#369: Ghostface Killah - Fishscale (2006)

Zack: I’ve thought a lot about who my favorite member of Wu-Tang is. I’ve gone through and given senior superlatives to pretty much all of them. And I’m sure I’ll delve more into some of them when we listen to albums by Raekwon, Method Man, and GZA, all of whom I have hot rap takes on. But Ghostface Killah takes the crown for me, and I don’t even think it’s particularly close. Tony Starks is the only one who can drop an album in 2015 and people’s ears perk up, for one thing. Seriously, I love Cuban Linx as much as the next guy, but I didn’t bother giving F.I.L.A. a chance because I can’t take any more disappointment from Raekwon. But Ghostface is still churning out concept albums about supervillains that are solid at worst. Hell, he’s already dropped two good albums this year and may still have a collaboration with MF Doom coming before 2015 is up. Even within Ghostface’s stellar catalogue, though, Fishscale is something special. Not many artists hit their stride on album five, but I firmly believe Starks did exactly that here. Iron Man is great, as is Supreme Clientele and The Pretty Toney Album. But Fishscale combines Ghostface’s incredible storytelling and unique (until Action Bronson anyway) delivery with some top-of-the-line, not-just-RZA-or-RZA-knockoff beats. The list of producers behind Fishscale reads like an All-Star team. J Dilla, Just Blaze, and Pete Rock pop as the big 3, but Doom’s work here can’t be overlooked. The result is polished, but not commercial. And Ghostface sounds like he’s out to get the most from each and every song. It’s funny to think about how different a place Starks was in here than when he was recording his verses for 36 Chambers, which just makes it even more impressive that he was able to come just as hard.

Favorite Tracks: Kilo; 9 Milli Bros.; Momma

Emily: Unlike Zack, I haven't put much (read: any) thought into my favorite member of the Wu-Tang Clan. Most of my interaction with Wu-Tang is through Zack's excitement about them or Buzzfeed articles filled with pictures of children wearing Wu-Tang shirts. Appropriately, though, I'm pretty sure I know the most about Ghostface Killah. Not about his music, of course, but about his reality "performance" on Vh1's Couples Therapy. Appearing alongside such distinguished figures as Jon Gosselin and Teen Mom (and porn star) Farrah Abraham, Ghostface and his girlfriend Kelsey (whose hair can only be described as a horse mohawk) participated on the show in order to work on their relationship (/get on TV). Among the fun facts revealed during the show were that Kelsey used to be a stripper (which Ghostface didn't like) and that Ghostface had another girlfriend who also ended up on the show in a group therapy session with Ghostface, Kelsey, and Dr. Jen. Really classy stuff. And I also don't really understand why Ghostface was on the show in the first place. Unlike the washed-up reality "stars" seeking to extend their 15 minutes of fame, Ghostface is a bona fide rapper and musician, and a prolific one to boot. Fishscale is his fifth studio album, and according to Wikipedia he's released seven since then. He's an acclaimed storyteller working with high-profile producers, and as much as I enjoy reality shows, I think Ghostface is much better served staying off TV and getting in the studio some more. And if that includes a Vh1 diss track, so much the better

Favorite Tracks: Momma; Kilo; Be Easy

#308: Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993)

Emily: Zack has been hyping Wu-Tang Clan to me for a really long time. Multiple conversations/explanations about the group, its members, and their various group and individual efforts. Various Wu-Tang related messages of things he found on Reddit like this. And a lot of time passing between the previous album and this one because he wanted to make sure he spent sufficient time documenting his thoughts and feelings about Enter the Wu-Tang so that he could sufficiently convey his love and respect for it. Through all this hype, however, Zack has steadfastly maintained that he didn't think I would like Wu-Tang at all. So when it came time to listen to this album, I decided to not read Zack's review, talk to Zack, or even listen to the album with Zack until I listened and wrote my review. So I listened the other day, after returning home from a Christmas visit with Zack's family, and after the hour I had no idea what I wanted to say. I listened to it again today, and still don't have much of an idea. I didn't hate this album as much as Zack primed me to think I would, but I didn't love it either. The idea of combining soul-based beats with both hardcore rap and samples from kung-fu movies seems insane on its face, but actually made sense when listening to it. I know now that Cash Rules Everything Around Me (dolla dolla billz y'all) and that you should protect ya goddamn neck. But do I really appreciate Wu-Tang, in a way that at least approaches Zack's appreciation? Not yet, but maybe that'll change once I see what he has to say about it.
Favorite Tracks: Da Mystery of Chessboxin; Bring Da Ruckus; C.R.E.A.M.

Zack: This album turned 20 a year ago, so there’s not really much of a point saturating the internet further with a reflection piece about what 36 Chambers means to rap music or anything like that. I can’t talk about how it changed my life or anything dramatic like that since I was 2 when it came out. I don’t even remember the first time I listened to it. What I can say that it is one of the few hip-hop albums that I play in its entirety ALL THE TIME. From start to finish, this is an absolute masterpiece. It sounds like an entire Tarantino movie turned into rap. It’s grittier than a pile of grit. And it has an incredibly ability to bring people together. A few years ago, I moved into an apartment with a kid I’d never met before. The first night, he and I got to talking about hip-hop and it came out that he’d never listened to any Wu-Tang anything. I got my laptop, he got his stereo, and we blasted this and organized the kitchen. Wu-Tang is for the roommates. Wu-Tang is for the kids. Wu-Tang for president. Wu-Tang for everyone. Well, maybe not everyone. I have no idea if Emily will like this at all. My guess is no. It has literally 0 of the elements she is usually drawn to in hip-hop music. At a certain point, you start to think that maybe an album is sooooo good that it’s undeniable. But the two other times I thought that might apply (Illmatic and Me Against the World), the music was greeted with a resounding “meh,” and this album is a lot rougher than either of those. I really hope this one is different. I can’t speak for anyone, but the second I hear Ghostface on Bring da Ruckus, I change. I. Get. Fucking. Amped. Happens every time, without fail. Maybe the same thing will happen for her. Maybe she will be terrified for an hour. No one knows for sure, with the possible exception of GZA. He is a genius after all. I should mention that I’ve listened to enough Wu-Tang and affiliates to legally be considered a Wu Tang expert. Raise your hand if you’ve listened to an entire album by Inspectah Deck. How about Masta Killa? Hell, anyone here check out anything by Killah Priest, the notable Killer Bee and almost-main-clan stoner-religious zealot guy? Just me? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Because of these excellent credentials, I’ve spent a lot of time contemplating what sets this album aside from anything else, other Wu Tang albums included, and I’ve come up with two distinct traits. First, pretty much every clan member, Ghostface just barely exempted, has a bit of a penchant for burying 45 minutes of great music into 70 minutes of an album. They’re hardly alone in rap music for that little predilection. But that’s exactly what makes this album so incredible. It is an hour of just nasty beats and razor-sharp lyrics. You can feel a certain desperation in the way everything is done. It’s 9 guys who are willing to do whatever it takes to be on top of the rap game, and there isn’t any track where that isn’t palpable. Second, what they made is so impossible to copy that no one could ever hope to imitate it at all. Seriously, other artists are able to capture 80% of what makes other classic rap albums what they are. There are those out there who can imitate that street scholar swag of Illmatic or the ferocity of Straight Outta Compton. Who has ever managed to capture any semblance of the vaguely unhinged, just plain rough-ness of 36 Chambers? No one. So maybe we shouldn’t be too upset that the Wu hasn’t exactly been able to replicate it either. Anyway, hopefully Emily will like this album, because it’s easily one of my top-5 favorite rap albums of all time. We have another four Wu-tang albums to go through for the blog (one each by Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, and Genius/GZA), and I’m with the listmakers in the ones they choose (although I could easily be talked into Iron Man or maybe even Supreme Clientele over Fishscale and the oversight of Method Man and Redman’s incredible Blackout! is certainly acknowledged here). I’ll have plenty more to say then, but for now perhaps it’s best that I wrap up this manifesto with the impossible task of picking 3 favorite tracks from an album where I gave 10 or 12 songs 5-star ratings.

Favorite Tracks: C.R.E.A.M.; Wu-Tang: 7^th Chamber – Part II; Bring Da Ruckus