Supreme Clientele

iTunes Review

Even amongst superlative talents like Gza and Raekwon (whose visceral storytelling laid the foundation for New York coke rap), Ghostface stands out as the Clan’s most consistently inventive and fearlessly experimental MC. Though Ghost had been hurling ferocious lyrical darts since his very first appearance on Enter the 36 Chambers, Supreme Clientele marked a significant change in his style. Breaking away from the assassin-like lyrical precision that he'd developed under the tutelage of Raekwon and mastered on Ironman, Ghost debuts a boldly impressionist style on Supreme Clientele, one that values sound over sense and incidental, intimately experienced details over coherent storytelling. Over a set of loose limbed, soulful beats laced by Rza’s disciples Tru Master, Mathematics, and a host of others, Ghost spits incomprehensible brilliance like, “Sunsplash, autograph blessin’ with your name slashed / Back draft, four-pounders screamin’ with the pearly hats”. But Supreme Clientele isn’t all inspired verbal chaos. Tracks like the archetypal Wu posse cut “Wu Banga 101” and the paranoid “Malcolm” ought to satisfy the most demanding Wu traditionalists, while elsewhere Ghost keeps his style deliciously abstract, his eyes firmly-fixed on Hip-Hop’s future.