GZA

As where Liquid Swords-era RZA beats chopped gritty soul to emphasize the fierce urgency of now, the best beats on Protools are loose loops of sad nostalgia. GZA, likewise, has pushed back the visceral pow of early years for hard-worn wisdom and hip-hop noir narratives. His voice lazily rolls over the bass, and his stories have grown increasingly intricate, with a full cast of three dimensional characters who inhabit grimy, finely detailed landscapes. For fans of the lost art of rap story-telling, this is phenomenal.