Theodore Unit - 718

Following the success of his Def Jam debut The Pretty Toney Album, a project I suggest you folks go check out right now if you haven't already, rapper Dennis Coles, formerly known as Ghostface Killah, now known as simply Ghostface (a shortening that lasted for approximately one year, before the Def Jam bosses realised it was a fucking stupid idea), found himself with a pile of unused songs that his label had vetoed from appearing on his latest effort for whatever (probably sample-related) reason. Next to this on his secret bunker's carpeted floor lay a separate pile of Ghostface's friends from Staten Island that he had promised a spot on the new album, only for him to "accidentally" forget to include any of them except for Trife Da God. Ghost needn't have been a genius to work out what to do next. He had artists. He had half-finished songs. He had a (rather stupid) name for his crew. And, he had his own record label (Starks Enterprises). Of course, a group album was to be the outcome of this seemingly dire situation, and from this, Theodore Unit's debut group album 718 was born.

Upon arrival of this album on the store shelves at the local newsagent, hip-hop heads that picked up the project (because let's be real - no-one outside hardcore hip-hop fans was about to buy this record) may have been compelled to ask a couple of questions. What is "Theodore Unit", and where do all the members come from? Well, starting off with the head, we have Ghostface Killah (sorry - "Ghostface"), and if you don't know who that is then you probably shouldn't be on this blog in the first place - no offence. The second name on this front cover that should stand out to any self-respecting hip-hop nerd is that of Cappadonna - a name sure to strike fear in the heart of anyone buying an album after the year 1997. I mean seriously, what happened to that guy?? The only other name which 2004 buyers might have recognised would be Trife Da God, who had previously shown his face on both Ghost's Bulletproof Wallets and The Pretty Toney Album, and made a pretty good case for himself as Ghost's honourable sidekick if you ask me.

But what about the rest of them? Well, even an enormous nerd like me knows very little about Kryme Life and Du-Lilz, as the two of them make one appearance between them on this whole album (that would be the former on "Right Back"), before apparently both fell off the face of the Earth at approximately the same time shortly after this project's release (well, Kryme Life might have survived slightly longer, since he also appeared on the 2005 collab album from Ghost and Trife, which we'll get to soon). Wigs (or rather Shawn Wigs) is actually a white rapper who was first showcased on this record, but ended up sticking to Ghost's side the longest out of anyone here, which is an accomplishment he can be proud of (also, he rocked on 36 Seasons). And then Solomon Childs is an overly gruff gangster rapper who left the group for some less-than-friendly reasons, despite getting the longest amount of screen-time out of any MC here not called Ghostface or Trife. And as for the other two people on this cover... well, I guess Ghost has left their stage names up to the imagination. That, or he needed two more people to fill up the cover, and the Wu-Tang members still weren't speaking to him after he left them off The Pretty Toney Album.

Of course, it wasn't just the main members that showed up on this record - we also got features from Method Man (hell yeah!), Streetlife and Bone Crusher, all three of whom make up the supporting cast on what is an album otherwise filled with Ghostface rapping alongside what are essentially Wu-Tang d-teamers, and over production that is either left uncredited completely, or is done by people you've never heard of before, and probably wouldn't hear of again (that's of course not counting Anthony Acid or Emile). It's no wonder barely anyone actually bothered to buy this album then - surely it's rubbish! I mean, who wants to listen to Ghostface throwaways that have been peppered with verses from MCs you and all your friends don't give a single shit about?

Well, I do. And did. And that's why today, I'm going to be providing my thoughts on this group album that no-one has ever even heard. But at least I might put someone on?

1. Guerilla Hood (feat. Ghostface) (prod. Cilvaringz)

By the way, all of the tracks are listed as "featuring" the MC that appears on them - I guess "Theodore Unit" is an entity in its own right, then. This makes for the only Ghostface solo cut on the whole album, and therefore most that did pick the record up would probably have their highest expectations saved for it. After a short movie sample that indicates there may be some religious tone to this song and/or album, Ghost debunks the idea that it had anything to do with anything by choosing to deliver a beautifully soulful singing performance over this triumphant beat, and by "beautifully soulful" I of course mean "brutally awful". After this miserable opening which includes a prominent voice crack, Ghost redeems himself by offering two verses that aim to paint himself as a street thug and a man who was in jail after the release of Supreme Clientele, which is just simply not true. Still, Ghost's delivery is as energetic as it gets, and the lyrics on here are oftentimes hilarious, especially when it comes to lines like "fuck up a rapper on the regular" - only Ghost could come up with that. Also, the singing at the start is mercifully never repeated, with Ghost instead delivering a rapped hook for the song which is catchy enough. And if that beat doesn't remind you of the best of The Pretty Toney Album, then I don't know what will. A fantastic song. 

2. Punch In Punch Out (feat. Trife) (producer not credited)

I do find it funny how, aside from Trife, we don't actually hear any of the new members of Theodore until track 5 of the record - still, no-one ever accused any rappers of promoting their artists properly. I mean, seriously, what did you expect? Second out the gate on this album is Ghost's most frequent collaborator at this time Trife Da God, who spits over a fairly droning instrumental that still works fairly well thanks to the interesting sound effects that the producer, who apparently wasn't worth crediting in the booklet, incorporates into this beat. The song is slightly enhanced by Trife's energetic performance - the man doesn't sound like Ghost at all, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel he was trying to at times. Not that I blame him - if your mentor was a legend of the game you'd probably try to imitate him a bit too, especially this early in your career. On this song, Trife delivers two verses and a hook that big himself up, and attempt to prove his worth over other rappers and other drug dealers, and it's not a bad performance, even if nothing unique is really discussed. Trife does spend a portion of the second verse justifying the dealing of drugs with the lines "I know that hustling's a strenuous job, but if you see niggas gettin' money, why should you continue to starve?", and I did find that kind of funny in how serious he sounds saying it. This song is pretty good, but if you're looking for uniqueness, you're better off watching a 2020s episode of The Simpsons. 

3. '88 Freestyle (feat. Ghostface & Trife) (producer not credited)

Over the instrumental to Big Daddy Kane's song "Set It Off" (the release date of which gave this song its title), Ghost and Trife freestyle, which would have seemed strange until you realise this is technically an "Official Mixtape", or at least it is according to the strip down the side of the CD packaging. The fact that this takes its instrumental directly from an older song does at least explain why we don't get the producer credit, which is more than can be said for the last song, where the music apparently magicked itself up out of nowhere, so that's something. The lyrics on here pretty much echo the "I'm better than you" sentiment of the previous two songs, but since they're freestyling I'll give it the pass - hell, I'd rather hear that than a song about having sex with someone still in fucking high school (people who haven't heard "Strawberry"... may God continue to bless you). Still, it's kind of difficult to find any replay value here, especially considering the very intro here reminds you that this isn't an original instrumental at all, but I still like it, and the female singing in the bridge worked a hell of a lot better than one might expect. 

4. The Drummer (feat. Ghostface, Method Man, Streetlife & Trife) (prod. Self)

Probably the most popular song on this whole record, and don't believe it's just because of that enticing Method Man feature either. This is quite probably the best song on this album. The instrumental from someone called Self is straight from the gutter, utilising a female vocal sample that keeps it sounding modern, but also with hard-ass drums that act as almost a prelude to what we would hear in the Czarface albums of the 2010s. Meanwhile, the four MCs eschew the usual conventions of what a mainstream rap song is structured like, and instead deliver their bars in a random order with no hook, often ad-libbing during their partner's sections of the song. This whole track is random in nature, but that helps its case, as do the actual performances from the four, as they're bloody great. Starks begins the song by dissing the woman that Method Man bought to the Grammys with him, before then actually praising the man, which was a bit random but oh well. Street and Trife, acting as the underdogs on this one, seize their chance to shine whilst their superiors start singing in unison, and use their next two verses to provide some boastful lyricism that goes down a treat, before Ghost comes back in. Method doesn't actually come in until halfway through the track, and although the odds were stacked against him coming off the critically panned Tical 0: The Prequel, he proves the naysayers wrong by bodying the track, and dissing Shaquille O'Neal just for good measure. The rest of this song follows in the same footsteps, with all four MCs proving their own different worth (Ghost's humour, Meth's swag, Trife and Street's clever boasts) over a timeless beat. If they had thrown this on a Ghost studio album rather than this obscure group effort, then I have no doubt it would be considered a hip-hop classic, but for now it remains an underrated gem that only the real fans can access. Brilliant song. 

5. Gatz (feat. Shawn Wigs, Ghostface & Solomon Childs) (prod. Anthony Acid)

Ghost probably realised that there wasn't any misspelled titles on this album last minute, and in a rush he closed his eyes and put his finger on the sheet of paper with the proposed songs on, and landed on this track. That's surely the only way we can explain why the hell this song is called "Gatz". I mean, what the hell kinda title is that? More importantly, however, this is the first time for us fans hearing Shawn Wigs and Solomon Childs, and Ghost gives them the full showcase on here, reserving himself to only the intro and hook, and letting them handle the verses. Said intro in which Ghost argues with an unknown gentleman about hogging the alcohol is pretty hilarious, but then Ghost orders DJ Kay Slay to drop the beat, which would be fine if it wasn't for the fact that Kay Slay isn't actually anything to do with this song. Huh. Anthony Acid (what a name that is!!) does come through with a brilliantly energetic instrumental though, one full of great percussion and fun, upbeat horns. Shawn Wigs comes across as a little too alike Ghost and Trife for my liking on here, but I still enjoy his verse, even if it isn't The Source Quotable Of the Month-worthy like he claims. Also, I like how he addresses his skin colour too, even if white MCs were fully accepted into the community by '04. Ghost's quick but very repetitive chorus is all kinds of terrible, though, and then we come to Solomon Childs, who appears to rely on his gruff voice and "get 'em" ad-lib to qualify him as a "rapper", as as far as I could tell there was little in the way of actual rhymes or flow during his verse. This song has its bad and good, then, but as a whole it's fairly entertaining, if definitely not something for your "best of Ghostface" playlist. 

6. Who Are We? (feat. Bone Crusher, Ghostface & Trife) (prod. Dirty Dean)

Aside from his name making him sound like he's the local paedo, "Dirty Dean" (man, you can't help but laugh at that name) provides a pretty entertaining instrumental on here, that sounds quite rich and old-school, and compliments Bone Crusher's rough hook vocals to keep an air of menace about the song. Speaking of Bone Crusher, I don't know if he had grit surgically placed in his vocal chords when he was a kid or something, but his voice on this hook is as rough as the mixing on Murs' debut album, and it's as excellent too. After an intro which wasn't really necessary (I would have just let the instrumental run), Trife comes in with a pretty nice and rather aggressive verse, which does include the second use of a homophobic slur on here, so that's not so nice. His lyrical content revolves around how dangerous he is and how other MCs aren't as real, and it's solid, but really I do wish the guy'd come up with some humour now and then. As for Ghost, he begins things with a bit of silly singing (seriously, why does he do that all the time??), but then he redeems himself similarly to how he did on the first track, by offering up a great verse full of those beautifully abstract references that he is so well-known for. This one is pretty great, and if you're looking for something to scare your party guests off, then that Bone Crusher hook is the perfect thing. 

7. Smith Brothers (feat. Ghostface & Trife) (prod. Smith Bros.)

A remake of sorts of the song "Smith Bros." from Raekwon's 2003 album The Lex Diamond Story (which I'll get to eventually, I promise!), in that it uses exactly the same instrumental, which I must say is a pretty good one (it's also provided by a duo that gave both the songs their name). The beat is pretty chilled out, but it still works a treat in my opinion at allowing the MCs to shine. Ghost comes with the first verse, delivering a hilarious performance including great disses such as "you get amped off of Pepsi", and a line that boasts about how Ghost has working elevators in his home, meanwhile you don't, bitch! Trife has a similarly good verse that does admittedly recycle content from the previous few songs, but oh well - remember, this is a mixtape. This song would be great, if it weren't for one facet - the bloody hook. The chorus starts off well enough, with Ghost telling the poor person he's holding a gun to the face of to not get nervous on him, which is pretty funny. Unfortunately, it is utterly ruined by the miserably bad interpolation of Queen's "We Will Rock You" that literally hurts my ears whenever it's on. That one part of the song makes it easily one of the, if not the weakest here. I just can't do it, man. 

8. Mama Can You Hear Me (feat. Solomon Childs) (prod. Nexus)

Based on his performance on "Gatz", I can't imagine listeners were exactly fiending for the three Solomon Childs solo songs that appear on this album, but there we are I suppose. This song goes down pretty well, though, although that's largely thanks to the soulful and quite wondrous beat from Nexus, which helps Solomon to actually find a flow once or twice on the song. The man also does find an alternate perspective to the up-front gangsta attitude displayed on this album so far, instead showing a slightly more personal side by calling out to his mum on this song to save him from the street life that he wishes he could leave behind. I do like that aspect of the song, but it doesn't change the fact that the guy barely bothers to flow or rhyme on this track, which automatically causes it to fail in my book. "You know I don't sound like nobody else" - yes, but in this case that's not really a positive. It's a shame that this song doesn't work - that beat is nice as hell. 

9. Paychecks (feat. Ghostface & Trife) (prod. D Prosper, co-prod. Kdef)

This song was released as a promotional single off of this album I believe, and it's pretty easy to see why, as despite the over-the-top profanity, this is one of the better songs on the whole record. This instrumental sounds more like something Ghost would rhyme over in his Fishscale days, as instead of the dramatic jazz we heard on The Pretty Toney Album, here the music is laid back and quite abstract sounding, and my God is it good. Hearing Ghost on here is definitely a relief after that previous Solomon Childs song, and he re-introduces himself in the best way, with an aggressive and energetic verse that is just want we want from early 2000s Ghost, overly violent imagery and all. The hook is catchy too, and Trife provides a nice performance, before Ghost rounds things out with a short but sweet second verse and a second rendition of the hook as well. Yeah, this isn't mind-blowing, but it really does just scream Ghostface to me, and that's why I love it. 

10. Wicked With Lead (feat. Ghostface & Trife) (prod. Kdef)

Another team-up of this gruesome twosome - it's no wonder they got together for a collab album the very next year. The instrumental on here is very potent, with a great groove to it, and the chorus is hella catchy too, even if it does insinuate, uhh, cannibalism. During his first verse, Ghost attempts to insinuate that he's "lethal" for asking a painting (specifically the Mona Lisa) for sex, which was interesting to hear, before then claiming (falsely) that a Lifetime Achievement Award awaited him. Trife's verse is similarly filled with bullshit, as the man claims the honour of starting the fashion that was wearing a doo rag under a cap. I mean, that's literally just a lie, my man. Still, the pair's abstract musings that contrast with the brutally direct hook come together over this dope beat to make for a very entertaining song. I like it, so sue me. 

11. Daily Routine (feat. Shawn Wigs) (prod. Emile)

Shawn Wigs delivers exactly what the title leads one to assume - a recount of his general daily life over a percussion-heavy and, again, quite groovy instrumental from Emile (yes, that's the Emile who would later go on to work with Kid Cudi. Crazy where life takes you sometimes). The song is delivered in an entirely positive light, as Shawn recounts meetings with various stars of the rap game including Method Man and the group Black Moon, getting pulled over by the police for no reason (this sentiment doesn't really make a whole lot of sense considering Shawn is white, but OK), and even hearing some previously unreleased Ghostface Killah material, which is probably the most exciting prospect here. This track is probably the most creative track on the disc so far, and for that it gets the easy pass - this Shawn Wigs guy is pretty good!

12. Right Back (feat. Trife & Kryme Life) (no producer credited)

Since no producer was credited for this song, I sort of hoped it was going to be spit over the instrumental for the legendary "Right Back At You" song from Mobb Deep's The Infamous album, but sadly, no such luck. This abrasive beat is one of the weakest here, but it's not like it's embarrassing enough to request your name be stripped of relation to it, unnamed producer! Trife begins this one by building up to what one might assume may be the Kryme Life verse, since the dude is yet to show up on here, but then at the end reveals that he was simply hyping up himself, and begins his verse with the rather hilarious but also rather bloody stupid lyric "sort of like a water pipe, I'm ready to blow", and that sets the tone from there for a fairly generic verse. The hook is poor, and Kryme Life sounds like he's consciously trying to do a Ghostface Killah impression on here. Or maybe all the dudes from Ghost's circle just sound a bit like him? Whatever - this really isn't that great. 

13. Pass The Mic (feat. Theodore Unit) (prod. Kdef)

This song is labelled intriguingly as "feat. Theodore Unit", which suggests that the whole entourage listed on the front cover is going to contribute to this one. This isn't strictly the case, though - the song starts with a bit of speaking from someone who might be Du-Lilz, but I really don't know, and it's followed up by performances from Wigs, Ghost, Trife, and Cappadonna, who has been conspicuous by his absence up to now, thank God. However, Solomon Childs merely speaks about twice on here in the interludes, and Kryme Life doesn't bother to show up at all. The labelling on here is a bit misleading then, but thankfully the song itself does work very well. The instrumental from K-Def is old-school as hell, incorporating some dope horns, and an incredible bassline that helps keep the track intense and moving forward with an urgency. Shawn and Trife both deliver some competent verses, with the latter seeming to diss rappers who walked around with their shirt off in videos - a 50 Cent diss? Probably. Ghost comes through with his last verse on the record, and utilises an even more raspy delivery than usual to compliment that grimy beat. And, in the biggest surprise of this whole project, Cappadonna actually performs well - sure, the first two bars are miserably accurate and also don't rhyme, but after that he's got a dope flow and some fun lyrics too, and he ends the verse in a good way as well. This song is an excellent posse cut - there should have been more like this on here. 

14. Work (feat. Solomon Childs) (prod. Skillspinc)

Another Solomon Childs solo song, only unlike the last one he did it's spit over a cheap (but admittedly quite haunting) beat, and hasn't got the unique sentiment of his previous solo effort on here. Maybe if the guy could flow and rhyme I would give him a chance, but I just can't be doing with a chap who sounds like he put all the effort into his vocal delivery and absolutely nothing else. Props for giving himself an alibi 20 years in advance for some of the recent debacles in the music industry, though: "P. Diddy and R. Kelly, I don't know those motherfuckers" - I mean, that really did age well. 

15. It's the Unit (feat. Shawn, Cappadonna, Kline & Ghostface) (prod. Emile)

You know what's annoying? On every song so far, Shawn Wigs has been credited by his full name, but on here it's just "Shawn". Why is it that rap CDs always have at least one goddamn mistake?! Anyway, on with it. I said on track 13 that that was Ghost's final verse on here, and I was telling the truth, believe me - on this fairly triumphant cut he only delivers the lethargic chorus, that aims to paint "Theodore" as some kind of superhero organisation, but ends up actually sounding like it's trying to promote a cleaning product on television. And sadly, this stupid chorus kind of sets the tone for the song from here on out. Cappadonna begins his verse by sounding like he's about to start dissing 50 Cent, but just as that's about to get going he ends up getting completely sidetracked, and never brings it up again. Shawn Wigs fairs slightly better, but I really couldn't tell you a single point of worth he made during that verse. I presume Kline was the guy shouting behind Ghost in the chorus, not that I or anyone else knows who the hell that actually is. Oh, and Emile's beat was solid, but honestly nothing to rave about, and doesn't really touch his work on "Daily Routine". Oh well. 

16. Be My Girl (feat. Solomon Childs) (prod. Milestone)

I'm sure most listeners ejected the CD at this point, given the only song left is yet another Solomon Childs solo song, and if the title was anything to go by it would be a love song - I mean, who the hell would want to hear that?? Well, me, that's who. Yeah, this song is actually really, really good. Solomon sounds a hell of a lot more passionate on this than any of his previous attempts at writing a "verse" on this album, and the production compliments him surprisingly well, resulting in an incredibly heartfelt track that is probably one of the best on the whole album. Yes, this might not have worked on any other album, but given the brutishness displayed so far on this record (from both him and his co-workers), this song felt like a much-needed breath of fresh air. A really stellar way to close the record out.

718 isn't exactly the most riveting album you're going to hear, and it certainly could have toned down on the violent and aggressive thug lyrics, but still, the project is pretty good for an album full of rappers nobody's ever heard of. The production on this album is very consistent, with most of these beats sounding rich and well put together, and nearly all of the drums on here get the head nodding with ease. Honestly, the only beats here that underwhelmed were those on tracks 14 and 15, and even those weren't bad - they just weren't that good either. Otherwise, you have great beats throughout, whether it be the rugged "The Drummer", the bangin' "Pass the Mic", the triumphant "Guerilla Hood" or the incredibly relaxing "Paychecks". Honestly, for an album with such a little-known bunch of producers, this thing is really well-produced. Now, the consistency when it comes to the MCs on here is admittedly not as potent, but that's not to say these rappers are bad - they just aren't always that great to me. First of all, Trife Da God tries way too hard to portray himself as this ruthless thug from the streets on here, which kind of causes him to forget that he's supposed to be a rapper - this led to each of his performances becoming less entertaining as we went through the album. And despite the positive things I had to say about his final song here, Solomon Childs really isn't a very good MC. His gruff voice is pretty entertaining, but the man's incredibly lacklustre rhyme schemes and complete absence of flow make for two of the least enjoyable songs on the record - "Work" is probably the worst here thanks to it having one of the weaker beats too. Out of the three main MCs to be showcased here (besides Ghostface, that is), I'd say that Shawn Wigs probably does the best - he comes with arguably the best verse on the whole album with his performance on "Daily Routine", and he isn't used anywhere near as much as Trife, which means his lyrics don't get old fast, and remain good on all his performances. Cappadonna also surprised me on "Pass the Mic", which was good. And now, let's talk about the host of the project, mr. Tony Starks, who really does shine on here. It's sometimes difficult to believe that a lot of these songs were The Pretty Toney Album leftovers, as Ghost's lyrics are nowhere near as thematic as they were on that project, and instead adopt a Supreme Clientele type of abstract-ness. And of course the man's energy is as exciting as ever - but what else did you expect on that front? Yeah, Ghost really does a great job here, and his solo song is one of the best on the album too. And how could I finish without once again mentioning the brilliant anthem that is "The Drummer" - when it comes to 2000s Wu, that's got to be one of the best songs out there. So, while 718 is quite problematic, I'd still recommend this to fans of that 2000s-era Ghost. The rapping is pretty great, and the production on this album is super dope too. The fact that this was his worst project up until 2009 is just testament to how damn consistent Ghostface Killah really is. 

I know this album isn't really a "record label compilation" as such, but I'm still going to grade it as such. Remember the QB Finest review? No? Fuck it. 

The Good: Guerilla Hood, Punch In Punch Out, '88 Freestyle, The Drummer, Who Are We?, Paychecks, Wicked With Lead, Daily Routine, Pass the Mic, Be My Girl

The Mediocre: Gatz, Mama Can You Hear Me, Right Back, It's the Unit

The Bad: Smith Brothers (any song with that hook has to go here, I'm sorry), Work

Catch up on my other Ghostface Killah related write-ups here!!