“4th Chamber” is the 7th track off GZA’s “Liquid Swords” album. The title references the Shaw Brothers film “36th Chamber of Shaolin”, in which there are 35 original chambers that a Shaolin monk must go through & master before he is considered a martial arts expert. The 4th Chamber is one where a monk must strengthen their wrists by hitting a gong with a weighted bamboo pole.

Speaking about “4th Chamber” to Wax Poetics, GZA called it a…

Crazy, crazy song. If I ever do a rock album, not saying I would, but if I did, it would have to be on that kind of vibe. It would musically have to sound like “Rock Box” from Run DMC. Making “4th Chamber” was crazy because I didn’t have a rhyme ready for that one. That’s why I went last on it [laughs]. Plus, Ghost killed it with his verse so I knew I had to come correct.

This is one of three songs that crowds always go crazy for when we do a Wu show. As soon as they hear the [imitates opening guitar sound] they just explode. It’s not even a GZA song to me—it’s a Wu-Tang song. And Ghost’s verse is [just] incredible to me. He delivered so well. I don’t know if you saw the video, I directed that too. This song, the guest verses, the video, the crowd response, all turned out perfect for this one.

The track is a pulsating posse cut featuring stellar verses from the Genius and fellow members of the Wu-Tang, and remains a fan favorite.

Samples:
“Groovin'” by Willie Mitchell
“Dharmatma Theme Music (Sad)” by Kalyanji-Anandji
“Assassin With Son” by The Wonderland Philharmonic (from the Shogun Assassin soundtrack)
Dialogue from Shogun Assassin