Just When I Thought I Couldn't Love Rachel Maddow Any More...

She goes and makes a Wu-Tang reference!

It was during a segment where an Iraqi judge called someone an "Old Dirty Ba'athist." She followed up by saying something along the lines of, "not to be confused with the Ghostface Killah Ba'athist." The joke didn't really land, but she did giggle at it herself and trailed off saying something about the Clan, showing probably at least a passing familiarity with the Wu. Fantastic.

Then, just when it seems like she couldn't be any greater, I scour the internet for a picture of her to put in this post, and I find out that she hates coldplay. So do I! Awesome!

Hear for yourself on her podcast

I'm a Mac, I'm a PC, and sweetie call me Toney Starks, Ghost if ya like ta

Some new Ghostface id making its way around the internet. The thing is, it's consistently linked within posts about Ghost's upcoming compilation album The Great Ghostdeini, yet it's never included within the tracklist. So where did this song come from? If I ever get an answer, I'll be sure to pass it along.

"Computer Love" by Ghostface Killah

The song is definitely better than anything off of Big Doe Rehab. That being said though, the Zapp sample, while enjoyable, is hardly original. Ghost is strong on the track, but not particularly strong enough to make this one a classic. Is it worth downloading? Absolutely. Are you going to remember you downloaded it a couple months from now? Probably not.

The Ghost, plus Art of the Mix

So... new Ghostface with a titty-delicious album cover. It must be good, right? Maybe. I avoided putting my commentary out right when I first heard the album, as to not jump the gun on hasty opinions, but more than a week or so later, I'm still not sure how I feel. It bears definite similarities to fishscale, but while fishscale branched out with the far out sounds on tracks like Just Blaze's "The Champ", Pete Rock's "Dogs of War", and DOOM's "Underwater", The Big Doe Rehab is relatively narrow in the scope of its sound and lacking in big gun producers.

The production is heavily dipped in a classic R&B sound. Two appearances from the Rhythm Roots All-Stars take things in the direction of latin funk and afrobeat, but both appearances are saved for skits, not songs. I'm not entirely sure what to think of Ghost's flow on the album either. Previously, he's used a slow calm voice for smoother R&B tracks. Here we see him spitting in the hype shouted style he normally reserves for more bombastic cuts. It provides an interesting dynamic between the vocals and the beat, but it also leaves the listener wondering how much time and thought went into the album as a whole. Final verdict, Ghostface on a bad day is still Ghostface. This is an album I'll definitely keep in rotation, but it's not destined to become one of the Wu Tang classics.

One of the tracks that stands out for me is "Shakey Dog Starring Lolita" feat. Raekwon. The track is a sequel of sorts to "Shakey Dog" off of Fishscale and is one of the few times on the album where it seems like Ghost's flow was well matched to the track. He goes a bit off the deep end towards the end of the track, though.

"Shakey Dog Starring Lolita" feat. the Chef by Ghostface Killah

In Other News,

I've recently gotten into the website Art of the Mix. Users post up the tracklists of their own mixes (mp3, CD, minidisc, or mix tape) and share feedback with each other. There are a TON of wack mixes on here, but I've also come across some interesting stuff, like A Danceable Solution to Teenage Revolution and Babylon's Burning Vol. 1. My first contribution to the site went up today (you can see it here) and I decided I'd share it here with you folks. The zip file contains all the tracks from side A and side B, albeit out of order. Here's the tracklisting for those of you too lazy to click over to AOTM.

Download, Cigarbox Guitars Volume 3, Riot Riot Fight
(megaupload)

Side A

1. "Start the Riot" by Atari Teenage Riot
2. "I Feel Like Dying" by Lil' Wayne
3. "Silver Rocket" by Sonic Youth
4. "Indecision Time" by Hüsker Dü
5. "Atmosphere" by Joy Division
6. "What's the Latest?" by Riff-Raff
7. "Lighters" by Plow United
8. "Never as Tired as When I'm Waking Up" by LCD Soundsystem
9. "Lightworks" by J Dilla Jay Dee
10. "Ain't the Devil Happy" by Jeru tha Damaja
11. "Dead Flowers" by the Rolling Stones
12. "Remainder" by Rites of Spring
13. "Purgatory" by Indecision
14. "Natural's Not In It" (from the Peel Sessions) by Gang of Four

Side B

1. "Bonjour Jeune Fille" by The Blow
2. "A Dream" (Blockhead Remix) by Donny Hathaway
3. "Patience" by Rites of Spring
4. "Me and You" by Egg Hunt
5. "USA" by Reagan Youth
6. "Work, Part II" feat. Big L by Gang Starr
7. "Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards" by Billy Bragg
8. "House of Cards" by Radiohead
9. "Pass This On" by the Knife
10. "Be Good" by Tokyo Police Club
11. "Las Cruces Jail" by Two Gallants
12. "Banned in D.C." by Bad Brains
13. "Donuts (outro)" by J Dilla Jay Dee
14. "Workonit" by J Dilla Jay Dee
15. "Minor Threat" by Minor Threat

I know it might not seem like it, but Atari Teenage Riot into Lil' Wayne sounds SO GOOD.

Tang-sgiving

I was going to post a happy thanksgiving post, but how can I be happy when there's sadness in Shaolin? I'm pretty out of touch with the blog world lately, so I'm a little late on this, but I came across Miss Info's interview with Raekwon today.

Dude's pretty anti-guitar and anti-Rza. Plus, stay tuned for a wu-tang album WITHOUT THE RZA. Why would they think that's a good idea? I know Ghostface has been vocal about his displeasure, and Method Man has voiced his concerns in the past, but I'm curious to hear where the others stand on this. I'm guessing U-God will go with whomever wants to put him on. I can't imagine a split between the Rza and the Gza, but even if these guys are angry at the Rza, how could they leave the Gza? He's the genius. This just doesn't sit well with me.

Rocking Bells

Since Druglas got his shit together and posted his two cents on Rock the Bells, I figured I should do the same. First off, I have to ask, what is wrong with white people? I like to get into a performance, and maybe I don't get as physically into rock and roll as I used to, but in my mind it just seems unnecessary to mosh your face off to Cypress Hill. If it's during "Rock Superstar" that's one thing, but during "I wanna get high"? Could you pick a mellower song to start the moshing during? Never mind that the mooks behind me decided to start moshing after they ingested a fist sized bag of coke. Cuz that's not a recipe for disaster. Anyway, other than some inappropriate moshing, way too much rain, and the perils of mass transit, it was a good day. I got there a while before Druglas, so the Breetard and I were able to catch the Grouch and Eligh's set.

I had dismissed them in the past after a few listens, but they rocked the shit out of their set on Sunday. Eligh is definitely the shining star of the duo, but that's not to say the Grouch wasn't holding his own. Since the theme of the day seemed to be everyone getting backed out of their skulls, it was appropriate that "No More Greener Grass" was the highlight of their set. After that, MURS came out to rally the crowd for Mr. Lif, who was joined by Akrobatik for most of his set. I enjoyed their performance, but I was more excited to skeedaddle to the main stage and catch Blackstar.

Talib went through his solo material first and ripped it. I've missed out on seeing him live so many times that it was really great just to be finally seeing him and it helped that he fucking killed it. Mos Def's solo set was a little bit more lackluster, with too much meandering singing. It was really cool, however, when his DJ spun Aretha Franklin's "One Step Ahead" before dropping the beat for "Ms. Fat Booty", the crowd went ape, and rightly so. That moment aside, the high point in Mos's performance was when he went into "Definition" and was joined onstage by Talib. Then Rakim was up.

To me, it felt like he was standing in front of a largely unappreciative crowd. His set was fantastic, however, despite the tepid crowd response.

Cypress Hill was kind of ruined for me by the jackoffs sniffing blow and punching people right behind me. Before those guys really got into it though, the set was really enjoyable. Especially the gigantic inflatable Buddha onstage. Public Enemy was really good too, but I didn't stick around for a complete rocking, instead making my way over to catch Doom.

As Drug already informed you, Doom was sick, even if it was a much shorter set than it should've been. It was pretty cool that once most of the crowd ran away to catch the Wu, Talib came out to rock "Old School".

Maybe I'm a little spoiled when it comes to the Wu Tang. Around this time last year when I saw them, I met Ghostface, and I spent the show within arms reach of the stage. Needless to say, it was a little different watching them perform from about a football field's length away. I was a little disappointed with the absence of Ghostface, and the apparent substitution of a portly Ghost look a like. Either way though, it's the Wu Tang, and my ever-present hip hop chubb for them was in full effect.

Seeing Rage was like a flashback to '99, the last time I saw them. I was kind of surprised at de la Rocha's relative silence in between songs, until I heard there was some backlash over things he'd said the night before about assassinating George W. I kinda thought that things of that nature were standard fare for Rage - last time I saw them, they burned an American flag - but I guess he was asked to tone it down. To be honest, it was a little disappointing to see that he acquiesced and just did the show without the political ranting.

Up from the 36 chambers... it's the expanded... remastered... dvd...

So although I already own the movie on DVD, I'm pretty pysched to rent the re-release of The 36th Chamber of Shaolin. Not only has the movie been all remastered and touched up and whatnot, it's packaged with an audio commentary track from the Rza. YES!

"Ode to Oren Ishii" by the RZA

Also, I hate having a job for a lot of reasons, but lately I hate it because I'll be working this saturday, when I could be at the Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival seeing Ghostface, Large Professor, and a ton of other dudes for free. weak.

How I Spent my Summer (Jam) Vacation...

So it's a bit late, but here's my rundown of Hot 97's 2007 Summer Jam. We rolled into Giants Stadium around 1:30, thinking that the pre-show started at 2 and the main show started at 3. Turns out the main stage wasn't scheduled to kick off until 6:30, so we ended up skipping the pre-show altogether (Does part of me regret that I still haven't seen "Lip Gloss" performed live? Maybe.) and boozed in the parking lot until it was time to head inside.

The chronology of my synopsis might be a little out of wack, given the schaefer, pbr, and nutcrackers that flowed through my bloodstream, but I do know that Mims jumped out on stage to open the show almost immediately after we made our way to the floor. I have a theory about Mims. I'm convinced that his career is one big inside joke that he's playing on the public, an Andy Kaufman-esque joke.

For a while I just thought Mims was the worst rapper of all time and nothing more. Then I noticed the line "This is why I'm hot, I don't gotta rap, I can make a mil sayin' nothin on a track." So Mims is knowingly churning out garbage, laughing himself all the way to the bank as the public eats it up. Maybe I'm giving him too much credit as an evil genius, but I think I'm right. All that being said however, I still had no interest in sitting through a whole set of him, so I could not have been more happy with what happened. He came out to his hit "This is why I'm hot" and then immediately afterwards closed the set with "This is why I'm hot (reggae remix)". Baby Cham and Junior Reid came out for the remix, which I loved, plus Mims was on stage for probably under 10 minutes. It was perfect.

Then we had T-Pain, who can ACTUALLY SING. I always assumed that since he had all those heavy vocal effects on his songs, it meant he was completely devoid of talent. Not the case, however, since he performed completely sans effects.

Ciara was pretty awesome, dancing on big white letters that spelled out her name. It kind of reminded me of something that the wonders would have appeared on TV with.

Swizz Beatz was rocking a pretty ferocious set, but I'd be a liar if I said I didn't wig out like a 12 year old girl when Kanye West walked out so they could have a "songs I've produced that are awesome" battle. The DJ spun "Takeover" first for Kanye and I don't think I would've been able to count the number of dynasty signs that got thrown up on the floor alone. Plus Lil' Wayne came out later in the set for the first of several cameos before his own set.

wheelchair rocking, like murderball

Ne-Yo was awesome, although a bit disappointing. Maybe it's just me being a Ghostface fanboy, but when Fabolous turned out to be Ne-Yo's surprise guest I was kinda let down. Fab still rocked everything rightly though, so all's well that ends well. The Ne-Yo set gradually morphed into a Fab set, then a Young Jeezy set, then a Ludacris set. All of them were enjoyable, but Ludacris really out shined the rest. I had heard from people who'd seen him in the past that he was a lackluster performer, but none of that showed last Sunday. I've never seen someone have such a strong hold on a crowd that large and Luda literally had the crowd in the palm of his hand.

Then came Chris Brown. I've always grouped "Excuse Me Miss" and "Run It" as guilty pleasures, so I was looking forward to his set, but I definitely wasn't expecting him to put on half as good a show as he ended up giving. He performed with a full live band and sang and danced his fucking balls off. I read somewhere that Ne-Yo is supposedly working on the new Michael Jackson album, so there had been some jokes about Ne-Yo maybe bringing out Michael Jackson. Well when Brown threw on his red jacket and single rhinestone glove, then did "Rock with You" and some other Jackson tunes, it might have been better than the real thing. I mean, I'll take young Michael or black Michael any day, but an appearance from current Michael probably would've just been creepy.

Chris Brown's set ended with the emergence of my personal favorite dip, Juelz (A!), and the re-emergence of Lil' Wayne for the "poppin'" remix, then things went into Weezy's set. As much fun as the show was, there was a monsoon going on, and we were not prepared for the weather. It was starting to get to the point where the dance time/shivering time ratio was shifting in a negative direction, so we headed out right as "Stuntin' Like My Daddy" started. Apparently I missed seeing T.I., which is a bit of a bummer, but I'm really okay with not seeing Diddy, Akon, or Rich Boy. I actually assumed Rich Boy didn't show up, until someone told me yesterday that he closed the show. I really wouldn't have expected that Rich Boy was the headliner. I can't wait for next year.

"Buy You a Drank" remix feat. Kanye West & UGK by T-Pain

"Promise" by Ciara

"Get Down Like That" remix featuring Ghostface by Ne-Yo

"Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" by Chris Brown

"Black Republicans" Remix feat. Juelz Santana by Lil' Wayne

"Stuntin' Like My Daddy" by Birdman & Lil' Wayne

Just a Friendly Reminder

Winter's generally not really a time of year that I listen to much hip hop. It's not like a rule I have or anything, it just always seems to work out that way. So since I'm really listening to a lot of kinda dreary music lately, the site sort of follows the trend. Case in point,

"Red Right Ankle" by the Decemberists

I just want this to serve as a reminder, or maybe a reassurance, to all of our readers out there across the globe, that I still think Ghostface is cool as fuckin' hell.

"Freek'n You" feat. Ghostface Killah & Raekwon by Jodeci

"Saïan" feat. Saïan Supa Crew and Ghostface Killah by the Rza

"Pass the Mic" feat. Trife, Cappadonna & Wigs by Ghostface Killah

"Cuttin' It Up" Ratatat Remix feat. Ghostface Killah by Raekwon

I can't wait till Rock the Bells. I'm definitely gonna be getting weird Warped Tour flashbacks out there on Randall's Island, but I think I'll cope.

Giggity Giggity Ghost

There hasn't been much talk of More Fish here on the 'box. As much as I'm a big Ghost fanboy, I haven't been too confident about the release. It just seems rushed out for the sake of trying to get Ghostface some numbers for the year, after Fishscale disappointed. However, I think I'm starting to sway my opinion towards thinking that rushed Ghost is better than no Ghost. I mean, Theodore Unit was the product of some Pretty Toney throwaway tracks, and that made for jizzytime in my pants. All I know is, I can't wait for the big publicized beef between G-Unit and the T-Unit.

"Greedy Bitches" feat. Redman & Shawn Wigs by Ghostface Killah

Also:
A friend introduced me to this little gem of a song this morning. He's not doing anything ridiculous here, but it's an enjoyable cover.

"Hey Ya" by Matt Weedle

he doesn't want us back

With me taking so long between posts, my life is completely different with every post. Recently, I got evicted by my landlord whose name is Michael Jackson. His name is really Michael Jackson, and he basically said the opposite of this song:

I Want You Back - Jackson 5

But I don't even care. This house is cold, and I live in a basement with no doors and no windows. So maybe it's time to leave.

Top Songs to listen to when being evicted:

1.Everything's Just Wonderful - Lily Allen
2.Nobody Don't Dance No More - Kano
3.Burning Down the House - Talking Heads
4.Going to Georgia - Mountain Goats
5.Cold World - GZA

A few days ago I saw the Count Basie Orchestra live here at Seton Hall. Fantastic show, and the drummer, Butch Miles, is absolutely amazing.

So what else is new in my musical world? New Jay-Z song is trash. New Decemberists is great. Camera Obscura slowing taking over my world. In fact, let's put some songs up.

Lloyd, I'm Ready to be Heartbroken - Camera Obscura
Razzle Dazzle Rose - Camera Obscura

And while I'm posting songs, this is for all of the haters I live with who can't appreciate good stuff:

(Today I Met) The Boy I'm Gonna Marry - Darlene Love

Oh, and I am pretty broke. These days money is for cigerettes, intoxicating substances, and maybe food. Luxury items are just no on the bill these days. So I am starting the Fund To Get MC Abstract Douchipster Enough Money to Buy This:




He even has the wallabies on!

Also, I have been told that he is a jerk, but I really want this to happen to me.

Brief foray outside of music, then back.

So, I don't know how much of a splash this made in headlines outside of the Tri-State area, but a small airplane crashed into an apartment building yesterday and in the ensuing media frenzy I found myself once again full of contempt for the media at large, the country, and humanity as a whole. As far as I know now, the only casualties were the two folks in the plane, yet radio news felt the need to inflate and deflate that number over the course of the day, sometimes it was two, sometimes there were four, I heard six at one point. As the reporting progressed, it became an opportunity to talk about all the things we've learned since September 11 and how much more prepared we are now for a terrorist attack on the city. Everyone was so quick to jump up and pat NORAD on the back for their quick response to the situation, after they sent fighter jets out over several American cities. If NORAD is so on top of their game, why was an aircraft allowed to get that close to the Manhattan skyline in the first place? It doesn't matter that it was a small personal aircraft, the incident still shows that the city is completely vulnerable. Does anyone realize how easy it is to get ahold of a Cesna? A lot easier than sneaking more than a dozen hijackers onto commercial flights, I'll tell you that. So just because one of the Yankees was flying the plane, we get to pat NORAD on the back. That plane could've just as easily been packed full to the motherfucking brim with explosives. But it wasn't, so pats on the back all around. You didn't do SHIT NORAD, you were just lucky.

whatever.

On a much more positive note, I was watching the King of Queens today and Patton Oswalt went to a shoe store with Jerry Stiller. Stiller went for some docksiders, Oswalt asked the attendant for a pair of Clarks Wallabees.

Also, I heard a fairly new Pipettes track, the B-side to the "Judy" single. For the record, I like Judy a lot better than this song. I mean, it's a fine song, but sometimes Lovey songs just make me sad and they say the word love in this song more often than I say the word "wack". And man, that's a lot.

"The Burning Ambition of Early Diuretics" by the Pipettes

I guess if anyone pays attention to that download link they're gonna notice that it's to Pitchfork. After two years of not going there, I caved again once I set myself up with a google reader.

Speaking of mp3 links stolen from other websites, I really really like the camera obscura song that was posted on stereogum today.

"If Looks Could Kill" by Camera Obscura

And if my contempt for Lady Sovereign hasn't grown enough lately, I saw today that she's covered a Sex Pistols song. I hate the Sex Pistols so much. She did cover "Pretty Vacant", which isn't the worst song in the world (that would be "Anarchy in the UK"), but it's still not going to win her any points with this guy.

Josephiend

This Ghostface/Hi-Tek track is sonic crack.

"Josephine" feat. Ghostface by DJ Hi-Tek

New Beck is also cool. I've seen it slammed a couple places, but what's the one thing we've learned from reading Cigar Box Guitars? That many out there are stricken with what we call, "wrong opinions".

"New Round" by Beck

Up From the 36 Chambers, New Ghostface / Most Extreme Metal Ever

New Ghostface track, produced by J-Love. The production's a little schizophrenic, sampling like 20 different instances of people saying "ghostface" or "ironman" etc etc. I'm enjoying it though. I think it's a little silly to be calling it "The Return of the Ironman" though. I mean seriously, it hasn't been that long since Fishscale dropped. He really didn't have the time to leave and then return. Whatever.

"The Return of the Ironman" by Ghostface Killah

And another thing, I don't know what your plans were for Sept. 29th, but I'll tell you what they should be. Going to see DragonForce at the Nokia Theater in Times Square. My brother (and metal consigliere) introduced me to this band during the summer and I've been loving their rock since then. I saw an ad that described them as "Journey at double speed" and I think that's a pretty appropriate way of saying it. Except with a lot less suck. This tune is a good introduction to the band, and it happens to be one of my favorites. The only way to describe the guitar solo after the "oh-oh"s is that there is some masterful shredding going on.

"Through the Fire and Flames" by DragonForce

oh, Fuck Me Friday

I can't believe I left this out of my top summer songs.

"Big Girl" by Ghostface Killah

Fuck me, man. Leaving that off was a mistake, I rocked to this song a LOT this summer. There's so many things about it I love, the opening girl group sample especially. I also think it's really cool how ghost's flow never goes into a chorus, but you still feel the verse to chorus build, thanks to this beat. Ghost definitely has some nice production chops. I'm not sure what song this knocks out of the top 5, but just assume it was in there the whole time. Oh and also, I enjoyed the Ninja Turtles / Young Jeezy video that the Douchipster posted, but I really enjoy this cartoon/lip synch more. The part with the guitar solo is so rocking.

"Funeral Thirst" by the Black Dahlia Murder

Fishscale Friday, get high day

So lately I'd been scribbling out some of my thoughts about Fishscale, talking about some reasons why I had mixed feelings about it, this and that, but then maybe it was the combination of catching the Webster Hall show, seeing all the energy live and whatnot, and a small piece of proof that someone other than the contributors has ever read this page, that just made me not feel like trashing it anymore. See I have this tendency, sometimes, just sometimes, I'll take an opinion that's contrary to some established norm. I don't even do it consciously most of the time, it just seems to work out that way. So I think I might have just been searching for bad things to say about the new album, since not too many other people had. I mean, maybe it's true to say that Ghostface will never sound as raw and powerful as he does on "Wisdom Body", but is it really a fair comparison? 25 and 36 are two totally different places in a person's life and it comes through listening to differences in the aggressiveness of Ghost's flow and the structure of his rhymes. Further illustrating that "different time, different place" theory, I was skimming through articles online and found this quote about the cuban linx album in an XXL article,

"We wrote it in South Beach. It was just me and
Rae down there for two or three weeks. It was
recorded in the basement of RZA's old house in
Staten Island. We had a lot of good luck in that room.
We was in our prime. Back then I was punchin' a lot of
rap n----- in their face, and n----- was getting beat up
in the clubs. We were banned from everything. They
wouldn't even let me in the Tunnel. N----- was scared to
death when I was out there wilding. I was fucking n----- up,
robbing n-----, fucking a lot bitches, just doing dumb shit -
and I'm rhyming. We was on it. We was going in at the time.
We did everything. Rap n----- sniffed coke, too. Black n-----
sniffed coke, too. Black n----- was street n-----. I was a dusthead.
Rae didn't really like that high. We was young n----- getting a
lot of shit poppin'. Talking shit about n-----, all types of shit.
I used to drink a lot back then, which is why I sound
so aggressive on a lot of shit."
-Ghostface Killah

I mean, when you describe it like that, how could you even hope to recreate it, or better yet, why would you want to? It captures a very specific timeframe and a youthful desire that just doesn't last forever, but age and experience open up the doors to so many more possibilites for the music. We happen to live in a time where talented and untalented rappers alike love to flaunt how many bricks/rocks/pounds/etc they move. It's certainly nothing new, but would it really be the same phenomenon it is if a certain Spectral Faced Murderer hadn't teamed up with the Chef on that famous purple tape? I'd tossed about the idea that this could be just a corny attempt to cash in on the latest trends in Cocaine rap, a la Busta Rhymes (although Busta does a good job with it). I think I'm going to go with an idea the Douchipster mentioned however, that Ghostface came out and demonstrated that an edgy album, drug related or not, can still be radio friendly, creative and well executed. I mean, honestly, isn't "Big Girl" a great song? And as much as I love Cuban Linx, Supreme Clientele, etc I don't think the guy who refused to spot Woodrow a dollar for two cracks would've been enlightened enough to spit a song like "Big Girl". Not that Fishscale is better, it just shows a matured Ghost. I think as far as personal favorites go, mine is still gonna be Pretty Toney, but ya know, that's just me.


the elder statesman


"Big Girl" by Ghostface Killah

the elder soulsman


"Holla" by Ghostface Killah

young and hungry


"Wisdom Body" feat. Ghostface Killah by Raekwon the Chef

fishscale friday

It’s Fishscale Friday here at Cigarbox. Green Hornet and me are legitimate fan boys, and I am immensely jealous that he met him last night. But anyways, I’m going to go through some of the highlight albums of Ghost’s career. I will include most of his solo albums and some other great ones here. I’m holding myself to posting just one song from each album. Here we go:



Album: Liquid Swords (GZA album)
Favorite Song (with Ghost): 4th Chamber

“4th Chamber” is one of the RZA’s best beats. The beat is like a black hole, it’s so dense. It sucks you in, instantly forces you to listen. The first guy out of the gate on this track is our subject, Ghostface. His verse here is ferocious, yet understated. His voice perfectly fits the mood of the album, and it mirrors the GZA’s. Him, along with the other guest stars on this album know who is the star of this album, and they let him have his stage. He lets you wait until the 4th verse (after a very decent Killah Priest verse, and a great verse from the RZA before he got older and started sounding like a retarded robot) for the GZA to tear shit up. But Ghost sets the stage. He makes the song what it is, and does exactly what a guest rapper is supposed to do: set up the main guy. He would have his time.



Album: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx (Raekwon album)
Favorite Song (with Ghost): Criminology

On an album that could be the score to a mob movie, this is one of the most cinematic songs. The album is just as much Ghost’s as it is Raekwon’s. Unlike on Enter the 36 Chambers where Ghostface functioned almost like a hypeman (albeit a fantastic hypeman), here Ghost is every bit as important as Raekwon in forwarding the intricate story of the album. On the song “Criminology”, Ghostface shows he has a distinct voice in rap.



Album: Ironman
Favorite Song: (tie) Wildflower, All That I Got Is You

Underrated in the overall annals of Wu solo albums, the only thing Ironman lacks is a bad song. With a little more cohesion to the overall album aesthetic, this could have been a classic up there with Cuban Linx. Picking a favorite song was such a difficult process because of the amount of great songs. I chose “Wildflower” first for it’s relation to a recent Ghostface hit song “Back Like That”. Wildflower has Ghostface throwing harsh words towards a woman who did him wrong while he was on tour. While on “Back Like That” where he at least acknowledges that he was partially to blame, here it is all blame towards the girl.

“Remember when I long-dicked you and broke your ovary?
You crab bitch, chickenhead hoe, eatin' heros”

Nuff said

“All That I Got Is You” is truly a hip hop to tug at your heartstrings. Mary J. Blige gives us a soul wrenching chorus while Ghost gives us a depressingly realistic look at his childhood and his love for his mother. Mike Skinner’s sappier songs might have been born right here.



Album: Supreme Clientele
Favorite Song: Apollo Kids

On this album, Ghost is still rapping about selling drugs, but now he rapping about a lot of other things too. These songs are abstract often, as Ghost seems to care more on this album about how his words sound than about how the words are. But on this song “Apollo Kids” him and Raekwon are rapping about dealing, but the narrative is fractured, as it is on most of the album.The words come out in a stream-of-consciousness blur. It’s like James Joyce with a beat.

At this point, Ghost has truly come into his own. He grew up for this album. Gone is the raw, Wu hypeman of albums past. Here is the veteran of rap, and the first of the Wu solos to be able to remain artistically viable without the RZA (although he did produce 3 of the songs on this album).



Album: Pretty Toney
Favorite Song: Be This Way

This album is just as much a soul album as a hip hop album. Ghostface doesn’t just have choruses with soul samples, he has truly incorporated the genre into every facet of most of these songs. What could have become an indulgent genre exercise turns out to be a fantastic album with enough bangers to be played at any party. The song “Be This Way” is a good example of the vibe of this album and is the best example of how the soul and hip hop were mixed to well on this album.



Album: Fishscale
Favorite Song: (tie) R.A.G.U., Underwater

So we are finally here to this day at Cigarbox’s namesake. To me, it’s just as good, if not better than all the rest of the albums named here. Some of the best producers (Just Blaze, MF Doom, J Dilla, and Pete Rock to name a few) , some of Ghost’s best verses, and some great guest spots make this album fantastic start to finish. Here Ghost’s topic is, what else: drug dealing. But after making albums that were a little left of center as far as mainstream rap is concerned, here Ghost shows that he can keep his roots of abstract artistic rap, and still make songs that would be great on the radio.

As different as his past albums were, here you can see Ghost jumping from style to style, as if he has perfected what he did in the past and here is the showcase. R.A.G.U. would easily go onto Cuban Linx as its beat sounds like that album, and it features Raekwon in top form. Underwater is a surrealist approach to hip hop. In the song Ghost describes a trip underwater led by mermaids. The song is so vivid as to make you think he actually lived it.

Fuck You, It's Fishscale Friday!

This week in lieu of our regularly scheduled Fuck You Friday, we here at cigarbox present "Fishscale Friday". I met Mr. Starks last night after a fantastic Wu concert and got to snap a picture with him, despite being the most starstruck I've ever been. I wasn't going to put the picture up here at first, ya know keep my internet anonymity and all, but I love this picture.

For any readers who don't already know me in person, that's me in the middle. I have to run to work, but rest assured, today holds more Wu Tang blog goodness, more talking about Ghostface, and more subpar digital pictures.

Make way for the S-O-V

If you're not doing anything Sunday, shit even if you are doing something on Sunday, get your ass down to Central Park. I have a half written post that I've been meaning to post forever, the subject being the lovely Ms. Jean Grae, and I've just been sitting on it and not finishing it, I'm not sure why. Anyways, I bring this up because her and Pete Rock are supporting Sov at Summerstage on Sunday. Sovereign is on at 5:30, but the day starts at 4:00.



"Dogs of War" feat. Raekwon the Chef, Cappadonna, Sun God, and Trife Da God by Ghostface Killah (Produced by Pete Rock)


The guitar on this track is ridiculous. It's really cool too how they pull the vocals out at certain points, it really catches your ear when you're expecting them to say it. Such a good job on this one, Mr. Rock.



"Code Red - The Yakuza" by Jean Grae


I totally slept on Jean Grae for so long and I really can't even tell you why. Talib is down with her, that should be reason enough for me right there. I'll admit I don't know a whole lot about her, but I'm really excited that she's finally on my radar.


"Fit But You Know It" Remix feat. some cool people but right now we're focusing on Lady Sovereign by the Streets


I think her verse on this song is better than most of her own work, if not all of it. I really want to like Lady Sovereign, and I do, but the biggest problem with her is that she writes songs about stupid things. I really don't need commentary on fake tanning and shit in my music. It's just not that necessary. I did see her live though, and she really did well. I'm excited to see her again.

see you there.