Artist: Ghostface Killah
Album: Ghostdini: The Wizard Of Poetry In Emerald City
Year: 2009
Grade: 3.5 pretzels
So, since Raekwon set the bar ridiculously high for this month’s Battle of Wu-Tang Member Solo Albums, it should be no surprise that Ghostface Killah’s Ghostdini pales somewhat in comparison. That said, the album isn’t bad by any means. Ghostface’s solo albums have proven to be the most consistently listenable out of the entire Wu-Tang Clan, with great works like 2000’s Supreme Clientele and 2006’s Fishscale being some of the best rap albums of this decade. Throughout Ghostdini, flashes of that brilliance crop up. However, there are also far too many moments where Ghost’s over-excitable style gets the better of him.
Ghostface promoted Ghostdini as his “R&B album,” leading many to believe he’d turn in a disc of solid slow jams. That’s only partly true, as the album often feels like a hilarious exaggerated version of the smooth romance R&B aims for. Whether we’re talking the Auto-Tuned single “Baby” (somewhere, Jay-Z is angry) or the languid beats of “Lonely”, Ghost’s ballistic tone and inflection doesn’t exactly mesh with the music behind him. At the other end of the spectrum, you’ve got “Stapleton Sex”, a song so sexually explicit I can’t in good conscience post a link to it here. Ghost may have been inspired by R&B, but the violence and drama we’re used to hearing in Wu-Tang music is still around.
There are highlights. The heavy, jazzy clomp of “Guest House” features Ghostface sounding in his natural element, while the surprisingly tender “Do Over” actually hints at the R&B-rap Ghost promised in his promotions. Both of these songs let Ghostface do what he does best: tell stories, interspersed with non sequiturs and evocative imagery, delivered in his frenetic voice. Ghostface himself is in fine form throughout the album, even when he’s being so hilarious blunt and sexual that you can barely take him seriously. The music just seems to be on a totally different page.
Ghostdini feels like a fairly glorious failure to me, an attempt by Ghostface to capitalize on the whole chart-topping, R&B-rap hybrid thing. This does actually work at times, recreating a smooth sound that feels ready for full-on mainstream acceptance. But, at the end of the day, there’s still too much Ghost for the album to concur the charts. His style rewards fans who follow the Wu-Tang Clan’s every move, who are aware of the complicated characterizations and mythology they all surround themselves with. Even with an album cover that redefines “ridiculously awesome,” Ghostdini isn’t quite what it could have been. Ghost is trying to do too many things at once and it’s a testament to his skill and musical ability that the whole thing doesn’t fall apart as a result.
Ghostface promoted Ghostdini as his “R&B album,” leading many to believe he’d turn in a disc of solid slow jams. That’s only partly true, as the album often feels like a hilarious exaggerated version of the smooth romance R&B aims for. Whether we’re talking the Auto-Tuned single “Baby” (somewhere, Jay-Z is angry) or the languid beats of “Lonely”, Ghost’s ballistic tone and inflection doesn’t exactly mesh with the music behind him. At the other end of the spectrum, you’ve got “Stapleton Sex”, a song so sexually explicit I can’t in good conscience post a link to it here. Ghost may have been inspired by R&B, but the violence and drama we’re used to hearing in Wu-Tang music is still around.
There are highlights. The heavy, jazzy clomp of “Guest House” features Ghostface sounding in his natural element, while the surprisingly tender “Do Over” actually hints at the R&B-rap Ghost promised in his promotions. Both of these songs let Ghostface do what he does best: tell stories, interspersed with non sequiturs and evocative imagery, delivered in his frenetic voice. Ghostface himself is in fine form throughout the album, even when he’s being so hilarious blunt and sexual that you can barely take him seriously. The music just seems to be on a totally different page.
Ghostdini feels like a fairly glorious failure to me, an attempt by Ghostface to capitalize on the whole chart-topping, R&B-rap hybrid thing. This does actually work at times, recreating a smooth sound that feels ready for full-on mainstream acceptance. But, at the end of the day, there’s still too much Ghost for the album to concur the charts. His style rewards fans who follow the Wu-Tang Clan’s every move, who are aware of the complicated characterizations and mythology they all surround themselves with. Even with an album cover that redefines “ridiculously awesome,” Ghostdini isn’t quite what it could have been. Ghost is trying to do too many things at once and it’s a testament to his skill and musical ability that the whole thing doesn’t fall apart as a result.
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