Ghostface Killah Names His Favorite Songs From His Essential Albums

The legendary Wu-Tang Clan MC goes through his classic LPs and selects his most cherished joints.

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Image via Complex Original
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There’s no question that Ghostface Killah is one of the most talented and successful artists in the Wu-Tang Clan, and one of the most unique personalities in all of rap music. RZA, The Abbot of the legendary Staten Island-based hip-hop group, recently told Complex, “Ghost is one of the best rappers in the world. At one point, he was the best rapper in the world.” Very rare.

Twenty years after the release of the Wu’s debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), Ghost’s career is still in full effect, and his sword is sharper than ever. Just last month, he dropped 12 Reasons To Die, a forward-thinking concept album with producer Adrian Younge that showcased his impeccable storytelling abilities and off-kilter creativity. He literally laid down a movie on wax.

And last summer, he appeared on the remix of G.O.O.D. Music’s summer slammer “New God Flow,” holding court alongside Pusha T and Kanye West with a song-stealing verse, rapping, “I got soccer moms paying for cock/Asians get it from behind while they’re cleaning their wok.” Yup, Tony Starks is two decades deep in the game, and he still has crazy bars.

To help celebrate Ghost turning 43 today (wow, that’s nuts), and his latest release 12 Reasons To Die (now available on iTunes and also as a deluxe package), we sat down with him after a recent performance in NYC to look back at his essential albums, and find out what songs are his favorites off each of them.

Between sips of Grey Goose, Ghost talked about the album cuts he’s most fond of, the stories behind crafting his classic catalog, and the hiccups he encountered along the way. In addition, he told us how he ended up on “New God Flow,” and addressed the popular rappers of today, saying that regardless of radio play, he’ll “dart ‘em out. Early.” Check the fly shit.

RELATED: The 50 Best Ghostface Killah Songs

As told to Daniel Isenberg (@StanIpcus)

Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)

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Wu-Tang Clan, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993)

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Ghostface Killah: “My favorite on 36 Chambers gotta be between ‘Method Man’ and ‘Can It Be All So Simple.’ ‘Method Man’ because at that time, he had so many fuckin’ styles, B. It’s old to us, but if you really sit there and hear the shit that he was saying?


 

[Meth] got kinda mad. We didn’t really know at that time, but he was like, ‘Y’all the ones that stopped me from rhymin’ [like that].


 

“One day, me and Rae, you know, we’re fuckin’ around, and we took him out of his element. We just snapped on him, like, ‘Yo, what the fuck you doing with that Dr. Seuss rap shit?’ He got kinda mad. We didn’t really know at that time, but he was like, ‘Y’all the ones that stopped me from rhymin’ like that. And I be telling him, ‘Go back to that shit.’ That was the witty unpredictable shit.

“The other one is ‘Can It Be’ because me and Rae really started noticing our element on ‘Can It Be.’ It just milked. We went good with each other. After we did that, we started coming into ourselves as Rae and Ghost, like a duo. And that’s how we got to that Cuban Linx album.

“The ‘Can It Be’ beat was sick! When we first heard that shit, it was just like, one of those beats, B. I don’t even know what you would call it, but it was one of those shits. When I say ‘one of those,’ the real musicians know what I’m talking about.”

RELATED: The 50 Best Ghostface Killah Songs

Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...

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Raekwon f/ Ghostface Killah, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (1995)

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Ghostface Killah: “We went to Barbados to record that shit, then got kicked out, and went to record it in Miami. We got kicked out I guess ‘cause the British, well there was black people too, and I love white people, but they were too much under us. Whatever music we played, not even turned up, they’d go and call the people on us. They kept doing it every fucking time. And then, we had fatigues on. And we couldn’t wear them out there. ‘Take that shit off!’ We had to get the fuck outta there. It was too much.

“But it was a blessing, because we got to Miami, and it was a whole different vibe. We recorded ‘Ice Water,’ and a majority of the Cuban Linx album there. Me and Rae were just going in. ‘Spot Rusherz’ and all that other shit started coming to play.

“We had a bunch of beats with us that RZA made. Before we left, we picked them out, like, ‘Give us those.’ We took all the fire ones. We wrote like we wanted every song to be a single. That was our mindset. I gotta go do that again, and get back into that mode. Make every song a single.


 

I said ‘rape’ at first. ‘Yo Rae, I’m ‘bout to rape her.’ He was like, ‘Nah, we can’t say that.’ [Laughs.] It was too much.


 

“I haven’t heard Cuban in so long. I perform ‘Criminology’ like every fuckin’ night. But you know, you get tired of that. ‘Wisdom Body’ was one of my favorites on there, and I’m just saying that because it was just me. When I first heard that beat, the beat was ridiculous. That’s one of my favorites.

“I even like ‘Spot Rusherz.’ Rae was saying some fly shit on there. And I was going in on the intro. But I remember when I said, ‘Yo Rae, come here,’ at the end, and he’s like, ‘Yo, chill Ghost.’ And I’m like, ‘Yo Rae, I’m ‘bout to scrape her.’ But I said ‘rape’ at first. ‘Yo Rae, I’m ‘bout to rape her.’ He was like, ‘Nah, we can’t say that.’ [Laughs.] It was too much. He said, ‘No, just say ‘scrape her.’’ And it became ‘scrape.’ I was just thinking about that the other day.

“But Rae had lines on ‘Spot Rusherz.’ I wasn’t there when he did ‘Scarface.’ When I first heard it, that shit was chunky. Flex and all these niggas were playing it. It was too much of a monster. If I had the choice to only pick one, because he even bodied ‘Knowledge God,’ man, it’s just too much. Each joint got its own stage.”

RELATED: The 50 Best Ghostface Killah Songs

Ironman

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Ghostface Killah, Ironman (1996)

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Ghostface Killah: “I’m just throwing one in the air. ‘Daytona’ was mean, but I might go with the ‘All That I Got Is You’ joint, just because of the story based on it. And I loved the Michael Jackson sample that was there. That’s why I rhymed on it. And we felt Mary belonged on that. And it worked. So I would say that. But you had ‘Wildflower.’ You had ‘260.’ You had the shit that Rae was on for dolo. That shit was beastie.


 

I found out I was a diabetic around that time, and I was just stressed out. My mind wasn’t all the way there. Certain joints I couldn’t really catch.


 

“I was going into a slump during Ironman. I found out I was a diabetic around that time, and I was just stressed out. My mind wasn’t all the way there. Certain joints I couldn’t really catch. Like the one I had Masta Killa and Deck and RZA and them on, ‘Assassination Day.’ I couldn’t catch it. I let it live, but like, ‘Fuck it, I’ll back out of that one,’ and kept it moving.

“To me, Ironman is dark. ‘After The Smoke Is Clear,’ and the last couple songs at the end. Even the Mary joint. It’s down. Even ‘Assassination Day.’ They’re dark. And I was mad as a motherfucker, but I couldn’t do nothing about it after it was wrapped up. They were like, ‘Yo put it out there.’ Then Nas came with I Am... after that, and he had nice, colorful joints. But it was what it was.”

RELATED: The 50 Best Ghostface Killah Songs

Wu-Tang Forever

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Wu-Tang Clan, Wu-Tang Forever (1997)

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Ghostface Killah: “‘Impossible’ has to be my favorite. I darted it out! That was a true story, some of it. One of my baby’s mothers' brother got murdered from Staten Island. He was a live nigga and shit. And they killed him on the Fourth of July. And I remember I was there. Not outside when he got murdered, but I was upstairs. And it was chaos. ‘Cause everybody loved this dude.

“And the mother came out, when I say, ‘Screaming, holding her breast with a gown on.’ And his name was J Love, kna’ mean? So when I said, ‘Jamie been shot/You my motherfuckin’ heart,’ that’s who I was referring to.


 

I darted it out!


 

“When I write shit like that, it’s the beat. Every rhyme I wrote, whether it was a weak one or a hype one, it’s because of the beat. The beat has something in it. A lot of times with me, I know how to swim through notes, and lay on certain shit. The beat’s getting ready to break down, I break down with it. Switch the flow up during that break-down, and then come back. That’s how I read music. And I’m not even a producer like that. It’s just a gift. As I went on, I got better with it.”

RELATED: The 50 Best Ghostface Killah Songs

Supreme Clientele

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Ghostface Killah, Supreme Clientele (2000)

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Ghostface Killah: “I went to jail. But before that, it was just one of those times. I was still Ghost, even though Ironman wasn’t really to where I wanted it to be lyrically. Like I said, to me, Ironman is kinda dark. I had went with RZA to Ohio to work on the album, we had some land over there. There was really nothing on that land. I felt like I fucked up on that one.


 

When you hear Supreme, it’s more colorful. It’s like a box of crayons, or a nice fruit bowl.


 

“But when you hear Supreme, it’s more colorful. It’s like a box of crayons, or a nice fruit bowl. It just looks colorful. When I did Supreme, I was like, ‘I’m coming back,’ especially with beats first. So I went to Juju [from The Beatnuts], my man Haas from Staten Island, RZA, you know, different motherfuckers. I had ‘Nutmeg’ from my barber. That’s my man. My old barber made ‘Nutmeg.’

“‘Mighty Healthy’ was crazy. ‘We Made It’ was crazy. Even ‘Stay True.’ ‘We in the fields with heat.’ That’s my most colorful album, and it’s up there with my favorites. I don’t listen to my albums no more. I just do it, then I let it go.”

“I was doing that Hip-Hop Squares shit, and Fat Joe and Khaled were up there, and they were telling me how them niggas had used my voice and the beat from ‘Mighty Healthy’ and how Kanye had put it on ‘New God Flow.’ They said the shit was crazy, shit was bangin’. So I’m like, ‘Word?’ And they’re like, ‘You gotta hear this shit.’

“So after a while, I heard the shit, and you know, it was aiight. I didn’t really go crazy for it and stuff like that, though, probably because I heard the beat so many times. But they flipped it, though. Sometimes, when you hear a song the first time, you gotta hear it more and more before you be like, ‘Oh shit.’ Especially on the radio.


 

I could’ve put it out myself, but something said, ‘Nah, just give it to [Kanye].’ Because more than likely, he’d make it like a remix, which he did...I never even spoke to him [when I sent it or after it was released].


 

“So I fucked around and just took the initiative to do it myself, ‘cause my voice was on it. So I took it and was like, ‘You know what? Let me just get some of that real quick.’ So I tackled that shit, and did it.

“When it came out, I been did that, like two, three months ago. ‘Cause Kanye was busy doing whatever he was doing. I could’ve put it out myself, but something said, ‘Nah, just give it to him.’ Because more than likely, he’d make it like a remix, which he did. And it would be more powerful, instead of me just putting it out myself.

“So yeah, I did it myself, and just sent it to Kanye. And two or three months later, it was out, like, ‘Aiight, cool.’ And that was it, though. I never even spoke to him when I sent it or after it was released. But I appreciate it. He fucked around and made a movie out of it, and got it out there. It was cool.”

RELATED: The 50 Best Ghostface Killah Songs

The W

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Wu-Tang Clan, The W (2000)

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Ghostface Killah:The W was real dark to me. Out of all the Wu-Tang albums, I like the first one, and the second one. When The W came into play, and the other ones, I felt they were just thrown together fast. Everyone got their money, and it was just like, ‘Whatever, whatever, whatever.’ The W was a real dark album. It wasn’t like, life. The beats were cool. It wasn’t that they were wack. They just weren’t colorful.

“I liked ‘Jah World,’ that slow one. I would take that [as my favorite], as far as one with me on it. It was kind of different. But the track that really stood out to me, that I thought was the best on it, was the one with Nas on it, ‘Let My Niggas Live.’ I liked how him and Rae were tackling that shit.”

RELATED: The 50 Best Ghostface Killah Songs

Bulletproof Wallets

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Ghostface Killah, Bulletproof Wallets (2001)

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Ghostface Killah: “‘The Sun’ or ‘The Watch’ were my favorites on Bulletproof, but they didn’t make the album. And the slow song I had with Ruff Endz on it, ‘Love Session.’ I liked that.


 

Barry White didn’t want to clear the sample. He didn’t want me to use it.


 

“With ‘The Watch,’ Barry White didn’t want to clear the sample. He didn’t want me to use it. And it was like, ‘Damn, yo. I love you, B.’ And RZA, he couldn’t find the fuckin’ sample for ‘The Sun.’ Motherfuckers get high, and he didn’t know where he put it at, like, ‘Yo, I can’t find the sample.’ So I was assed out.

“‘Flowers,’ the first ‘Flowers’ that we had on it that came out on the mixtapes before the album dropped, we couldn’t use that sample either. Basically, all my favorites didn’t even make the album. If it would’ve had those on there, it could’ve matched up with Supreme and them niggas.”

RELATED: The 50 Best Ghostface Killah Songs

The Pretty Toney Album

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Ghostface Killah, The Pretty Toney Album (2004)

Ghostface Killah: “I don’t think I have a favorite on Pretty Toney. When I made that shit, weed started to fuck me up. It took me eighteen months to finish.

“Man, it started happening where I’d get a couple of lines out writing, then I’d forget everything I wanted to do. Then I’d chill, and see if I could go back and try to get it. I was doing a hundred takes a fucking verse. I was thinking, ‘I can’t get it.’ And whoever was in the studio would be like, ‘Yo, it’s hot!’ And I’d be like, ‘Nah, do it again.’

“So I was like, ‘Damn, yo. I gotta stop smoking.’ No more weed, because it’s throwing me off. I had ‘Holla,’ and ‘Run’ on there. And the shit with Sheek and Styles P, ‘Metal Lungies,’ that was a good one, too. It was cool, but the album wasn’t where I wanted it to be.”

RELATED: The 50 Best Ghostface Killah Songs

FishScale

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Ghostface Killah, FishScale (2006)

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Ghostface Killah:FishScale was decent. It was okay. I tried to make it colorful like Supreme. But when I hear it, my darts could’ve been better. After a while, I was stressed out from not getting the right looks. When you hear yourself on the radio, it gives you a battery. But when you ain’t hearing yourself like that, I started thinking for a second, ‘Yo, is it me?’ But I knew it can’t be me, because my ear is still fucking exclusive.

“If I heard ‘Be Easy’ now, I would’ve murdered ‘Be Easy.’ The only one I murdered up there probably was like ‘Shakey Dog.’


 

If I heard ‘Be Easy’ now, I would’ve murdered ‘Be Easy.’ The only one I murdered up there probably was like ‘Shakey Dog.’


 

“And I made it too long. I would’ve shortened it. They’d tell me, ‘Cut it down.’ And I’d be like, ‘No, I’m not cutting it down.’ Now, knowing how I am, I would’ve narrowed that down, picked certain ones, and not kept so much. Because you be thinking that because you made it, you gotta put it on there. But it don’t work that way. Even if it’s only nine songs, make it bulky. Make it juicy. I learned all that shit.

“I would’ve fixed my rhymes. I had some ill beats up there. ‘Big Girl,’ and ‘Clips of Doom,’ and all that other shit. It would’ve been a whole different album. But those are just the times that you was in, and you can’t bring ‘em back.”

RELATED: The 50 Best Ghostface Killah Songs

Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II

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Raekwon f/ Ghostface Killah, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II (2009)

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Ghostface Killah: “Rae sent me the music on that while I was on the road, and I just had to go ahead and write to it. But on that album, my favorite might’ve been the ‘Gihad’ joint. I kinda liked that beat. That beat was kinda chunky when he sent me that. But I wasn’t with Rae when we did that album.”

RELATED: The 50 Best Ghostface Killah Songs

Ghostdini: Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City

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Ghostface Killah, Ghostdini: Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City (2009)

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Ghostface Killah: “As far as me really getting into my chamber, my favorite album was Wizard of Poetry. I always wanted to do an R&B album. And since that was basically my last joint on Def Jam, I was like, ‘Fuck It.’ And I really took my time, and tried to knit and sew every song like something I never did before.


 

As far as me really getting into my chamber, [my favorite album] was Wizard of Poetry. I always wanted to do an R&B album.


 

“I was gonna do my stage show with couches. I don’t even want to tell you what I was gonna do. I ain’t even gonna go there. But I was gonna have the fly shit. Beds on stage. Couch on stage. Slobbin’ a bitch down. It was like, a play. A bitch could sit down on the grass having a picnic, with a basket there just letting joints ride. Joints that aren’t even on my album, like Dru Hill songs playing and shit while I’m at a picnic with this bitch. Or like having arguments, me and her going at it, then just go into the next song, ‘Never Be The Same Again.’ Shit like that. But I couldn’t paint that picture.”

“There were a lot of joints on there that I liked. The joint I did with Raheem DeVaughn ‘Do Over’ was nice. Even the first track ‘Not Your Average Girl,’ that got me going. I forgot a lot of the names and shit, though. ‘Stay’ was okay. ‘Paragraphs of Love’ was good, too.

“This lady came up to me the other day and said ‘Stapleton Sex’ was her favorite song. I was like, ‘Oh shit. That’s wild.’"

RELATED: The 50 Best Ghostface Killah Songs

Wu Block

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Ghostface Killah & Sheek Louch, Wu Block(2012)

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Ghostface Killah: “‘Crack Spot Stories’ is probably my favorite. Yeah, ‘Crack Spot,’ and one of the ones we had with Meth at the end, ‘Stella.’ That was kinda cool.

“When I first received the ‘Crack Spot Stories’ beat, I knew I was playing with Sheek and them niggas. And they’re heavyweights over there, too. So this is one you don’t play around with. You gotta go in now. When I got the ‘Crack Spot’ one, that was one of the first ones I worked on.


 

I always make stories. That’s my element.


 

“The beat makes me paint the picture. And sometimes, that can be your downfall. Unless you want to paint some abstract shit, and talk about jewels, chains, and all that other shit. But I always make stories and shit. That’s my element.

“Then, because it’s Wu Block, my brothers would be like, ‘Yo, it’s called Wu Block and we ain’t even on it.’ I argue with my brothers all the time. I had to get them up on this shit.”

RELATED: The 50 Best Ghostface Killah Songs

12 Reasons To Die

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Ghostface Killah & Adrian Younge, 12 Reasons To Die (2013)

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Ghostface Killah: “Adrian gave me the hit list, like, ‘For this track, I want you to talk about this. For this track, I want you to talk about this.’ I didn’t have that much time to really brainstorm how I usually do. Sometimes, it might take me a couple of days to fuck around and write a rhyme. It might take me two weeks to finish it, ‘cause I can’t catch it. I’m too hard on myself. It might have been right, but I second guess a lot of shit. So I did what I felt worked using the time I had. And it came out decent. He was like, ‘I like this shit.’

“I like ‘I Declare War.’ And I like track two, ‘Rise of the Black Suits.’ But some of the others got their days. Like the one where I’m rhyming about the girl with Cappadonna, ‘The Center of Attention.’ I like that beat.


 

A lot of these rappers that [people] look up to, I’ll dart ‘em out. Early. And get the belt back overnight.


 

“But as far as with the band, and how we perform this shit on stage, It’s like an opera. It’s dramatic, with the music coming in here, and the sound effects. That’s what I always wanted to do anyway. And now that I’m performing with the live band, I know where to go now. I know what to do in the future.

“When I do Supreme Clientele 2, I gotta make a movie out of it when I come on stage. On certain shows, niggas want you to go raw and perform with just a DJ and the instrumentals. But for the main shit, I gotta rock with the band and make the shit a movie.

“I still ain’t back. I ain’t never go nowhere, but I’m not back to where I’m comfortable and in there like that. A lot of these rappers that niggas look up to, I’ll dart ‘em out. Early. And get the belt back overnight. When you’re not getting that play on radio, and you’re not around, they forget. Until they be like, ‘That was that nigga that brought the eagles out and the robes and the Wallabees and all that other shit.’ Watch what happens in the next couple weeks. It’s on.”

RELATED: The 50 Best Ghostface Killah Songs

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