

GZA also directed videos for four tunes from the album, exploring another creative avenue that would eventually lead to him acting in Jim Jarmusch's film Coffee and Cigarettes with RZA and Bill Murray as well as an episode of Chappelle Show. Songs including "Shadowboxin'/4th Chamber," "Cold World" and the title track were rightfully hailed as timeless classic of the Wu-Tang catalog. Though it came out after the other successful solo efforts, Liquid Swords quickly found an enthusiastic reception among hip-hop fans thanks to GZA's dense, vivid storytelling and the atmospheric menace of the RZA's beats.

Armed with the extended crew's arsenal of gifted MCs and the gritty, spare beats RZA constructed out of dusty soul rarities and extensive sampling from kung fu films, the group produced its landmark debut Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) in 1993. The RZA would form his new group with his cousins and a handful of childhood friends including Method Man (Clifford Smith), Raekwon the Chef (Corey Woods), Ghostface Killah (Dennis Coles), Inspectah Deck (Jason Hunter), U-God (Lamont Hawkins) and Masta Killa (Jamel Irief). While it had little impact - largely due to lack of promotion by the label the lascivious pop R&B single "Come Do Me" didn't help - it would later be reissued including an additional track featuring RZA in an attempt to capitalize on Wu-Tang's subsequent rise to fame. The GZA also made his recording debut the same year as the Genius with his debut album Words from the Genius on Cold Chillin' Records. However that first recording hinted at the influence kung fu movies would exert on his next project with the song "Deadly Venoms" and its first references to Wu-Tang. Diggs eventually moved back to New York and tried to start a solo career under the name Prince Rakeem that never went past an initial single released by Tommy Boy in 1991.
