It’s been some time since this record came out, two months to be exact, as we all packed our bags high in our cars to return home for Christmas Break. Nevertheless, this album was too big not to review. Belated as it be, Ghostface Killah may very well be in the running for one of 2014’s top hip-hop albums.
Anyone familiar with the monumental hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan would probably be familiar with Ghostface Killah’s work, but if not, Ghostface is one of Wu-Tang’s prominent members. Ghostface started his solo career during Wu-Tang’s initial rise to fame among the hip-hop universe in the mid-90s and has garnered much success ever since.
Some of Ghostface’s best work came in the early 2000s with the release of 2001’s “Bulletproof Wallets” and 2004’s “The Pretty Toney Album.” But when 2006’s “Fishscale” came about, Ghostface hit a new level, pumping out hits such as “Be Easy,” “Back Like That” and “The Champ,” cementing him as one of the most respected MCs in today’s hip-hop world.
Ghost has been somewhat M.I.A. from the “Best Of…” lists over the last few years, but he’s remained very active with Wu-Tang reuniting to release 2014’s “A Better Tomorrow” and continuing to release more solo work. Ghostface has set himself up for a big 2015 hit, starting with the release of his latest release, “36 Seasons.”
“36 Seasons” provides exactly what fans of Ghostface Killah have come to expect from the 44-year-old MC at this point – sick, furious beats, soulful samples and smart, hilarious rhymes that will leave you feeling as nostalgic as an episode of Kenan & Kel. But for this record, Ghost portrays himself as a vigilante superhero who has been in Italy for nine years, explaining why the album is called “36 Seasons.”
The music on “36 Seasons” truly speaks to you through Ghost’s beautiful imagery and will make even an outsider feel the sights and sounds of New York City. One of the more soulful songs on the album, “Love Don’t Live Here No More,” is undoubtedly a main highlight of “36 Seasons,” and possibly even Ghost’s career. Featuring Kandace Springs, “Love Don’t Live Here No More” incorporates a bluesy, old-timey “wooooooo-wooooooo” sample that sets the soul level on high right from the get-go. As the underlying piano sounds its Motown-style triplets, Ghost raps, “Love is love, it’d been a long time comin’, Nine long years, I know she missed my lovin,’” as he narrates the main character’s return home to be reunited with his lady.
Immediately after “Love Don’t Live Here No More” comes “Here I Go Again,, a direct nod to New York City featuring Rell and The Firm’s AZ. Another track with sparkling waves of piano and Jackson 5-reminiscent soul guitar, this is where you’ll hear the blatant references to the Big Apple through anecdotes describing Stapleton and the Verrazano Bridge.
Though many of the album’s tracks are romantic heart-melters like “Love Don’t Live Here No More,” “It’s a Thin Line Between Love and Hate” and “I Love You for All Seasons,” there are plenty of songs depicting the dark sides of an antihero such as “Double Cross” and “Loyalty.” “Double Cross,” another AZ-featured track, distinctly exhibits the difficulties of living in a crime-ridden New York and features multiple brief skits within the song that send chills up your spine.
Ghostface Killah doesn’t quite get the recognition that the big fish like Kanye and Jay-Z do, but make no mistake, Ghost is one of the top MCs in today’s game and he has a lot going on in the very, very, very near future. Feb. 10 saw the release of a joint project between Ghost and BADBADNOTGOOD that will surely make a splash in the hip-hop world. Ghost hasn’t slowed down and it seems that he won’t be slowing down any time soon.
My rating: 8/10
