastard were trekking across the boroughs of New York City in search of the best rap battles they could find.

“Everything we did revolved around hip hop,” he said. “I would ask around, ‘Who’s the best?’ and I would go look for them.”

“[It was] just like the flicks,” he added. “One dude would roll up, another dude rolls up, and there’s 40 people waiting outside the building.”

GZA went on to recount the humbling experience of going back to work after his first record deal in the late 1980s didn’t pan out. He had a job as a bicycle messenger just six months before his career took off with the release of Wu-Tang’s first single, “Protect Ya Neck,” in 1992.

He interspersed his discussion of his musical influences and creative process with a cappella verses and witty rhymes.

“To write a story is to create a world of your own,” he said. “I think every being in the universe is connected somehow ... and when I write a song, it’s a lot like building a puzzle.”

During the event, GZA responded to an audience question about his opinion on mainstream hip-hop today.

“I hear songs like [50 Cent’s] ‘Window Shopper,’” he said, quoting lyrics from the 2005 song and suggesting that the lyrics did not meet his own standards.

“Do you think that equates with some of the lyrics that I was kicking?’” he said.

The event attracted fans from beyond the Harvard community.

“I definitely expected him to talk more about music and the group,” said Andrew Lacombe, a sophomore at Dean College who made the trip from Franklin, Mass. “But him talking about life was a lot better.”

GZA closed his lecture with some advice for those that had turned out.

“Live a life full of humility, gratitude, intellectual curiosity, and never stop learning.”

http://wudisciples.blogspot.com/2011...yesterday.html

[IronSheik]

[Shiz36]

I was there. Was a great time. He was nervous in the beginning but settled right in. He definitely barely touched upon everything he wanted to, but due to time restrictions was cut short to leave time for some Q&A. He then stuck around and signed autographs and took pics with everyone which was cool.

Definitely a great experience overall. No photography was allowed but they were filming it and had signs on the doors of the lecture hall saying we were being recorded. It's only a matter of time before it pops up somewhere.

@IronSheik, were you the guy in the WuWear leather jacket snapping photos?