Ironman

Ghost In The Lyrics
written by KT

Ghostface Killah might be the best hip-hop artist no one talks about.

I should just end this post right there, no back up statements, no reason for such a strong assertion, but then, I wouldn’t be taking it very far past the margin now would I? Let me start by clarifying that statement. Ghostface is one of the best hip-hop artists no one talks about (I’ll throw fellow Wu-Tang member Raekwon in that same category). But if you are in anyway versed in hip-hop and know a little history of the genre’s rise, then you know precisely who Ghostface a.k.a. Tony Starks a.k.a. Wallabee Champ a.k.a. Ironman a.k.a. you get the point, is.

One of the most lyrically diverse, dexterous and probably the most amusing rapper this side of the Mason Dixon (props to Ludacris), Ghostface has made a name for himself off of a distinctively grimy, hungry flow and often times, nonsensical lyrics. Need an example? The chorus to “Apollo Kids” off the Supreme Clientele LP goes: “Aiyyo this rap is like ziti/facin’ me real tv/crashin’ high speeds/strawberry kiwi.” If you understand exactly to what he is referring to, please, feel free to submit a post during Thursday’s Lyrical Exercise, you will have earned it.

But there is undoubtedly something about Tony Starks, be it the wallabies, the giant golden eagle he wears on his wrist or, heaven forbid, his talent, that draws us, the listener in deeper. Admittedly, it takes a while to warm up to his often times frenetic flow and whiplash-speed subject matter switches, but once you are able to sift through that, you find yourself not only listening to a man with a wealth of experiences under his belt, but also a dude who knows how to put together a conceptual song.

The bottom line is that Ghost is one of the few dudes who can craft a whole song about Kilos of cocaine and its transport throughout the cities of NY (Fishscale’s “Kilo”) and follow up further down the track listing with a hypnotic ode to young black girl growing up tough (“Big Girl” on the same album) and actually lead you believe every word of what he’s spitting on both tracks. Can Nas, the king of hip-hop hypocrisy say the same thing?

Therein lies the biggest enigma about Dennis Coles. His persona and charisma does not allow you much room to question his authenticity.Very rarely, I find, is it that you can listen to him and not truly feel his words are the honest truth. He rhymes with such fervor and sincerity, it’s almost impossible to penetrate. Check out “Josephine” from Hi-Tek’s Hi-Teknology, Vol. 2:

“Yo, I know this chick from the hood named Courtney Cox

And her brain is easy to pick like faulty locks

She's awfully hot, asshole burning like tabasco

She used to be thick, it's like where the hell her ass go

Started smoking weed and graduated to the pipe

Thought that she could quit but her calculations wasn't right…”

He possesses a rather uncanny ability to weave the whimsical with the more serious subject matter (“asshole burnin’ like Tabasco” hilariously sad). And it works most times. I won’t sit here and praise him without acknowledging some of his past shortcomings with albums like Bulletproof Wallets and The Pretty Toney Album, but while those albums weren’t great, listening to Clientele back in 2000 and Fishscale last year definitely reminded me of why I enjoy him so much in the first place. There is an unadulterated quality to him that allows the listener to vibe and let his words push you through to another realm. As evidenced in the excerpt from “Josephine,” his talent truly lies in the ability to both talk and rap at the same time. Just as sure as you could hear him rapping those words, you could hear him saying those same sentences to you on any street corner in NY.

So he might just embody what makes New York New York: his brash, bold and humorously aggressive nature. And maybe that’s why he’s not getting a lot of ink. Maybe he personifies the honesty that seems to be lacking in hip-hop, especially as of late.

Maybe he’s talking just enough for all of us.