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I dunno I liked Cappa on Dogs of War. He wasn't his absolute best on Jellyfish but still not bad, plus i'm fuckin crazy about that Jellyfish beat so it's all good.
And iunno but...does it really matter if the drum pattern or whatever is similar? The Champ is fuckin ill doesn't seem like a recycled beat to me.
come on, Synthetic Substituion has been sampled hundreds of times throughout hip hop. I thought it was a little weak that Jus Blaze didnt do anything to the sample, but still, those drums have been used countless times in hip hop.Quote:
Originally Posted by P-Noid Brown
from www.allhiphop.com
Fishscale
Artist: Ghostface Killah
Title: Fishscale
Rating: http://www.allhiphop.com/dev/images/star_full.gif http://www.allhiphop.com/dev/images/star_full.gif http://www.allhiphop.com/dev/images/star_full.gif http://www.allhiphop.com/dev/images/star_full.gif http://www.allhiphop.com/dev/images/star_half.gif
Reviewed by: Martin A. Berrios
The evolution of Dennis Coles has been colorful, to say the least. It began with the mask and shortly progressed to the silky fly sh*t. From there he freaked it with robes, championship belts and a gold Versace dinner plate piece, propelling him to cult icon status. As Wu-Tang’s most thorough member, Ghostface Killah has held down New York during the Clan’s untimely slump. Pretty Tone steps it up once again with Fishscale (Def Jam), giving its title justice by delivering a raw and uncut fifth album.
On the opener “Shakey Dog” you get Starks at his best. He vividly paints a story about setting up a coke connect with a push in robbery during a routine visit. No detail is left untouched, as he covers everything from the cab ride over to the spot (“Got the whip smelling like fish from 125th”) to the actual drama popping off with his accomplice getting busy during the break in (“Frank’s scheming blowing shots in the air”). Ghost connects with Just Blaze to cook up the album’s strongest track on “The Champ”, though. Blaze takes inspiration from the Rocky series as he implements interpolations of the films classic dialogue throughout song. The blaring horns compliment the track’s competitive theme. Ghost goes for the belt with lines like, “My wallos I did ‘em up/the bricks I split ‘em up/my raps ya’ll bit ‘em up/for that now stick ‘em up,” to make it all the way official.
In regards to subject matter, Starks doesn’t disappoint. Ghost Deini switches the mood up on “Whip You With A Strap.” The late great J-Dilla (R.I.P.) loops up a sullen soul sample with finesse to compliment the song’s sincerity as Ghost reflects on his childhood and the old school discipline that came along with it, thanks to a heavy-handed mother. As a pleasant surprise comes “9 Milli Brothers.” All nine original Wu members once again form like Voltron over MF DOOM’s sweeping production. The metal fingers don’t fail as the masked wonder comes through with some dusty piano keys.
Beat wise Ghost sticks to his usual sample heavy script. Even though RZA didn’t put any work in, the album still maintains a strong Shoalin feel to it. Soul brother number one Pete Rock uses bouncy guitar licks and light conga drums on “Dogs Of War.” With “Jellyfish,” DOOM lays down some playful synthesized bass notes as Starks and Theodore Unit address the ladies on some “Camay” ish.
While Tone goes hard for eleven rounds, the questionable closer hinders him from dropping an undeniable classic. On “Three Bricks” Raekwon and Ghost bring back B.I.G. via borrowed vocals from “Ni**as Bleed.” The uninspired Cool & Dre production behind this awkward collaboration (remember: “Ni**as bit off of Nas sh*t!”?) does nothing but make posthumous appearances look bad.
Overall Fishscale doesn’t disappoint. It picks up right where The Pretty Toney album left off. Point blank Ghost is one of the best doing it. The ziti is still banging.
from www.allhiphop.com
heres the original "clipse of Doom" i think yall agree Megalon KILLS this, not even Ghost could murder this beat like he did
Megalon - Rainblood
http://rapidshare.de/files/16597245/..._-cms.mp3.html
got fishscale today. good album. only problem i have is they changed the champ. the one off the advance sounded way better. the beat was better. other than that it's a good album. the skits are not all that on this one. only the foul mouthed little kid shit is good. the rest ant all that. one more thing. im tired of hearing recycled BIGGIE verse's there playing his shit out. they should put out the joint he did with ol dirty already!!!!!
yet another fantastic review of FISHSCALE from www.allmusic.com
4.5/5 stars
Whenever a veteran artist professes disinterest in modern music, a safe retreat into the past — a tired attempt at recapturing the magic of classic material — tends to follow. Since Ghostface Killah towed that line after the two least-thrilling albums of his career, Fishscale seemed destined to be just another part of his discography; if his fans were lucky, they'd get a couple flashes of his mad maverick genius and nothing as clumsily foul as "Tush." Fishscale is much more generous than that. It's evident that Ghost knows where he's at in his career, and it's directly acknowledged by the Mickey Goldmill-like boxing coach during "The Champ": "You ain't been hungry...since Supreme Clientele!" Ghost responds by pouring all that he has, both lyrically and vocally, into every track on the album. The scenarios he recounts are as detailed and off-the-wall as ever, elaborate screenplays laid out with a vocal style that's ceaselessly fluid and never abrasive. This is especially remarkable since each one of Ghost's lines, when transcribed, require one-to-five exclamation points, and every frantic scene's details — from the onions on the steak, to the show on the television, to the socks sticking out of the "big Frankenstein hole" in a shoe worn by an accomplice — are itemized without derailing the events. Since no active MC sounds better over obscure-'70s soul samples, Ghost was wise to select productions that are best-suited for him, no matter how bizarre or un-pop. Just Blaze, Lewis Parker, MoSS, Crack Val, Pete Rock, Doom, the late J Dilla, and several others supply Ghost with a tremendous round of productions. "Underwater" is the loopiest of all, even by Doom standards; its balmy Bobby Humphrey flute and slippery beat, aided by burbling water effects, backs a hallucinatory journey in which Ghost swims with butterflies, casts his gaze on numerous riches (rubies, the Heart of the Ocean, "Gucci belts that they rocked for no reason from A Different World") and bumps into a Bentley-driving, Isley Brothers-listening, girlfriend-smacking SpongeBob Squarepants before hitting spiritual paydirt. "Back Like That," featuring Ne-Yo, is the lone apparent crossover attempt, and it hardly compromises Ghost's character the way "Tush" did in 2004 ("In the summertime, I broke his jaw — had to do it to him quick, old fashion, in the back of the mall"). Another completely unique track is "Whip You with a Strap," where Ghost recalls the pain of being whipped by his mom with more than a hint of misty-eyed wistfulness. How many other MCs are capable of making you feel nostalgic about leaking welts you never had? More importantly, how many MCs entering their late-thirties have made an album as vital as any other in his or her career?
from www.allmusic.com
Well damn, the masses at large seem to be feelin this one. They rankin it up there with Ironman and Supreme Clientele. I don't know about all that but I think it's gonna be my next album purchase.
from hiphopdx.com
Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
Monday - March 27, 2006
Rating: http://www.hiphopdx.com/images/rating/rating-8.gif
Ghostface Killah isn’t the best emcee in the world, he really isn’t even the best emcee in his crew. His lyrics often make little sense to those unfamiliar with the Wu vernacular and he even made an entire album where he said nothing but shit that “sounded fly.” That album, Supreme Clientele, was worshipped and hailed as the return of the Wu. Why? Cause Ghost has it. What is it? No one knows, it is that intangible that an A&R can’t force on a new artist and a marketing team can’t put in an ad campaign. It is what makes Ghostface one of my favorite emcees ever. Of course, there is a bit more than just it. Pretty Tony happens to have incredible taste in beats and prefers to make his own rules rather than follow them (like say just rapping over a Delfonics song). The man has more style and swagger than perhaps anyone in the game, be it telling the heartbreaking story of his childhood or talking shit about choppin’ them bricks. For those who are wondering what exactly Fishscale means, it is quite simply the finest cocaine money can buy. So you shouldn’t be surprised when he unites with partner-in-crime Raekwon to dedicate a song to the white as only they can on Kilo. Ghost and Rae connect several more times here, most notably again on the Pete Rock laced standout R.A.G.U. where they converse through story. Rae also pops up on the irritating Dogs of War with Trife, Sun God and Cappadonna, and on the bonus cut Three Bricks featuring Biggie that sounds like it’s from the Duets cutting room floor. Bonus cut or not, it has no business on this album. Of course Rae and Ghost are also together for 9 Milli Bros., along with all 8 other Clan members. I don’t remember the last time they were all on one track, but they sound great over a typically dope MF DOOM beat.
Guests aside, Ghost holds shit down in classic fashion as he always does. He gets his storytell on over the flavorful Lewis Parker banger Shakey Dog and the abbreviated-but-dope Barbershop. He takes it from the streets to the ocean for the DOOM-produced Underwater where he gets crazy bizarre; “Sponge Bob in a Bentley coupe.” Yeah, like that. As expected, Ghost has some words for the ladies and all that shit is on point. He pens thoughtful songs for the struggling (Momma), the drug-addicted (Big Girl), and the trifling (Back Like That), and of course the tale of a dime piece over a sultry J-Dilla beat (Beauty Jackson). It’s his mother who inspires him the best again though as Whip You With A Strap has Ghost fondly remembering the beatings that kept him in check as a youngster.
Fishscale’s finest moments come when Ghost links up with two of hip-hop’s best past and present producers. Be Easy, the lead street single blessed by Pete Rock, is as ridiculous as it gets as Ghost talks reckless over the minimalist thumps. Just Blaze takes it back to PR’s days with drums that bring tears to my eyes as Ghost spits his trademark darts, out to prove he is indeed The Champ. To no surprise, Ghost delivers yet another dope LP, long cementing his status as the best solo artist outta the Wu. But much like 2004’s Pretty Toney, Fishscale has its flaws. A couple lackluster songs aside (Dogs of War, Clipse of Doom), the album doesn’t really flow too well and it’s a bit bloated at 24 tracks. While the album length isn’t overwhelming like the 24 tracks would indicate, Ghost could have easily lengthened some of painfully short tracks (Beauty Jackson, Barbershop), and cut out a couple others. Plus I must say, the continual presence of Cappadonna, who is getting worse by the bar, did irritate me quite a bit. Even with some missteps, Ghostdini knocks another out the box in his own unmistakable way. It certainly is that raw, uncut…
I'm pickin' up that shit tomorrow
DROPS
Killah annihilates gangsta myths
Glenn Gamboa
Contact Glenn Gamboa at 631-843-3434 or [email protected].
March 28, 2006
Ghostface Killah blows up another pile of hip-hop myths with his new solo album, "Fishscale" (DefJam).
"Street" doesn't have to be stupid. "Gangsta" doesn't have to be immoral. "Smart" doesn't have to be boring. And anyone who still believes Eminem and 50 Cent are the best rappers around hasn't heard Ghostface's "The Champ," where he raps, "This is architects' music, verbal street opera" and then backs it up with one of the best tracks of the year.
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On "Fishscale," Ghost leads a thrilling tour through the vibrant world of the Shaolin (Staten Island, for those uninitiated in the ways of the Wu-Tang Clan). From the opening of "Shakey Dog," Ghostface paints detailed mental pictures of his surroundings, while attacking the rhymes with his intense flow.
Sometimes, things are dark, like in "Three Bricks," which includes rhymes from The Notorious B.I.G. and Raekwon, or "9 Milli Bros." with the Wu-Tang Clan. Sometimes, they are outright weird, such as on "Jellyfish" where he drops snippets from Ray, Goodman & Brown's "Special Lady," Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" and A Tribe Called Quest's "Bonita Applebum" over an odd organ loop.
On the fine single "Back Like That," Ghost enlists Ne-Yo to croon sweetly about betrayal, while he outlines the brutal scenario of learning his ex hooked up with his enemy.
Ghostface is out to make more statements on "Fishscale" than he has in the past, though. On "Whip You With a Strap," he raps about how getting spanked helped him become better behaved when he was younger. "Nowadays, kids don't get beat," he raps. "They get big treats, fresh pairs of sneaks, punishments like 'Have a seat.'"
His clever use of samples only helps make his point. For "Dogs of War," he holds back the sample from Sly & The Family Stone's "Family Affair," keeping it at scratch guitar and "It's a family," making the rap sound more anxious.
On "Big Girl," he basically raps over the entire Stylistics song "You're a Big Girl Now," explaining to some girls how partying may be fun, but an education will help them much longer.
"Fishscale" shows Ghostface at the top of his game, ready to challenge Kanye West and 50 Cent without breaking a sweat. ("Fishscale," in stores today; Grade: A-.)
This Is From Todays Newsday This Guy Usually Only Does Pop Reviews Like Prince Was Last Weeks.
Did anyone see on YAHOO main page Ghostface was on the BUZZ. mad people searching for Ghostface Killah. I'm gonna pick mine up today when i get out of work,FUCKING bestbuy better have IT!!!!!!!!
Peace "Wu-tang Clan and Ironman" "Ironmannnnnn"
The shit's bought.
I disagree with the critisism 3 Bricks is gettin. I did swear it was going to be a duets cut, but it's still a banga and Ghost flowed the fuck out that cut. Rae killed it with the story tellin as usual. I haven't heard the entire album - but it should flow wit the album regardless - I mean it's still Fishscale related. I just hope it hasn't been fucked wit.
FISHSCALE MOTHAFUCKAZ - GIT IT!
They may sound like an oxy moron - STAY AWAY FROM THE WHITE KIDZ!http://www.wutang-corp.com/forum/images/icons/icon6.gif
im goin to cop that shit right now............................................... .
Yea but for ghost to re-use the same beat pattern twice... yuck... He shoulda told Tru-Master to do Mighty Healthy 2...or something.Quote:
come on, Synthetic Substituion has been sampled hundreds of times throughout hip hop. I thought it was a little weak that Jus Blaze didnt do anything to the sample, but still, those drums have been used countless times in hip hop.
I never heard the advanced version. Do you think u can pm me it?Quote:
only problem i have is they changed the champ. the one off the advance sounded way better. the beat was better. other than that it's a good album.
Anyone have the cuts that didn't make this album? Please send them to me i am interested in hearing them.
For real Cappa last sounded good on Iron Man and The PillageQuote:
Originally Posted by P-Noid Brown
ghost getting mad props form the critics
ghost is :king: now lets see how well :chef: does
I give the following tracks 8.0+
3 kilos*
4 the champ**
6 9 milli bros*
10 R.A.G.U**
13 Back like that
14 be easy*
15 clipse of doom*
17 dogs of war**
18 barbershop
21 underwater
24 three bricks*
**excellent
anyone else notice that if you go to the Fishscale album on the iTunes store, it says "partial album" even though it lists all 24 tracks? has anyone downloaded it through itunes yet? how do people feel about the album notes? is it worth buying the CD to get the linear notes? cuz if it's just a bunch of pics of ghost chillin, then i'd rather just buy through itunes.
holla!
oh snap! i just noticed that there's no option to "buy album", so i guess it's not worth it to buy off itunes right now... otherwise i'm spending 99 cents per song for 24 songs!
gotta go with the "old school" CD.
I just got that joint from Sam Goody, its def hot fire... My first time listenin to any track except for back like that :)....
the indy store packaged those extras separately, or it came in the package with Fishscale? man, those World According To Pretty Tony clips are hilarious.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wu-Matic
can anyone upload the world according to pretty toney? and is it me or am i the only one who doesn't like underwater.. that beat makes me soo irritable.
yea yo those stores are official you actually get your monies worth unlike Sam goodie, FYM, VIRGIN and all those other retail stores.Quote:
They were just extras, like when I got College Dropout got this really oversized poster and a college pendant with the album information about it on there. Pays to find a store like that in your area, wish I'd found it years ago
U can't be serious !!! Momma is way better than Back Like that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ghostlaced
both of ya'll wilding... BACK LIKE THAT AND MOMMA ARE BOTH TIGHT.
I agree...momma is much betterQuote:
Originally Posted by Shaolin Bloody Sword
IMO on the album back like that doesn't sound that bad... Ne-Yo is the only negative to it to me. I wasn't fillin Momma either Beauty Jackson and Big Girl are LIGHT YEARS ahead of it...
i ordered offa sandbox, so im waiting at my mailbox...although i have the LEAK... my order comes with a vinyl and ODB cd, and a poster!!! YAY
is the fishscale album on sale for 6.99 only online for Best Buy or is it at stores that cheap too?
haha yet another awsome review of FISHSCALE from the ultra cool www.pitchforkmedia.com
.......this is probably the 10th major music magazine or website that has praised FISHSCALE as being a fantastic album (rolling stone, Fader, Blender, XXL, village voice, www.allmusic.com, www.allhiphop.com, etc etc
from www.pitchforkmedia.com
Ghostface Killah
Fishscale
[Def Jam; 2006]
Rating: 9.0/10</B>
More than 12 years after he emoted all over the first verse on the first track on the first Wu-Tang Clan album, the now 35-year-old Ghostface Killah is still starving for respect, understanding, and acceptance. Still hypnotically restless, the East Coast purist has homed in on a rap palette full of vivid hurt and strafing alarm-- and bursting forth with some of the most potent yarns, barbs, and production of his remarkably consistent career, Fishscale is the choice outcome of a creative mind using experience as a compass en route to triumph.
Though Ghostface's veteran status informs much of his fifth solo album, his father-knows-best pose is led by breathless rhymes, not nostalgia. To wit, "Whip You With a Strap" rails against the lack of consequences brought upon today's youth with a smooth cleverness, while "Big Girl" moans about three fast-living women wasting their potential on cocaine mounds. Tellingly, it's Ghost's own coke the girls can't stop sniffing. Such ambiguities eschew didacticism for a lived-in wisdom that's as wicked as it is worthwhile.
Ghost's godfather-cause is most noticeably directed at ostentatious modern-day rap hustlers who largely cook up tales with broad lines and no consequences, as he devotes four of Fishscale's 18 songs to the booming drug-rap subgenre he helped launch in 1995 with Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx.... On both "R.A.G.U." and "Kilo", Rae turns up to assist his close friend, describing the perils of the drug trade. Hardly akin to the dealer-as-infallible-ghetto-champion guise currently purported by the likes of Young Jeezy, Fishscale's dope peddlers are harried and frayed. Between broken wrists, familial strife, and self-inflicted gunshots to the groin, "R.A.G.U." is anything but glorifying toward its stressed-out, drug-running protagonists.
But the album's most vivid illicit spectacle belongs to Ghost alone; "Shakey Dog" takes the rapper's penchant for eye-popping lyrical imagery to its extreme, offering a twisty Mamet-style narrative about a botched two-man robbery attempt. "Fasten your seatbelts," warns the Staten Island son before unraveling a scene so perfectly lucid that an accompanying video would be redundant. Whether describing the alluring smells coming from his victim's apartment or the ruthless history of an ancillary old lady ("She paid her dues when she smoked her brother-in-law at her boss' wedding") he passes on his way up to the place, Ghost touches on myriad senses and memories-- it's the kind of song that requires several close listens to understand at all. It also strongly suggests that, if Ghost ever loses his appetite for rap, he might find success as a screenwriter.
As the album's other specific tragedies-- shitty haircuts, bus stop infatuation-- fly by with deft everyman flourishes, it's the surreal "Underwater", with its strange spirituality, that proves most trenchant. The dreamy account finds our hero playing out a possible afterlife allegory while swimming at the bottom of the ocean. "I'm not on my turf," he confesses as mermaids "with Halle Berry haircuts" offer guidance along the way. In the tourist role, Ghost is as compelling as when he's recounting pavement-bred stories of his familiar youth. Sometimes on "Underwater", the two come together brilliantly like when he notices "SpongeBob in a Bentely coup, bangin' the Isleys." Eventually arriving at the "world's banginest mosque," Ghost finds comfort in Muslim chants; the rapper's rare moment of peace is well-deserved amidst Fishscale's enthralling agony. Aiding in the track's calming vibes is a mysterious, flute-laden beat courtesy of MF Doom, who's responsible for four beats on the record. The masked supervillain is in the company of a reputable bevy of soul-stacked sample-masters on Fishscale and their musical backdrops match Ghost's focus and vision.
In an interview with RZA last year, he told me, "Listen to how Ghost sounds rappin' over one of my beats and then over another beat... he sounds like a grown man [on my beat] and he sound younger on [other] producers' beats because they don't know the frequency." But, as the first solo Ghost disc without a RZA production, Fishscale attests he was wrong. Whether it's the late Dilla providing his off-kilter vinyl-hiss haze for "Strap", Pete Rock cutting up Sly Stone's "Family Affair" on the hollow funk of posse cut "Dogs of War", or Just Blaze doing his Banger 101 thing on "The Champ" (which, stripped of its bootleg Rocky samples at the last minute thanks to copyright issues, still packs heat), each producer takes his opportunity to envelop today's most soulful rapper with deep swaths of vintage samples and deep drums. The RZA's sonic influence remains strong-- and he even shows up briefly on the excellent Wu reunion cut "9 Milli Bros"-- but his absence behind the Fishscale boards is largely inconsequential.
Considering Ghost's continued status as one of hip-hop's most revered, relevant elder statesmen, it seems odd that Ghostface's name was seldom bandied about in most of the last decade's King of New York debates. Fishscale reiterates with cinematic verve that the most vital current Wu Tang Clan member's storytelling can match Biggie's in both excitement and humor. Yet Ghost's songs are unrelenting in their slavishness to density and credibility, and that can turn off casual listeners even as it intoxicates hip-hop purists. "My arts is crafty darts, why y'all stuck with 'Laffy Taffy'?" he asks with utter sincerity on "The Champ". As long as inevitable questions like that continually re-up this heavyweight's unswerving drive, they're probably better left unanswered. -Ryan Dombal, March 28, 2006
from www.pitchforkmedia.com
http://www.youtube.com/v/LIbBVXoQwWI
me at his concert....
fuck, this always happens. I usually walk to work everyday, but today I drove because I was gonna stop off at the music store after work to pick up a certain much anticipated album named after cocaine . . . I get there and they tell me it's been pushed back to april 4th. Plus they also say that they would be surprised if it even came out on that date. FUCK!
sorry, just had to get that off my chest.
I been had that Fishscale for 2 months now, shit is hot kid, tightest Ghost shit since Ironman in my opinion
http://www.youtube.com/v/LIbBVXoQwWI
that will make you feel better...
jus order offa sandbox....
Just Bought It At Best Buy For $ 7.59 Shits To Ill. Only Really Wack Song On It Is Momma From What I Heard So Far And 9 Milli Bros Is Crazy I Had To Replay Like 4 Times Before Going To The Next Song. The Cd Tails Off A Little At The End Imo.
fuck, I check sandbox every single day, and I always purchase stuff that I know I cant get over here. But when I saw fishscale, I figured that I could get it alot faster at a local music store. I hate when they change the canadian release date on the original release date.Quote:
Originally Posted by Razorsharp
only song to me that is kinda wack is back like that
he should have put Milk Em' ft. Trife on here.... Lpeace
Woke up this mornin' went into my work and bought Fishscale, King and Confidential. Started driving on my full tank that I put in last night in preperation for today :tease: . Had Amerikaz Nightmare playing but got very impatient so I switched to Fish. Listened to the entire thing on a 1 1/2 hour drive to N.C. Taking the scenic back roads. My thought...
Favorite Song- Kilo
Funniest Line- Spongebob in the Bentley Coupe (Underwater)
Best Produced Song- Be Easy/The Champ/Three Bricks
Biggest Shock- Deck's voice on 9 Milli (JESUS HOLY CHRIST ALLAH WTF HAPPENED??? Hope it's only laryngitis)
Overall- 9/10 but I'm sure that will change the more I listen to it. Definite classic nomination from me.
All in all good job Ghost on ANOTHER dope-ass release. The only drawback to this CD was not using the og album art :'(. Oh yeah Heart Street Directions had me rollin'. People were lookin' at me like WTF is this kid on.
Yea it's 6.99 there, when i went there it said 9.99, but it rang up for 6.99. Sam Goodys was sold out of it and hiphopsite, there was a big dent in the row, but it was like 16.00 there w/ a free ghostface shirt.Quote:
Originally Posted by WTJ
fishscale isnt out in europe yet is it??