In 1995, GZA released Liquid Swords, and I went on a full-blown ’90s preteen adventure trying to get my hands on it. I was 12, and the album dropped right before Christmas—November. For a lot of my friends, that meant a copy under the tree. For me? Absolutely not.

Back in 2018 I was traveling down a rabbit hole on YouTube and Wikipedia. I started with Mike Tyson highlights and iconic moments which...