Ghostface Killah

While Method Man may be the Wu-Tang Clan's biggest star due to several hit singles and myriad film/TV appearances, many critics and verse-quoting fans have considered Ghostface Killah the people's champ since his buzz-worthy work on Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx (the piano-guided, shadow-boxing singles "Criminology" and "Ice Cream"). Considered a high point for hip-hop as a whole in the mid-'90s, the album was one of Ghostface's first notable appearances outside a moonlit dance with a haunting, Gladys Knight sample (the early Wu-Tang single "Can It Be All So Simple") and his acclaimed solo album, 1996's Ironman.

Speaking of Ghost's rock-solid solo debut, our Next Steps show why it's as crucial to the scheme of his career as latter-day albums like The Big Doe Rehab and Fishscale

Expectations couldn't have been higher for Ghostface Killah's first rhyme-slaying full-length, what with the way he commanded the mic during such key Only Built For Cuban Linx moments as the string-doused "Rainy Dayz" and the dank, dusty breaks of "Heaven & Hell." Lucky for us hip-hop heads, Ghostface lived up to the superhero promises of his Ironman debut — setting the stage for the seminal, throwback R&B/soul sound of nearly every Ghostface song since, a heady lot of flashback-triggering references to Little Milton (the stoned blues of "Walk Around"), Baby Huey (not the cartoon character, but the highly influential soul singer, as heard on the funk-flaunting "Buck 50"), and far too many choice samples to count (the Ghostface-produced — and thoroughly satisfying — "Save Me Dear").

That's just the half of it; as our Deep Cuts reveal, Ghostface is constantly popping up on other tracks, immediately elevating his peers to another plane.

Let's be real here: Plastic Little, a wet-behind-the-ears party rap crew from Philly, must have been pretty damn happy the night they convinced Ghostface Killah to battle the chunky, sample-splicing (check the Deee-Lite reference!) bars of "Crambodia." Such is the towering stature of a true Wu-Tang legend, whose story continues to be told through fan-pleasing solo jams (see the gilded "Superman Lover" sample of "Supa GFK," the spare Morse code melody of "Ghostface," and the lingering loops of "One") and attack-the-track guest spots, including the asylum-tapping "Brooklyn Zoo 2," the sax-squeezing "D.T.D.," and the verse-swapping posse cut "5 Deadly Venoms."

The fact that Ghostface Killah has more full-lengths to his name than Wu-Tang Clan itself is as impressive as it is daunting. At least until you dive right in and find out how rewarding it all is on repeat listens. Simply hit random on our set and you'll stumble upon a dizzying tapestry of street-hardened storytelling, baffling metaphors, and samples that treat the rich history of soul and R&B with the utmost care and reverence. Kind of like a museum curator…who's slightly crazy, yet completely in control of every track, whether he's huffing and puffing against a funnel cloud of snappy drum breaks and wailing sirens ("Run") or coasting alongside swooning strings and a sweeping film score ("All That I Got Is You," "Ooh Wee").