Following hip-hop gem Supreme Clientele, rap vet Ghostface Killah is set to drop another wu-head banger with the Mar. 28 release of Fishscale. The outstanding solo album, laced with soulful beats and intricate rhymes, spins tales of the hood.
This album isn’t a polished, tailor-made record suitable for airplay. Gritty doesn’t do it justice: Fishscale is downright grimy. In the same way bands like Nirvana turned the high-pitched whine of stereo feedback into art, Ghostface makes dissonance pleasing to the ear. The tracks sound scratched and skipped and loop awkwardly, showcasing the imperfections on the beat.
Ghostface, with his East Coast twang and his stream of consciousness flow, hits the sweet spot between rambling derelict and pontificating sage. Despite its imperfections, Fishscale is packed with soul. From the references to “Sanford and Son” to snippets from old-school shows, this album gives you a picture of a guy happily stuck in the Seventies.
The authenticity of Fishscale sets it apart from the rest of the pack. Ghostface glamorizes life’s simple episodes: meeting a cute girl at a bus stop or arguing with a barber who just jacked-up your hairline. The more gangsta tales on Fishscale have the funky feel of a blaxploitation film. Rap love songs are usually either “I’ll let you lick the lollypop” or a cheesy piece of heart candy produced only to keep the ladies happy, but Ghostface is more sincere. He comes across more like a hopeless romantic than a pimp.
Ghostface’s eye for detail when describing the smell of fried plantains coming from the kitchen during a police raid on a house, for example, or the plum colored nail polish of a love interest, allows the listener to lose him or herself in the vivid world he creates line-by-line.
It is Ghostface’s ingenuity and signature flavor that make this album so memorable. Fishscale shows that you don’t have to sell your soul to put your heart on the record.
