Ghostface Killah's 2004 release The Pretty Toney Album was missing something. I don't mean that the album itself was missing anything. Actually, it wasn't that bad. However, the cover was certainly missing something — the killah.
For some reason, Ghostface Killah dropped the "Killah" from his name with that album, going just by "Ghostface." Unfortunately, the album didn't sell that well. Ghostface returned the "Killah" to his name for his new release Fishscale and it's his best album since Supreme Clientele.
Fishscale has everything you've come to expect from a Ghostface Killah album. It's got old-school sample-driven beats and stories about his childhood, street life, and women (both good and bad). It has the intricate (and sometimes impenetrable) wordplay that makes you rewind songs to make sure you heard what you thought you did. However, what makes Fishscale stand out from the likes of Bulletproof Wallets and The Pretty Toney Album is the fact that everything is done so well and with little filler.
If you don't count the skits, there are eighteen songs to be found on Fishscale. Most of them are pretty good. A catchy, sing-songy hook drives the ode to drugs "Kilo" and Ghostface sounds ready for battle on the Rocky-inspired, Just Blaze-produced "The Champ." MF Doom (of Danger Doom and Madvillain fame) provides the appropriately gritty beat for the Wu-Tang reunion cut "9 Milli Bros." Even the late Ol' Dirty Bastard appears on what could be the very last song to feature the entire Wu-Tang Clan. Fellow Wu member and frequent collaborator Raekwon appears on a few tracks including "R.A.G.U.," a Pete Rock-produced song that almost sounds like a lost track from Only Built 4 Cuban Linx.
Ghostface's storytelling abilities are on display throughout this album. He attempts to woo a girl waiting at the bus stop in "Beauty Jackson," one of two songs produced by the late J Dilla. The other, "Whip You With A Strap," has him reminiscing about the whippings he used to receive as a kid. Then, there's "Underwater," a song that starts with Ghostface going through an underwater "pink door with a crystal handle" and weaves images as disparate as Noah's Ark and Spongebob driving a Bentley.
Article comments
1 - John Owen
Sterfish, I totally agree. This is the first Wu Tang album I've felt any urge to buy since, jeez... 1999 or so, and I'm glad I did.
It's been a long time since I've been able to think of the Wu Tang Clan as some sort of hip-hop superheroes, infallible and coming from a higher plane of understanding. I mean, the first record and so many of the solo albums like Cuban Linx, the first ODB record, Liquid Swords, Supreme Clientele, and even the Ghost Dog soundtrack were totally coherent statements, self-assured, unique, and seemingly just way ahead of the curve.
Fishscale is the first time since about 2000 I've been able to say that about any Wu release. For my money it's the best non-Method Man Wu music since Liquid Swords, which was released eleven fricking years ago, I now realize.
Damn. I'm getting old.
2 - MrDallis
For years I have had my ear to the Shaolin sound and no matter which direction the crew decided to roll there always seemed to be a member of the clan to release something with the same Protect ya neck/method man Indy single appeal. I think it would have to be Ghostface Killa when I chose my number one slot in terms of creating a balance between the old and new Wu. But if you dont have a taste for this style put in your Lil Wayne CD and bounce !