Who knew that the dude with the stocking over his face would become one of the most spine-tingling slang-slingers yet seen in the whole of hiphop? Ghostface, (AKA Ghostface Killah AKA Tony Starks AKA Ironman AKA Theodore AKA Dennis Cole) is easily among the most important MCs in the game. And if you're like me, you didn't at first identify Cole as one of the top-tier Wu; it took me until his costarring role on Chef Raekwon's masterwork Only Built 4 Cuban Linx (pretty much starting the rapper-as-Mafioso trend) to truly understand that this cat was on some other.
Yo, first of all son, peep the arson/Many brothers I be sparkin' and bustin' mad light inside the dark…
Stranger Personals
Ghost's 1996 solo disc, Ironman, was the last of the seminal first-round Wu debuts; besides showcasing his dizzyingly dynamic wordplay and unquestionable Stapleton Projects pedigree, the Wally Champ showed us a side that few dare to. The Jackson 5-jacking "All That I Need Is You" was no run-of-the-mill growin'-up-in-the-'hood biopic; it heartbreakingly detailed young Cole's childhood with a tenderness very rarely seen in the rap canon. But don't get it twisted, Ironman contains some of the rawest shit committed to two-inch tape: Check the brutal Dear Jane letter "Wildflower" and "Daytona 500," a song so magnificent that its video was little more than a brilliantly edited episode of Speed Racer.
Starks flippin' cheesyface measly paced ofays/Ghostface, jump out the window for a little taste/The droopy look, my main bitches call me lazy/Educated birds say, "Ghost, you so crazy!"
I don't want niggaz soundin' like me… on no album!
Who in the hell could? Considering that Ghost is from a crew from which esoteric, pseudo-scientific raps are always in ready supply, he still remains one of the most inscrutable MCs out there. Forget trying to decode his non sequiturs and homemade slang; Ghost's mosaics are like one of those once-ubiquitous Magic Eye posters… give it a second, and blurry visuals resolve themselves into something unexpectedly brilliant, right before your very eyes. There's a gaggle of MCs that rock fractured, borderline-gibberish flows--but not one can put it down with the old-soul authority that Ghostface does.
You're surrounded, put down your gun, look at the roof./There's nothin' but cops, nigga, you better not run…
In '99, Ghostface did a six-month bid at Rikers Island for an attempted robbery conviction, amid rampant talk among heads that the mighty Clan had fallen off once and for all. Ghost's triumphant Supreme Clientele (2000) instantly dispelled that talk, however. Hungrier, bolder, and even more cryptic than ever, he delivered a brazen set that evoked the best of the Clan's efforts. With his nostalgic first-love tale "Child's Play," Ghost once again showed us that it's because of, not despite, his everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach that he remains one of rap's most emotive and keenly descriptive storytellers. Whether he's Kodak-clearly describing a friend dying in the street (Wu-Tang Forever's "Impossible"), or flipping ill fairy tales (Bulletproof Wallets' "The Forest"), Ghostface paints a vivid portrait of moments both tragic and mundane.
And who exemplifies the "Wu-Tang is for the babies" ethic better than Ghostface, who once proclaimed in an interview: "If you're not willing to put down the burner for your babies, that means you don't give a fuck about your seeds or my seeds. Then fuck you!" Ghost is a first-generation hiphopper, and as such is eligible for "old-head" status as far as most long-T-shirt mixtape MCs are concerned. But the social conscience that he brings is invaluable and "Mighty Healthy." He's also musically consistent. Bulletproof Wallets being the weakest of his catalog, Ghost has nonetheless delivered a fistful of classics, including his most recent, last year's addictively soulful sleeper, The Pretty Toney Album.
NOW, who the hypest in New York City?/WU-TANG! Radio, stop shittin' on me!
Staying the truest to the original Wu-print of soulful production and grimy, thoughtful lyricism, Ghost has maintained the essence of the Wu Tang Clan through these dark times and on into an uncertain future. In the light of the loss of his brother Dirty, his family--and all of us--need Ghostface more than ever. Fill that Stanley Cup to the brim, son--the Champ is here.
Ghostface performs Fri Feb 18 at Neumo's, $20, 9:30 pm.
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