Ghostface Killah

• Genre: Street Hop
• Hometown: New York
• Ghostface Killah Website

About

Ghostface Killah has somehow pulled off the near impossible feat of being relentlessly creative, original and commercially viable. The Staten Island native debuted on the Wu's 1993 masterpiece Enter The Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers. At the time, many regarded Ghost as one of the less distinct members of the legendary crew. That all changed in 1995 with the release of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. Though technically a Raekwon release, Ghostface was featured on nearly half of the tracks, and his contributions helped the album achieve classic status. Ghostface's solo debut came in 1996 with Ironman. The album included the heartwrenching "All That I Got Is You," as well as the propulsive "Daytona 500." While much of what he said on his celebrated second solo LP (2000's Supreme Clientele) was either metaphorical or nonsensical, he injected such emotion into his lines that the actual content was tertiary. As the years progressed, Ghostface became more literal and his songs became more narrative. On 2006's Fishscale, Ghost took a slow walk down the dark alley of grisly hip-hop noir, while 2007's Big Doe Rehab was a coke-rap victory lap.

- Sam Chennault