Ghostface Killah: Fishscale : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Big ups to the metric system! Ghostface Killah is the Wu-Tang Clan's most advanced lyrical scientist, and like scientists everywhere he understands the importance of measuring things accurately. On "Kilo" -- a standout track from a hot new disc that recalls Ghost's killer Ironman and Supreme Clientele albums -- the sweet female vocal hook helpfully points out that "A kilo is a thousand grams/Easy to remember." Thanks! It's a classic Wu coke track, beginning with Ghost ordering a kid to run for some baggies and "a cranberry Snapple" and punctuated throughout with the sound of a razor blade on a mirror. The album's grimy, sample-fueled production -- by Just Blaze, Pete Rock, MF Doom and the late J Dilla -- comes off as an inspired homage to Wu mastermind RZA; Ghostface's emotionally charged stream-of-consciousness flow is as off-the-wall and amazing as it's ever been. Listen for the tough-as-nails mix-tape hit "Be Easy" ("Tell your crew to be easy/Niggas run around with the fake frown/Sell 'em on eBay"), the amped-up Wu reunion "9 Milli Bros" and the jilted-lover ballad "Back Like That," featuring labelmate and rising star Ne-Yo. "Fishscale" is apparently slang for uncut coke -- and the perfect title for an ambitious disc with almost no filler.