Ghostface Killah – “Supreme Clientele 2” review

New York veteran Ghostface Killah of the almighty Wu-Tang Clan with his 17th solo LP. One of hip hop’s most prolific storytellers & easily the most consistent member of the Clan exemplified by Ironman, Supreme Clientele, FishScale, Apollo Kids, 12 Reasons to Die & Sour Soul just to name a few. Ghostface Killahs in the fall of 2019 stands as one of the only few duds in his discography along with More Fish & the Mass Appeal Records debut Set the Tone (Guns & Roses), continuing the Legend Has It series with Supreme Clientele 2 finally seeing the light of day.

After the Redman intro, the first song “Iron Man” opens with a boom bap instrumental talking about having Wall Street bugging over helium stocks whereas “Sample 420” featuring M.O.P. sees the trio coming together for a fly gangsta rap cut. “Curtis May” featuring Conway the Machine & Styles P talks about their bars being prescribed out here like it’s medicine while “4th Disciple” dustily tells the story of a homie of his losing his life in a shootout.

“Windows” embraces a more soulful direction stylistically talking about his crew mobbin’ & him dartin’ but after the “Pause” skit, “Georgy Porgy” exuberantly clarifies that he ain’t here to play no games. After the “Force MD” skit, “Break Beats” jazzily flexes that he can get right with God & go back to Hell just before the funky “Beat Box” talks about a shawty who happens to be in her own lane.

Scram Jones producing the lead single “Rap Kingpin” sampling “My Melody” by Eric B. & Rakim for a sequel to “Mighty Healthy” while “The Trial” featuring GZA, Method Man, Pillz, Raekwon & Reek da Villain after the “Sale of the Century” skit vividly portrays themselves in a courtroom with a judge. Nas joins Starks for the soulful “Love Me Anymore” talks about how foul people can be while the crooning “Soul Thang” featuring DriZ, Iceman, Pillz, NEMS, Reek da Villian, Supreme-Intelligence & Sun God finds everyone going back-&-forth with one another.

“Metaphysics” was a tight remix to “Typhoon Rap” by Meyhem Lauren featuring Action Bronson while the soulful “Candyland” unpacks tons of candy & drug wordplay. After the “Lenny Green” skit, “The Zoom” samples “Zoom” by the Commodores for a passionate love ballad & the final song “You Ma Friend” featuring Method Man ahead of the “Knuckles” outro finishes with an ode to friendship.

The 3rd entry in the Legend Has It saga & the Yapp City Records founder’s 2nd offering under the Mass Appeal umbrella redeems Ghostface Killah from the mediocrity of Ghostface Killahs & Set the Tone (Guns & Roses) by presenting itself as an echo of a chamber that never dosed although I’d prefer both Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, Pt. II & Muddy Waters 2 when discussing sequel albums. One of hip hop’s greatest storytellers who’s seen it all & lived it twice feels more like his vintage self than his last couple albums except he’s sharper, looser, freer & finding new ways to flip the script.

Score: 4/5

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Wu-Tang Clan – “Black Samson, The Bastard Swordsmen” review

The Wu-Tang Clan are the greatest hip hop group of all-time from Staten Island, New York consisting of one of my top 10 producers the RZA, the GZA, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Raekwon, Masta Killa, Cappadonna, the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard & their deejay Mathematics. Originally a trio under the All in Together Now moniker, their 1993 debut Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) became an east coast hip hop landmark & their 1997 sophomore effort Wu-Tang Forever is the greatest double disc hip hop album ever. The W was significantly less polished than most of what came of that era in the Clan & Iron Flag divisively revisited old sounds. 8 Diagrams stirred more controversy due to RZA embracing a experimental, orchestral & more universal production style with A Better Tomorrow during my senior year of high school being regarded as their worst even if “Pioneer the Frontier” has always stood out to me personally. Mathematics would fully produce The Saga Continues… & is doing so again for the Wu’s 8th album preluding their upcoming farewell tour. Not even gonna waste my breath on Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.

After the “Sucker Free City” intro, the first song “Mandigo” is this boom bap opener with 4 of the 9 remaining swordsmen talking about their style taking a strong back & total breath control whereas “Roar of a Lion (The Lion’s Pit)” by RZA & U-God featuring Kool G Rap finds the trio giving middle fingers to all their enemies. “Claudine” by Ghostface Killah & Method Man featuring Nicole Bus crosses over hip hop & soul trying to fight for love while “Shaolin vs. Lama” by Inspectah Deck & Raekwon talks about holding your head.

“Executioners from Shaolin” keeps it rolling by sinisterly cautioning that nobody want smoke with them in a battle just before “Cleopatra Jones” by Masta Killa & Raekwon sees the pair breaking down the affection each of them have a woman who goes by that name. “Warriors 2, Cooley High” by Method Man featuring Benny the Butcher absolutely delivers as a big fan of both Wu-Tang & Griselda just before “Let’s Do It Again” by RZA following his role as Bobby in the A24 Films surrealist comedy drama Problemista featuring RJ Payne, Willie the Kid& 38 Spesh talks about getting stronger as life becomes more difficult.

Cappadonna, Masta Killa & U-God all link on up “Dolomite” for another hardcore boom bap track justifiably boasting that you can’t tell ‘em shit since they’ve been around longer than the 80s crack epidemic & going deep enough in the projects where no one else can go, but then the “Trouble Man” outro shows off Kameron Corvet’s skills through a brief verse. “Charleston Blue, Legend of a Fighter” by Cappadonna featuring KXNG CROOKED officially ends the album with the latter talking about fatherhood & Cappa penning an open letter to his mother while the bonus track “Sinners (Mo’ Better Blues)” by the Def Squad was a cool reunion minus Redman.

7 & a half years since The Saga Continues…, the Clan homages the blaxploitation & martial arts genres of films that shaped them 5 decades ago. I appreciate that all 9 members were able to contribute lyrically testing each other’s swords unlike U-God being the only absentee on the predecessor & some of the finest in the underground today joining them felt like a rewarding passing-of-the-torch moment. 1 final noteworthy mention has to be Mathematics displaying his growth & development as a producer with the selection of beats he’s arranged.

Score: 3.5/5

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Ghostface Killah – “Set the Tone (Guns & Roses)” review

This is the 16th full-length solo LP from New York veteran Ghostface Killah of the almighty Wu-Tang Clan. One of hip hop’s most prolific storytellers & easily the most consistent member of the Clan exemplified by Ironman, Supreme Clientele, FishScale, Apollo Kids, 12 Reasons to Die & Sour Soul just to name a few. Ghost’s last album Ghostface Killahs in the fall of 2019 stands as one of the only few duds in his discography along with More Fish & went into his Mass Appeal Records debut Set the Tone (Guns & Roses) here hoping he would make up for that.

Wu-Block links up for the opener “6 Minutes” featuring Jim Jones jumping over a lavish instrumental giving competitors that exact amount of time whereas “Pair of Hammers” featuring Method Man works in some horns cautioning that they throw people in comas & make vegetables in the process. The self-produced “Skate Odyssey” featuring Raekwon with October London on the hook takes a smoother route overall talking about no one comparing to them, but then “Scar Tissue” featuring Nas ruggedly talks the about sun rising to break the day & lifts for a while to give us warmth.

“Kilo in the Safe” chaotically gets in his hustler bag & after the first skit, “No Face” featuring Ye or the Nazi formerly known as Kanye West returns to the boom bap during the DONDA 2 sessions so both of them can talk about having the ability to take down your whole entire squadron. “Champion Sound” featuring Beniton picks up from there with a decent reggae fusion being able to tell by one’s persona that their mommas used to keep them in the house a lot when they were growing up just before “Cape Fear” featuring Fat Joe brings back the keys, kicks & snares calling themselves the finest in New York.

After the 2nd skit, “Plan B” comes with more of an atmospheric vibe instrumentally to pretty much say on wax that Ghost is done having kids at this point in his life while “Bad Bitch” featuring Ja Rule might be my least favorite song on the album coming off as a tacky pop rap ballad. “Locked In” featuring AZ gets the ball rolling once again smoothly talking about being connected for life & after the final skit, “Touch You” featuring Shaun Wiah fusees pop rap with R&B showing a romantic side to Starks once more.

“Shots” featuring Busta Rhymes & Serani mixes hip hop with dancehall resulting in an average club banger while another weak song on the album “Trap Phone” featuring Chucky Hollywood goes for a cloudier trap atmosphere asking their significant others who else loves them the way they do. After the outro skit, the bonus track “Yupp!” featuring Remy Ma was a lead single that I had mixed feelings over from the mediocre beat to the hardcore lyricism.

Wu-Tang is my favorite group of all-time & anyone who’s been following my platform long enough can back me up on it. That said. Set the Tone is only a couple steps above the previous LP we got from him 5 years ago. There are moments where the production can be commercial, but there are others where it’s sticking to the signature hardcore vibes the Wu is known for. Ghost noticeably sounds more focused than he did last time & the guests perform on his level although a couple of them are lackluster.

Score: 3/5

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Ghostface Killah – “Ghostface Killahs” review

7670549 Ghostface Killah is a 49 year old MC that came up as a member of the almighty Wu-Tang Clan. He’s easily the most consistent member of the group with albums like Ironman, Supreme Clientele, FishScale, Apollo Kids, 12 Reasons to Die & Sour Soul just to name a few. He just dropped his Big Ghost Ltd. produced comeback The Lost Tapes about a year ago & to commemorate it, he’s teaming up with Danny Caiazzo to release his 15th album.

After the intro, we go into the first song “Me Denny & Daryl”. Where Ghost gets murderous with Method Man & Cappadonna over an instrumental with the vintage Wu-sound. The track “Burner to Burner” with Inspectah Deck & Cappa sees the 3 going at their competition over a grimy guitar lead while the song “Flex” speaks for itself over a mellow instrumental. After the “News Report” skit, the song “Conditioning” finds Ghost goes back at his competition over a flute-heavy instrumental.

“Fly Everything” with Shawn Wigs & Sun God of course finds the 3 boasting over a lavish instrumental while the song “Party Over Here” is a bland club banger. The song “Pistol Smoke” with Shawn Wigs of course spits that gun talk over a suspenseful beat & after the “Revolution” skit, the song “New World” gets conscious over a funky bass-line.

The track “Waffles & Ice Cream” featuring Cappadonna is a modern bastardization of the iconic Raekwon joint “Ice Cream” while “The Chase” with Sun God is pretty much a boring remake of “Run” off of The Pretty Toney Album. The album then closes out with “Soursop”, where Ghost links with Masta Killa & Solomon Childs to deliver a painfully trite reggae fusion.

Not sure what else to say, this is just so average on all fronts. The Wu will forever be all-time favorite group & Ghostface is defiantly the most consistent member, but the beats & the lyricism on this new album are so mediocre. However my biggest issue with this album is that it sounds rushed, as it’s only 33 minutes long. Hopefully, he’ll take his time with the next album.

Score: 2.5/5

Wu-Tang Clan – “Of Mics & Men” soundtrack review

The Wu-Tang Clan. What can be said now about the iconic New York hip hop outfit that hasn’t been said already? From their iconic first 2 albums Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) & Wu-Tang Forever to the countless classic solo debuts like Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… & Supreme Clientele, they’ve always been rightfully regarded as the greatest hip hop outfit of all-time. Last time we heard from them collectively in an album capacity was in 2014 with A Better Tomorrow & with a SHOWTIME documentary being recently released, they’re coming together with the help of Nas’ Mass Appeal Records to deliver the soundtrack for it.

The soundtrack kicks off with “On That Shit Again”, where Ghostface Killah & RZA sound vengeful over a piano & some drums. The next song “Seen a Lot of Things” with Ghost & Raekwon pretty much speaks for itself over a prominent electric guitar & after the “Project Kids” skit, we go into the RZA solo cut “Do the Same as My Brother Do”. Where the Abbott kicks some knowledge over a punchy yet orchestral beat. After the “Yo is you Cheo?” skit & before the “1 Rhyme” outro, the final song of the EP is the title track. Where RZA gets with Cappadonna & Masta Killa boast over some prominent drums.

As much as I loved the documentary, this was a decent soundtrack. Most of the performances are fantastic don’t get me wrong, but it sounds like the Clan could’ve fully fleshed it out.

Score: 3/5

CZARFACE & Ghostface Killah – “CZARFACE Meets Ghostface” review

This is the highly anticipated collab album between East Coast supergroup CZARFACE & the legendary Ghostface Killah. They first teamed up on the banger “Savagely Attack” off of CZARFACE’s self-titled debut back in 2013 but now almost a year after the trio’s collab album with MF DOOM titled CZARFACE Meets Metal Face, they’re following it up by doing a collab album with Tony Starks himself.

After the “Back at the Ringside” intro, the first song “Face Off” sees CZAR & Ghost really suiting the title over an eerie beat. The track “Iron Claw” tells their competition not to push them referencing former UFC Lightweight & Welterweight Champion B.J. Penn over an El-P inspired instrumental while the song “Czarrcade ‘87” is a CZAR solo cut where Esoteric & Inspectah Deck get confrontational over an ominous beat. The track “Powers & Stuff” reunite with Ghost to brag about their skills including a reference to 6-time WWE world champion & 4-time WWE Tag Team Champion Dave Bautista over an apocalyptic beat while the song “Masked Superstars” continues the lyrical themes of the previous joint over a more boom bap beat.

The track “Morning Ritual” has a somber beat & the storytelling is vivid, but I’m confused as to way Inspectah Deck doesn’t appear on it at all. The song “Super Soldier Serum” gets boastful over an electro-tinged beat while “The King Heard Voices” gets murderous over a perfectly fitting instrumental. The track “Listen to the Color” is another CZAR cut that could’ve been on any of their first 3 albums & before things close out with the “(Post Credits Scene)” outro, the final song “Mongolian Beef” is a lyrical onslaught with a doomsday-sounding beat.

From front to back, it definitely lives up to the hype. It could’ve been a little longer & used a couple features, but the production & chemistry between CZAR & Ghost is almost on par with DOOM’s.

Score: 4/5

Ghostface Killah – “The Lost Tapes” review

Ghostface Killah is a 48 year old MC known for being a member of the almighty Wu-Tang Clan. He’s easily the most consistent member of the group with albums like Ironman, Supreme Clientele, FishScale, Apollo Kids & 12 Reasons to Die just to name a few. Last time we heard from him was in 2015 when he dropped Soul Soul & 12 Reasons to Die 2 but now, he’s finally returning with his 14th full-length album & he has enlisted Big Ghost Ltd. to produce it in it’s entirety.

After an intro from Michael Rapaport, we go into the first song “Buckingham Palace”. Ghostface on here links up with Benny the Butcher, KXNG CROOKED & 38 Spesh to tell you to watch how you talk to his goons get over a soulful beat with some triumphant horns. The track “Majestic Accolades” with Hus Kingpin & Planet Asia sees the 3 bragging about their skills over an instrumental kin to the Wu-Elements while the song “Cold Crush” with Chris Rivers, La the Darkman & Ras Kass is filled with battle bars an eerie beat with a prominent grimy guitar-passage.

After the “Put the Ghostface on It” interlude, we go into the song “Saigon Velour”. Where Ghostface gets with E-40 & Snoop Dogg to talk about the code of the street over a soulful beat. The track “Constant Struggle” with Bishop Lamont & Killah Priest sees the 3 vividly describing life in the hood over a soul sample with thunderous drums while the song “Done It Again” with Big Daddy Kane, Cappadonna & Styliztik Jones gets romantic over a piano & some horns.

After the “Reflections or C.R.E.A.M.” interlude, the penultimate song “Watch ‘Em Holla” with Raekwon, Cappadonna & Masta Killa feels like a classically gritty Wu banger with some horns. And before things end with a Michael Rapaport outro, the final song “I Think I Saw a Ghost with Sheek Louch & Vic Spencer is a rap rock anthem that’ll make you wanna flip your table over.

While it is short & I wish there were a couple tracks where Ghostface is rapping by himself, this is another solid effort. Big Ghost Ltd.’s vintage production style perfectly suits Ghostface’s lyricism & the guest verses are great, too.

Score: 4/5

Wu-Tang Clan – “The Saga Continues” review

When it seemed like 2014’s A Better Tomorrow would be the almighty Wu-Tang Clan’s final group album, they’re now returning with their 7th official full-length album (excluding the single-copy of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin) & they have enlisted Wu-Elements member Mathematics to produce it in it’s entirety. After a 91 second instrumental intro with a spoken word sample & then an actual spoken monologue from the Clan’s de facto leader RZA, we are then treated to the album’s first song “Lesson Learn’d”. Here, Inspectah Deck teams up with Redman to remind you that they never play around over a hard hitting boom bap instrumental & I also didn’t mind Deck’s jab at the Once Upon a Time in Shaolin purchaser Martin Shkreli near the end of his verse, given that he’s an evil culture vulture. The track “Fast & Furious” is pretty much Raekwon & Hue Hef getting mafioso over a menacing instrumental & while Hue was just ok, Rae definitely made up for it. After a short instrumental interlude that takes it back the group’s early days with a Kung Fu sample, we are then lead into the next song If Time’s Money (Fly Navigation). It’s pretty much a Method Man solo cut, but he makes up for his last album The Meth Lab by hopping on an instrumental you can really kick back to & spitting a long yet charismatic verse.

The track “Frozen” may have a lazy hook as it recycles a couple Rae & Ghostface Killah lines from “4 Horsemen”, but the verses from Meth about pushing the limit as well as the vivid storytelling from Killah Priest & the lethally angry Chris Rivers make up for it some keys along with a bass guitar & a regular guitar. After a 45 second skit with a soulful instrumental in the background, we then get into the next song “Pearl Harbor”. Here, the late Sean Price gets with Meth & RZA to confrontationally spit bars like being the greatest & telling your crew to wear shorts with an image of you on it over some gritty horns as well as some keys & an organ. I also love how RZA brings back his Bobby Digital alter ego during his verse & the one line he makes midway through his part about how he can turn Lady Gaga heterosexual again was pretty hilarious. The track “People Say” sees Deck, Meth, Rae & Masta Killa linking back up with Redman alongside to get braggadocious over a very soulful boom bap beat. “Family” is a 1 minute skit containing a sample of a mother talking about family (hence the title) & the next song “Why Why Why” is basically a conscious RZA solo cut over some funky bass & some decently sung vocals from Swnkah.

The track “G’d Up” is basically Meth & R-Mean talking about being just that & the beat is pretty luscious, but the Mzee Jones hook sounds like a cut-rate T-Pain. The song “If What You Say Is True” sees Cappadonna along with GZA & Masta Killa getting with Streetlife to spit some abrasive battle rhymes over some sinister horns. The “skit” Saga is less of a skit & more of RZA spitting about haters not wanting the Clan grow & even a cool reference to the Flint water crisis over some beautiful strings. The 91 second “Hood Go Bang!” has a decent Redman hook, but then lone verse that Method Man delivers nearly has the same rhyme scheme throughout that it’s crazy. The final song in the track listing is “My Only One”, where Cappa along with The Abbott & Tony Starks rap about their boos over a grimy instrumental. The next 2 tracks are just a 2 minute interlude with a funky instrumental & long spoken word sample & then a 45 second monologued outro from the RZA over the same instrumental as the one in the intro.

At the end of the day, this was a lot more consistent than the last few group albums. It feels more like a compilation considering the fact that there’s only 1 or 2 group members on a number of tracks & U-God not being on it at all, but everyone including almost all the features go & Mathematics probably made it the Clan’s most well produced album since The W

Score: 4/5