Los Angeles, CA – July 2021 – GZA The Genius teams up with Louis Vuitton to release ‘Liquid Swords (Amen Break Version)’.

This collaboration between Louis Vuitton and GZA features a set partly derived from the artwork and packaging of his seminal and critically acclaimed album ‘Liquid Swords’. Recently, GZA collaborated with Benji B and Virgil Abloh to create a film, ‘Amen Break’, for the Louis Vuitton Spring-Summer 2022 Collection. In 1995, the Brooklyn-born hip-hop artist GZA released the album ‘Liquid Swords’, named after the 1993 film ‘Legends Of The Liquid Sword’. Underpinned by the teachings of martial arts – already a recurring motif in the work of his group, Wu-Tang Clan – the record further integrated elements from the 1980 film ‘Shogun Assassin’ and dealt with philosophical themes analogized through the game of chess. GZA employed the virtues of composure native to martial arts to express values of mental strength through physical self-discipline. His contributions to hip-hop made it a truly global, bringing elements of the far east to New York, creating an almost mythological New York City, that became the basis of inspiration for this year’s Louis Vuitton’s men’s spring summer 2022 fashion show and features in the Louis Vuitton Spring-Summer 2022 film. GZA is a true pioneer of many of the elements of hip-hop. His visionary storytelling style and groundbreaking ability to mix double entendres with rhyming couplets that compliment cinematic beats has made him one of the most important MCs of all time.

CREDITS:

From Louis Vuitton Spring-Summer 2022 Collection by Virgil Abloh ‘Amen Break’ film, released on June 24th, 2021.

Directors: Virgil Abloh & The Original Kids

Photography © Louis Vuitton / Reto Schmid

Music Supervision: Vincent Tajan

Musical Direction and Production: Benji B

Set Design: Playlab Inc.

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