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 when I released American Beatmaker, Otis Taylor of The State newspaper called me prolific. I didn’t know how much that word would mean later.”