Look, I appreciate that I am now doing the Wu-Tang albums completely out of order, but there's a reason for that. I want to treat every member as a solo artist, rather than just a part of that group. I don't have to review every album by every member of The Firm in order, so why do it with Wu-Tang? Ghostface Killah, along with many of the members of the Clan, stands as just as much of a solo artist as Nas or Jay-Z, and as such, I'll treat his catalogue with the same efficiency, if that makes any sense. Now, on with the review.
Following the release of his debut album Ironman, Ghostface Killah wasn't given as much freedom to release more material as he probably would have liked, primarily because he was in the Wu-Tang Clan, who, through the last few years of the '90s, were getting out the albums by artists who hadn't had a solo project yet, such as U-God, Inspectah Deck and The RZA, and also sophomore albums by the first few artists to release projects, such as Method Man and Ol' Dirty Bastard. This meant that it wasn't until 2000 when Ghost was finally able to get out a sophomore project, and it must be said that he had a lot riding on his shoulders by then. Wu-Tang hadn't really released an acclaimed project since 1997's group album Wu-Tang Forever, and people like Raekwon and GZA had been royally shitted on for their decidedly unsatisfactory sophomore Wu albums. In fact, Rae's second album Immobilarity is widely regarded as one of the most disappointing sophomore albums in the history of hip-hop. Ghostface was probably feeling rather worried by the time it was his turn, despite the popularity of his recent singles "Mighty Healthy" and "Apollo Kids", and given that his debut Ironman had been far less acclaimed than Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... and Liquid Swords, the general consensus was that Ghost's album was going to be the final nail in the coffin of the Wu-Tang dynasty that had once ruled the hip-hop world with such power.
Alas, not.
Supreme Clientele is widely regarded as one of the best hip-hop albums of the 2000s, with critics praising the intricate and fun lyricism, the triumphant production and the cohesiveness and consistency of the album. It is considered to be the best Wu-Tang sophomore album, and to a lot of people the best Wu-Tang album ever released. The tracklist could be considered rather worrying, though - we are presented with multiple three minute skits, as well as a large amount of no-name producers, and buyers in the USA were also subject to completely botched credits inside the booklet. The first few hundred copies pressed for Canada also featured completely different musical content, with a swapped around tracklist, and some alternate versions of songs that appeared on the actual album (that pressing now goes for quite a lot of money on Discogs, so sadly I don't own it yet). However, there were promising parts as well. This was the only sophomore Wu album to be executively produced by The RZA (besides his own of course - and GZA's Beneath the Surface, although Robert had nowhere near as much input on there), and did feature four beats from Prince Rakeem, as well as contributions from Mathematics and Juju of The Beatnuts, among others. And unlike Raekwon's sophomore album, this project featured loads of Wu-Tang members, with Ol' Dirty Bastard and Inspectah Deck being the only members to not make any kind of appearance. Also, Redman is on here, which just HAS to be a good thing.
So, was this album a classic piece of Wu material, or a skit-filled mess? I'll be the judge of that.
Even though lots of producers are credited, RZA actually reworked most of these beats, and so is involved with pretty much every track, so keep that in mind.
1. Intro
Interesting how Ghost uses classic Iron Man theme music on this album, but not on the album that was literally called Ironman. Still, this is a fun intro, and the transition into the next track is simply perfection.
2. Nutmeg (feat. The RZA) (prod. Arthur Wilson p/k/a "BLACK MOES-ART")
Pretty bloody great opener. The triumphant, jazzy beat that plays during the interludes is probably the best part, especially when Ghost tells the listener to "get in line, punk!", but the verses aren't to be sniffed at either. This is one of the songs on this album that appears to be about nothing, and is just Ghost rapping random phrases that don't fit together at all, but that's one of the things that makes this so unique and great. The rhyming during the opening few bars is excellent, and I actually enjoyed that RZA verse on the end a whole load as well. Ghost's repetition of "I know, I know" towards the end is the only part I don't enjoy, but on the other hand I do like the shout of "break it down!" that finishes the song off, so I can't complain. Excellent track.
3. One (prod. Juju of The Beatnuts)
4. Saturday Nite (prod. Carlos "Six July" Broady)
A short track, but still good at that. The intense beat is exciting and invigorating, and Ghost's sole verse about being harassed by the police is pretty interesting as well (the Wu-Tang Clan were actually investigated by the FBI during the '90s). This song should have gone on a lot longer, really, but it cuts off around the 1:40 mark, which is rather annoying, but oh well.
5. Ghost Deini (feat. Superb) (prod. The Blaquesmiths)
On this track, Ghost introduces us to his new alias, to go along with "Ironman", "Tony Starks", and all the others, whatever the hell they are (it would be a couple of years before he invented "Pretty Toney"). Dennis would later name his 2009 R&B concept album after the nickname "Ghost Deini" (albeit spelt differently), with decidedly disastrous results. Anyway, back to this song. The beat on here, another one by an unknown producer, (The Blaquesmiths, who did do a song on Inspectah Deck's debut, but not much else), is absolutely fantastic, being a lot more chilled out than most of the other instrumentals that appear on this album, and it does provide a bit of a refreshing feel. The verses on here are excellent, but unfortunately that little sung bridge in the middle was akin to slowly having your brain pulled out of your mouth. Still a great song, though.
6. Apollo Kids (feat. Raekwon) (prod. Hassan)
7. The Grain (feat. The RZA) (prod. The RZA)
This rather weird breakbeat style song is good, but definitely doesn't stand out amongst the previous or upcoming songs if I'm honest. Ghostface sounds great over this simplistic RZA beat, but The RZA himself doesn't sound quite right. Also, what is up with the off-key singing on this album? This track features the third attempt at singing (after other attempts on "Nutmeg" and "Ghost Deini"), and it's the third to fail miserably. I did find the "ayo, kid, don't fuck wit her" outro pretty hilarious though (that whole end section is of course a riff on part of Ol' Dirty's track "Don't U Know".
8. Buck 50 (feat. Cappadonna, Method Man, Masta Killah & Redman) (prod. The RZA)
Apparently Masta Killa was so enraged at his lack of credit on the previous album's "Assassination Day", that he demanded compensation. Therefore, he is credited here, even though he doesn't even appear on the song at all! Weird. Aside from that, this track is wonderful, possibly my favourite on the album. Method Man starts things off with an incredible guest verse that it seems is sure to steal the show, only for Redman to come in later on and take that distinction for himself. This is easily one of the best Red verses ever, with his delivery of the line "the words you talk, better be the words you walk" being a personal favourite moment. Ghost also sounds great on here, and the intense beat is fantastic. A shame that Cappadonna sounds like shit, but oh well. This is still an excellent song.
9. Mighty Healthy (prod. Allah Mathematics)
According to Wikipedia, this was the lead single, released to radio sometime around 1998, but I don't know how much I should trust that source. I do know that a video was released for it though, and I also know that this is easily one of Ghost's most popular songs - although that could have something to do with Kanye West sampling it twice (on "New God Flow" and "No More Parties In L.A."). However, I choose to believe that this song was popular because it was and is absolutely incredible. The production from Mathematics is haunting and eerie, and Ghost absolutely kills his verses on here. The delivery of "understand what I'm saying, saying, saying?" at the end of the short hook is so menacing that you'll be nodding your head "yes" to your CD player. This is also the first song here to feature martial arts film samples, so that's appreciated. Absolutely phenomenal song.
10. Woodrow the Base Head
You didn't need skits for your last album to be great, Ghost, so why do you need them now? And why is it three minutes long? This skit is a massive issue for replayability, and it's only going to get worse from here.
11. Stay True (feat. 60 Second Assassin) (prod. Inspectah Deck)
Jacks the beat right from Inspectah Deck's "Elevation", which was an interesting choice (also, the USA booklet mistakenly lists this song as "Deck's Beat", I believe, which is quite hilarious). This track is really chill, though, and this beat is a lot better than some of INS' other production works (see Method Man's "Elements"). 60 Second Assassin, known for his appearance on Raekwon's "Glaciers Of Ice", also provides the first piece of good singing on the album, so that's appreciated largely.
12. We Made It (feat. Superb) (prod. Carlos "Six July" Broady)
Superb is back again, although weirdly he's not the only rapper on here, despite being listed as such. Both Chip Banks and Hell Razah pop up on here, and I have no idea why they're not credited, and it's a shame, as they both provide good verses, especially Hell Razah, who fits in perfectly over this triumphant instrumental. Ghost still appears to be talking about absolutely nothing, but as I said before, that's fine by me. Very good track.
13. Stroke Of Death (even though no producer is listed, I think this was done by The RZA)
Although this is clearly a song, it's listed in the booklet like a skit, with no credits around it whatsoever, not even the RZA and Solomon Childs features. This song is pretty good, but I just can't get past that annoying looped backwards beat. However, the fact that they had the decency to end it before the two minute mark shows some good quality control I suppose, so that's something. This was also the first appearance of Solomon Childs on a Ghostface album, which is a pretty interesting milestone in my opinion.
14. Iron's Theme - Intermission
Features easily the best singing on this entire album, from what appears to be some kind of male choir. This was pleasant, like the sound of soft rain pattering on the window when in bed, but unfortunately RZA's shouting in the background is slightly off-putting. Emphasis on "slightly", though.
15. Malcolm (prod. Choo "The Specializt")
Ghost finally decides it's time to rap a cohesive story, rather than just randomly placed uses of slang, and gives us this excellent track where he appears to picture himself as Malcolm X, which you could probably discern from the title. The beat on here is actually rather dark and creepy, which may or may not have been the mood Ghost was aiming for, but whatever. The reference to the altercation with Ma$e was pretty interesting as well, although the event has surprisingly been apparently lost in the history books, as I had never heard of such a thing happening until I heard this track. Excellent song.
16. Who Would You Fuck
Another three minute skit, Ghost? The fuck?
17. Child's Play (prod. The RZA)
Not only does the song title immediately raise suspicion from the title of the previous track alone, but when we get into this, it gets worse. The piano beat is lovely, especially the switch up during the second verse, where it becomes one of the best beats on the whole album. However, Ghost's lyrics, however unintentionally, sound unpleasantly paedophilic, and therefore I cannot really listen to this song without cringing. Production is still good, though, and at least the questionable lyrics are unintentional (see the next album's "Strawberry").
18. Cherchez LaGhost (prod. Carlos Bess)
19. Wu Banga 101 (feat. GZA, Cappadonna, Masta Killah & Raekwon) (prod. Allah Mathematics)
Surprisingly, Raekwon only gets two features on this whole album, the same amount as Cappadonna and Superb, and less than The RZA. Interesting. Closing your album with a posse cut is always a pet peeve of mine, as I always like it when the last song is a solo track, but I don't mind here, as this song is utterly incredible. Not only does it feature the best Masta Killa verse I've ever heard, but also one of the best GZA verses ever, post Liquid Swords at least. This beat is also phenomenal, being intense and creepy, but relaxing all the same. Ghost actually delivers two verses here, and the second of them is the better one in my opinion. Easily one of the, if not the, best Wu posse cuts ever released.
20. Clyde Smith
The infamous skit where a deep-voice filtered Raekwon disses 50 Cent. I bet whoever let you know about this forgot to tell you that it was boring as fuck. Can't you just make a diss track? Why does it have to be this? The hell?
21. Iron's Theme - Conclusion
Basically takes "Iron's Theme - Intermission" and "Intro", and mashes them together like potatoes and butter. Similar to that combination, this outro is rather pleasant.
Overall, Supreme Clientele is easily a classic album, and probably the best in Ghostface's entire catalogue. This is one of those albums that just feels like a greatest hits, what with the shiny cover, and also the fact that each of the tracks (bar the goofy skits of course) could be considered a classic Ghostface track. Production on this album is phenomenal every single time (besides the rather annoying "Stroke Of Death"), and the rapping from Ghost is so fun and entertaining that you will just want to leap with joy whenever you put this album on - well, at least when the skits aren't playing. And that is the only real problem with this - the skits. They're way too long, and therefore make the replay factor of the second half fall quite far down into the trenches. If this album lost "Woodrow the Base Head", "Who Would You Fuck" and "Clyde Smith", then this would probably be a lot easier to listen to, and would probably be "easily" the best Ghost album, rather than "only just" or "potentially". As it stands, though, this is still a classic, and I would easily recommend you listen to it. Also, I've just noticed, the first album I've reviewed from the 2000s. Isn't that cool?
Best Tracks: Nutmeg, One, Ghost Deini, Apollo Kids, Buck 50, Mighty Healthy, We Made It, Malcolm, Wu Banga 101
Worst Tracks: Stroke Of Death, Child's Play (I just can't do that one, I'm sorry)
For other Wu-Tang posts, click here, and for my Ironman review specifically, click here
Image for "One" single taken from Discogs
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