With his name attached to two albums out now, Wu-Tang swordsman Ghostface Killah has certainly had a busy fall -- with his seventh solo LP, The Big Doe Rehab, out and the much anticipated Wu-Tang reunion record, 8 Diagrams.

The Staten Island rapper's been hailed as one of hip-hop's legendary figures, a time-tested MC of outlandish style and intricate narratives, and Ballerstatus.com had the change to speak with him about his new album, his writing style, and his thoughts on the death of Sean Taylor.

BallerStatus.com: Your new album, The Big Doe Rehab, what should we expect from that?

Ghostface Killah: You should expect that real Tony Starks sh--. That sh-- that I brought you up on with my first album, know what I mean? And my stories -- the way I put sh-- together real well. You know, just expect Tony, man. I can't tell you something that's going to be crazy, from out the blue. I'm just doing me. You know, real music man. Knowing who the real Tony Starks is, the real Ghostface. This is what you're gonna expect, that's all.

BallerStatus.com: You think that your storytelling has changed over the years?

Ghostface Killah: Um, I'm not sure, but maybe because I used to get high and smoke weed or get drunk before I'd write a certain amount of rhymes, you know? I think not too much, though. When you get the album right here, you'll be able to tell me.

BallerStatus.com: What's up with the rest of Theodore Unit? Should we expect anything from Sun God?

Ghostface Killah: He's kinda lazy. He don't really, like, stay too serious in the booth. He just kinda do what he do and go by the streets and sh-- like that. But we gonna continue to make records and tour.

BallerStatus.com: Do you plan to maintain the pace you're on right now of basically an album a year?

Ghostface Killah: Yeah, I plan on doing sh-- like that. Even if it's not my full album, like we gonna do the Cuban Linx album. It's hard to do two things at one time, but you'll definitely feel my presence.

BallerStatus.com: Let's talk about "All That I Got Is You." Was that a challenging song to write? Had you tried to accomplish something similar before?

Ghostface Killah: It didn't take me a while, but I might of recorded it two or three times. You take your time on it, and you fall into that zone. Fall in tune with it, where the people can feel you. And I think that's what I did, and that's why people feel the song so much.

BallerStatus.com: When you approach a song, do you have an idea of how you'd like it to come out?

Ghostface Killah: I like to write at home. I never go in the studio and write unless I have to. A lot of times I don't like how my material come out. But I listen to the beat at home, and whatever comes to my mind, whatever the beat feels like -- if it feels like nighttime -- I'll write about something that happened at night time. If it feel like... "Oh sh--, just tear that up, just go in there like Paisley Darts." Certain beats tell you, "Oh sh--, it's raining outside. Oh sh--, yo, to talk about the sun. Do this or do that or it's snowing." Certain beats, that's what the beat does to me. Then I write it. Then I go in the studio and try it out. But every rhyme that you write isn't a dart. It's gotta be a good one. Sometimes you write it down, and you might not like how you came off on it. So you gotta trash that, and see if you can come up with something iller than that.

BallerStatus.com: What's it like to play in a place like Austin, a city synonymous with music, but not exactly hip-hop?

Ghostface Killah: I approach every state the same way I'd approach it if I was approaching Madison Square Garden. It's nothing different. I gotta do the same thing up there -- give the same energy, interact with the crowd, you know, talk to em. I never approach it like "Be careful with this crowd here, and take this out, take that out."

BallerStatus.com: Do you have any thoughts on Sean Taylor? What was it like for you to leave your past behind as you found fame?

Ghostface Killah: You know, we're sad about his death and it's a shame. When you get to that point in your life, and you become a football star or a rap star, and you have to get murdered. You leave the hood to be comfortable, to take care of your family, but for sh-- to follow you, and to kill you, that's f---ed up. That's not what we left for. We left to get this money and live comfortably.

I never met the guy, and I don't know what his outside forces was, what he was dealing with or sh-- like that, but I know that any foul play that he was involved in... you know, cause you can't mix pork with beef. You're either gonna be straight or you're gonna be foul. You can't be both together. I don't know what his background was, or whatever, whatever, whatever, but it was just an occasion that, just whatever he was doing on other side of things, you know, it could come back to haunt you.

That's why I left a lot of foul sh-- I used to do back in the day. Not saying he was on that. I know everything happens for a reason, but it's just sad. Just us, as a people, to have that mentality just to be savage and just wile out on somebody who was just trying to make it, or even if they're not trying to make it, just people period, man. Our frame of mind is so f---ed up. We'd do anything for a dollar. We'd kill our brother. Our mother.

Motherf---ers really need God, need life. Cause once you got Him in your life, you'd be so afraid to disappoint Him that you wouldn't do nothing. You wouldn't even steal a book of matches. You become so humble. And to try to pick up a gun and murder a motherf---er without feeling f---ed on the inside, that's some sh-- man. You wouldn't even do that if you were so close to your Maker, to your Creator.

BallerStatus.com: How many Wallabees do you own right now?

Ghostface Killah: I gave a lot of my Wallabees away. I don't really own that many. I own maybe ten pairs. I gave a lot of sh-- I had back in the day away. I can't even fit 'em anyway. I'm not a big fan of them like how I used to be. The creators of Wallys and sh--, they just run it on me. I made the motherf---ers a lot of money, so I'm not into it so much.

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One of the strengths of the Wu-Tang Clan is the individual talents of each member of the collective, of which Ghostface Killah (aka Tony Starks and Ironman) has been deemed by many as the most consistent, with such hits as Ironman (Razor Sharp/Epic, 1996), Supreme Clientele (Razor Sharp/Epic, 2000), The Pretty Toney Album (Def Jam, 2004), and more recently, Fishscale (Def Jam, 2006) and More Fish (Def Jam, 2006).
In fact, it was Ghostface that unloaded the first licks on Enter the Wu-Tang, spitting fire on “Bring Da Ruckus.”
Ghostface, catch the blast of a hype verse/My Glock bursts, leave in a hearse, I did worse/I come rough, tough like an elephant tusk/Ya head rush, fly like Egyptian musk



After the success of the Wu-Tang Clan’s first collective album, they set out to release individual works, with Ghostface trying his hand with Ironman. It was a solid album, but wasn’t initially as successful as those of other Wu-Tang mates Method Man and Ol’ Dirty Bastard. Eventually, though, hip-hop heads and pundits began to notice how his vibe began to reverberate.



Distinctive for his up-tempo, abstract lyrical style (some even call it “stream-of-consciousness” rap) Ghostface also became known for his ability to lace together complex lyrics with quick precision.
When we met with Ghostface he seemed pensive and lost in thought.



“You could be having good days or bad,” he said. “Either way, I’m gonna say something about them, you know?” As for life on the road, Ghostface doesn’t really like it, but it’s something that he has to do. After all, he is a performer and in order to support his albums and those around him, he has to get out there and do his thing. He’s not the type to take his accomplishments lightly, either.



“Everything I have is a gift from God,” he said. “I don’t take it for granted, and I—and those who get to do what they want for a living—it is because God has blessed them.” All the fame and notoriety does come at a price for many a rap star. Gone is the ability to just go out and blend in with the general public; no easy feat considering the music videos are seen across the globe.



Case in point: on a trip out to Ireland, Ghostface was just checking out a town, cruising the streets, when this young Irishman started to call out his name.
“This poor kid was like, ‘Yo!’ Out of nowhere shouting out my name,” he said. “I was just blown away thinking somebody all they way out in Ireland knew who I was. It was a trip.”



Throughout his tour, Ghostface has shared the spotlight with Sean Wigs and Straight Gaudy Backbone, who were also present at the interview.
“Well, we’re from Staten Island, and it’s a pretty small area; and we got to know a lot of the MCs, and we met and started rhyming together and all of that,” says Sean.
“Yeah we vibe off each other and mesh well,” Backbone adds. “We both complement each other, which is part of being a group.”
As for working with Ghostface, the duo already knew him as a person, so it felt comfortable when they started working together.



“I was a fan since the beginning, and we used to check them out all the time,” Sean says. Ghostface has also been somewhat of a mentor to them, teaching and critiquing them, which helps out the overall performance of the crew. “We all are sometimes chippin’ away at each other to keep ourselves sharp,” Sean adds.
When it came to talking about their choice of cars, the consensus resounded: it’s all about the grille and them big ass wheels! Big bling is the way to go for these boys. They prefer a more luxurious ride than, say, a high-dollar, super-exotic sports car. Something they can ease into, such as a Rolls-Royce or a smooth Mercedes-Benz.



However, since they’re on the road most of the time, it’s not often they get behind the wheel. Yet, they try to stay upbeat and positive for whatever comes their way on the road. The hardest thing, they agreed, is how much they missed their families. Sometimes they go weeks before they get an opportunity to shoot out an email or use that cell phone to the maximum.
As for Ghostface’s future, we asked him what it’d be like for him when he’s older. “I’m a still gonna rap about my times, about what’s happening,” he said. “Like, when I was a bit younger, I’d sing about the thug stuff, but now, who knows? I might be saying sh*t about my walkin’ cane or my old dentures. Stuff that I can relate to because that’s what I’ll be living like. As long as God has given me a gift, I will use it until it ain’t in me anymore.”


Thanx @ Dubdaily.com

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man wat für heiß schlitten....

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Bevor du mich in eine Schublade steckst,
wär es nett, wenn du ma kurz diese paar Buchstaben rapst.
Es geht F - I - C - K - D - I- C- H .

	Zitat von mr.wu4ever
	man wat für heiß schlitten....

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Ghostface on His Upcoming Crack-Free, Wizard of Oz-Inspired R&B Album



Ghostface Killah said hello to the world with the very first verse on the very first Wu-Tang album, became a god to rap nerds with Supreme Clientele, and reached an all-time critical peak with the dope-dealing sagas on 2006's Fishscale. Next up is a bit of a curveball — September’s The Wizard of Poetry will be an R&B-heavy affair, featuring collaborations with the likes of Raheem DeVaughn, Estelle, and John Legend. Ahead of his show at the Nokia Theater tonight, Ghost chatted with Vulture about mellowing out, rapping at seventy, and the appropriate way to sing about crack-slinging on an R&B album.
What does the title Wizard of Poetry mean to you?
It was a title I had since I did the Pretty Toney album, and I just wanted to do something that had meaning with it. I wanted to base it around The Wizard of Oz. I was passing the chuckle patches and all that stuff like that, doing everything till I got to the Emerald City, and meeting the person that was like God, you know what I mean? That’s what I was gonna do: Fall asleep where the chuckle patches was at, under a tree or something, and here go these skits, and they laughing and all this shit. I could have been dreaming, or whatever the case may be. But things had to change cause I couldn’t take the same likeness of that movie and put it on my album cause then it’s gonna cause a problem. But I still kept the Wizard of Poetry and Emerald City.
Did you know that the Wizard of Poetry would be an R&B album when you first thought up the title?
No, no, no. When I first thought Wizard of Poetry, I just thought, I’m just gonna write a bunch of ill stories however I wrote it. But it would just be poetry — you know, ill, ill shit. But I always wanted to do an R&B album, and that’s how it came in.
Was anyone in your camp trying to dissuade you from doing that?
No, not really. I was gonna do it anyway. But there wasn’t nobody, like, saying nah. My manager was like, "Do half and half," this and that, "You'll lose your fan base." I’m not into it for my fan base right now. I did that for my fan base for like a bunch of my albums. I gotta do what I want to do for myself right now. What’s gonna make me happy.
You’ve also said a part of doing an R&B album is that, as you get older, you can’t rap about the same type of stuff you used to.
Yeah, I mean, don’t get me wrong, I still will do that on other tracks, but this album right here is an R&B album. You can’t talk about slinging crack on an R&B album. Unless you get caught — it depends on how you say it — and your girl is gonna leave you, and she never came back, cause you were doing whatever you were doing.
But in general, is getting old in hip hop something that worries you?
I’ma definitely be old in hip hop. I’m not gonna be on the road. But this is a mental thing. You can write music till you seventy. This is a hobby, B. Muthafuckas always act like they retiring and don’t go nowhere. You know what it is, man. You can’t get away from it, B. You don’t think Michael Jordan wants to pick up the ball sometimes? But that’s what it is. That’s why a boxer always keep coming back, like Muhammad Ali, until he just kept getting his ass beat. Until you realize, I just ain’t got it no more.
Do you worry about that happening to you?
I mean, yeah, you always worry about it. But that’s what makes you great. It keeps you on your toes. The muthfaucka that thinks that he’s not falling off, his darts start coming more weaker. Once you worry about it, and hope that this don’t happen, then you’re guaranteed to be around for a long time. Cause you’re always trying to be on point.
You also mentioned that the album was partially motivated by the fact that you haven’t’ shot anyone since the nineties. No need to get into to much detail, but can you talk about that particular incident?
Oh, nah, I ain’t talking about that, B. This nigga wanna talk about a shooting I said in the early nineties. What’s wrong with this nigga? [Laughs] Nah, nigga. You wilin’ and shit. Nah, nah.
Okay, moving on. This is your last album on Def Jam — are you already looking towards the next step in your career?
I don’t know. The way the game is right now, even going independent is still fucking everything up. Everything is just fucked up in the game. So I don’t know what to really do. I just know to do my work, and that’s it.
Is the joint album with DOOM next?
I’m waiting for DOOM to get back at me, so we can fix it up. I gave him all my parts. I’m just waiting for him to fix it all up.
How do you manage to stay consistent, when so many of your peers take so long between albums?
That’s just working. My shit is, at least try to drop an album once a year. Or, if not, within a year and a half. And that’s it. As far as putting music out, my shit is, once you’re gone for two and three years, then you seem to lose the people. It’s like you selling crack or weed on the block, and you fuck around. They used to copping from you, but then you leave. Even if you left for a fucking a day, they gonna go to somebody else. They still gonna be checking for you, but they gonna go to somebody else. And once they get used to going to somebody else to get their weed — and it might be better than yours or just as good — they not gonna need you no more. Cause they gonna go see the other person they made a bond with.
Definitely. What’s your schedule like when you’re in the studio?
My hours is any time, B. When you got rap music, you could work right now till six o’clock in the morning. You got your own hours. And a lot of hours is late-night hours. A little bit of daytime, then you go back at night, and you catch what you can catch — get up in the morning, listen to what you were writing. “Oh shit, I wrote that?” Then connect a couple of lines on that, and that’s how it goes. Just connect the lines, and before you know it, you got like, six, seven songs, son. And it’s like, oh shit. It makes you want to keep on going.
You still write with pen and paper?
Yeah, of course. Definitely. I wish I could do the other way, but I can’t do that shit. But that don’t mean nothing. Muthafuckas act like they don’t write, they ain’t making no real hits.
You’re one of the most critically acclaimed contemporary rappers. Do you read your reviews?
I don’t really read it a lot and stuff like that, dog. I go by what people tell me. I just take it how it is. But I didn’t really get a chance to really show to my best ability. I haven’t really went in in a long, long, long time, I think that my future is gonna tell where my hand is at, you understand what I’m saying? Within the next couple of years, its gonna tell where I really stand. Right now, I made a name for myself but the future is gonna be the good days.

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Ghostface Killah co-hosts The Morning After With Angela Yee
http://www.zshare.net/audio/63345883cb707dc2/

Ghostface talks about what his first car was, what Def Jam is like now that Lyor left and that L.A. Reid is in charge, what kinda news headlines he be making, and that he gave RZA the name “Wu-Tang.” Too many quotables…


Thanks @ Jammin

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Dieser Beitrag wurde von magicfingaz am 06.08.2009, 10:26 Uhr editiert.

Celebrity Favorite: Ghostface Killah
Last week, we brought you Ghostface Killah talking about making an album with Mary J. Blige. This week, Ghost gets more in form with what you're used to: He's down to do an LP with his brothers.
While there's no word on an LP featuring the entire Wu-Tang Clan, Tony Starks has high hopes for a trio opus starring himself, Raekwon and Method Man.



"We ain't got no title for it, but they been wanting to do that for a while, maybe like the past two years," Ghost said recently in New York. "I was always with it. I think that right now, everybody is in that position to do it now. I think within the next two months, everybody will start collecting beats. Everybody goes in — he's got four songs, I got four songs, [Meth] has four. Start coming around like that and seeing what we can do. Make a little phat tight one. I told Meth the other day, 'It's gotta be phat and tight. We don't need 16, 19 joints on there. Nah, nah, nah — 12 phat bullets. We do it like that, and that's it.' That's gonna happen soon. It will probably be out by the end of the year or January, and that's that."
You will get a preview of what Rae, Ghost and Meth can do on the upcoming Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II LP. Ghost recorded around 10 songs for the album. (It's still not confirmed how many of the records will appear on the final LP.)
"Rae got darts," Ghost promised. "His beats were up to par. He was doing what he gotta do. It's good, man. People wanna see that. Rae's been like, 'Cuban Linx coming, Cuban Linx is coming' for years. Mutha----as was like, 'Yo, when is it coming, B?' Now he's finally finished it, and he's gonna put it out September 8."
Ghost's The Wizard of Poetry is coming out this year, but he doesn't have a concrete date yet.
"If it's not steaming," he said of his buzz, "we can't put it out until it's right."
Ghost worked with some of his favorite R&B stars from Estelle to John Legend on his new disc. The first single is "Baby" with Raheem DeVaughn.

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bin gespannt was aus der 3kollabo wird.
wäre geil wenn es in die richtung ala ironman geht.
ich meine nicht nur vom musikstil sondern das alle drei auf fast jeden track vertreten sind,wie damals mit rae und cappa.
solche alben haben immer einen gewissen vibe,der sehr krass kommt.

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Dieser Beitrag wurde von TIZZLER am 02.09.2009, 11:42 Uhr editiert.

Ghostface Interview With DJ Drama TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2009
http://www.zshare.net/download/649837148e7ae312

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Ghostface Killah Interview on hiphopdx

Ghostface Killah: Peace, God
September 13th, 2009 | Author: Andres Tardio

Ghostface has always been outspoken. Today is no different, especially in relation to topics he’s passionate about, like God. “Just put God in your life,” he says with conviction. It sounds simple, sure, but for Staten Island’s Dennis Coles, better known as sharp lyrical swordsman Ghostface Killah, these are words to live by. While acknowledging that one can’t “front on God,” his voice becomes charged with emotion, a trademark that anyone familiar with his extensive discography can recognize. As our interview progresses, Ghost, now months from being 40, adds that this heightened awareness of God comes as a result of maturation. With growth, he says, this knowledge just “grabs you.”
Maturation has also allowed him to release one of this year’s most anticipated albums, Ghostdini: The Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City, a record he says will introduce fans to even more mature music from the Shaolin wordsmith. Originally billed as his “R&B album,” Ghost has partnered with various singers including Ron Browz and John Legend, hired to accompany his grit-filled flow, to show us another side of his well documented personality, one that he says will continue to evolve for years to come. Of course, that’s as long as he can still command the respect from his fans.
That hasn’t been a problem thus far. His storied Wallabees have traversed the rocky roads of the industry and he’s survived every stumble. “Tough like an elephant tusk.” No matter what problems came to face the one-time masked man, he’s remained one of the genre’s most intriguing figures, releasing albums full of 1990s New York nostalgia married with new flavors for freshness. With Wu-Tang’s legacy cemented, Ghost has also managed to make a name for himself as a solo artist, grabbing a piece of history as he let his feet stomp.
The Wizard of Poetry recently sat down with HipHopDX to explain his upbringing, his come up and much more in a candid interview. Unafraid to discuss views on why the world needs God, controversial as his comments can be, he kept it as raw as his music has been since we first caught “the blast of a hype verse.” While reflecting on the early days of the Wu, drug dealing and his time in jail, Ghost also explained to us what allowed this maturation process to begin, sharing the views of a man who’s ready to grow with what he feels is peace in his heart and God on his mind.

HipHopDX: On “All That I Got Is You,” there is a lot of personal stuff about your upbringing. But, can you shed light on some of that?
Ghostface Killah: Word. When I reached a certain age, around 12 or 13, we were struggling. Around 13 years old, whatever, we were strugglin’. Pops wasn’t there. I got two brothers with me in there with muscular dystrophy that’s in the wheelchair. I was the oldest. As time went on, there was times I had to pick them up out of the wheelchair, take them to the bathroom, pick them up out of the bathroom, put them back in the chair. You know, the house was flooded with mad family. Like I said [in the lyrics of the song], "fifteen of us in a three bedroom apartment." You know what I’m saying?

DX: Was there anything in particular that helped you stay motivated through that?
Ghostface Killah: It was just that God sends signs your way. It’s like, you know one person and this leads on to this and this leads on to that. As the years went by, I had went through...[Pause] I went to jail at 15. I went to jail at around like 15. I was in upstate New York for robbing and stealing because, like I said, we didn’t really have nothing. But, I started fuckin’ with my friends that was gettin’ high, smoking woolies and all that other shit. Like [Raekwon] said [on "C.R.E.A.M."], “smoking woolies at 16.” For us, that’s what it was and shit. Um, after I did that, you know, ‘87 started kickin’ in. Now, we was stealing, selling drugs and gettin’ fly. You know what I mean? Just shit like that. Then, I hooked up with RZA and them, through a few friends and all that other shit and he was here with Rae and them. Then, RZA moved down to my projects and that’s where we started. He used to come through selling hype sweat suits, like velour suits and all that other shit. He always had a little glow about him and shit. He knew how to rhyme and for some reason, I knew that he was going to be that nigga one day. I knew it! I knew how to rhyme and shit and me and him became close and shit. We became close and you know, I gave him the Wu-Tang name and introduced him to the Wu-Tang and Shaolin movies. One thing led to another, you know what I mean? I was getting money out-of-state and all that other shit and getting that equipment and all that other shit. He was home making the beats and doing this and that and the third. You know, I came back, settled down, went and snatched up Rae and them. That’s when U-God, [Inspectah] Deck and Jesus, his cousin [came in]. Then , we had the squad. We just put this shit together, B. Then, one thing led to another and it was on.

DX: Growing up, did you dream of being anything other than an emcee? What other aspirations did you have?
Ghostface Killah: Um...coming up, yeah, I dreamt. I seen this! I seen this! I seen this! It took me awhile to get it. But, I seen this back in the '80s. It’s like, I seen it and dreamt it, but going through the struggle to get there, I didn’t know. I didn’t keep it on my mind every day like that but, I knew that when Genius got on, then RZA was on, it was like “Okay, he’s on Tommy Boy [Records].” You know, how you be like, “Okay, yo, we’re going to do this and we’re going to do that.” That’s how it was. Then, he left Tommy Boy or they dropped him or whatever. Now, it’s like “What we gonna do now?” Now, our hopes are shattered. We’re just out here on the block, tryin’ to put our shit on. That’s the type of shit a nigga went through. Once we went independent, we started walking our own dog. After awhile, we settled down like, “What the fuck we gonna do?” He was like a scientist with his shit. I give him his points for that shit because he didn’t stop.

DX: Through that, you’ve been through New York Rap’s greatest days and you’ve been through the lows. You’ve also been pretty vocal about New York Hip Hop when you felt it wasn’t doing right. Do you think New York Rap is looking better today or do you still feel there is a lack of creativity and productivity in New York?
Ghostface Killah: It is, still, hell yeah. It’s still a lack of all that shit, of course.

DX: How do you see that changing?
Ghostface Killah: It all starts within the individual. But, I don’t think there’s ever going to be a time when we’re all going to be...like New York is going to be New York in Hip Hop and that’s it. I think that right now, it’s over. It’s over! That’s what I personally think. Don’t get me wrong, there’s motherfuckers out there that still know how to get busy. I think it’s over [thinking] we’re going to just run it and that’s it and nobody else is going to have a chance. I think it’s going to be diverse. I think we’re going to have [different types of music]. If I make my music, I’m making it for the ones that love the music I make and for myself. You’re going to have a variety of shit, it’s just who stands out the most with their shit. You can’t bring time back. Time is already gone. Everybody want to bring ‘88 back. You can’t bring ‘88 back. That was the ‘80s. At no other point in life, have you ever heard of a period of time coming back or the good ol’ days coming back. Nah. It’s not that because as time goes on, every day shit gets rougher and rougher and things change. It evolves. It’s like Disco came in after all that Soul shit. From Disco, derived other shit. Rap is probably like one of the last things that played a part, that nurtured from all that other shit. So, things never really go back. Now, if the old people want to go ‘head and make some Soul music, they’re going to make it. But, it’s not going to be on top again, like how it was in the '60s or the '70s. Now, you got still Disco, you got House, you got fuckin’ Opera and Country. It’s going to be different. It ain’t gonna be Soul no more. That’s what I’m saying. Inside of Rap, it’s the same shit. So, don’t look to bring all that other shit back. But, if we’re going to make music close to it, then we’re just going to be able to do it. But, at the same time, all that other shit is still going to be there

DX: I think it’s interesting that throughout your career, you always talk about feeding the babies in some way-about teaching the youth about the world. What’s the most powerful message you think the youth today needs to hear?
Ghostface Killah: The most powerful message is the easy message. Just put God in your life, man. I know it sounds simple and plain but that’s how it is. Right now, the world is like...we’re disrespecting God to the fullest, like if He don’t even exist. What I mean by that is, we’re doing shit...I mean...C’mon, you got males liking another male, females liking other females. With killing at it’s craziest murder rate, we’re doing a bunch of foul shit [like] raping, putting diseases out there, putting the swine flu out there and AIDS out there. We’re disrespecting God so much like if He don’t even exist. People don’t even go to church no more. As little kids back in the days, if you was little, you had to go to church with your family. You knew a sense of God. These people just hear God and ignore Him. They don’t feel bad for nothing that they do out there. They don’t say, “Oh, I’m sorry for robbing that dude,” or “I’m sorry for this.” Nothing. This is why the world is where it’s at right now. There’s no respect! Not even in your household. The children don’t even respect they parents. The parents don’t respect themselves. They might not even respect their kids because they’re doing shit in front of their kids and their kids is picking up on it. So, it’s like a chain reaction. But, that’s the most powerful statement because if they had somebody who they respected like God, they would feel ashamed to do a lot of shit. See, me? I’m a spiritual brother. So, I humbled myself to a lot of ways so I can’t even steal a book of matches from you. I could be at 7-Eleven, you might give me $20 extra change and I gotta give it back to you. I’m at a stage now, where I know that somebody is watching me. Whether it’s the angels, my good angel and my bad angel, taking notes or God himself, somebody is watching me and I’ma be held accountable for this shit after I pass away. On Judgement Day, I’ma get judged for all the shit that I did. So, I’m aware now. But, a lot of people are not aware now so that’s how come I say, “If you had a personal relationship with the higher being, this world with be more because you wouldn’t be doing nothin’ foul.” If you ain’t doin’ nothing foul, you’re doing something righteous. The more that people do something righteous, the more we’ll have a righteous world. That’s why I say “Put God in your life.” Fuck the big speech and all that other shit. There’s nothing to really talk about. That’s what it all boils down to because He’s the creator and maker of all this. Without Him, none of this would be possible. Me talking to you on a phone would not be possible. The phone wouldn’t be possible. Clothes wouldn’t be possible. Your food! Your Water! Even your body, your fuckin’ body parts that’s still functioning, wouldn’t be possible. You feel me? Life itself. So, that’s how come it all boils down to that one word: It’s God, yo.

DX: Is this something that you always had in your mind or is it something that came later in life?
Ghostface Killah: I always had shit in my mind! I always had things in my mind, but as you get older, you get more mature and especially when you’re dealing with your spirituality, it grabs you. For those who try to change their life and really know, like, “Yo, I can’t front on God.” You could think that you’ve got a bone in your closet...You killed this man and nobody’s gonna know about it? Nah, yo! You might get away with it right now, but you’re gonna be held accountable for that body when it’s time to get judged. Don’t think that because somebody died, [if] your mother died or father died, [that] they in heaven. They’re not in heaven! They’re in a holding place. You can’t be in heaven until you get judged and you get judged when this world is over. See what I’m sayin’? They’re not in heaven. The ones that’s in heaven is the babies that’s never sinned before, that’s never fucked before. They never did nothin’. If you sinned before, even if you sinned one time, you gonna have to get judged. So, you not goin’ straight to heaven.

DX: Now, you’ve also talked in public about learning from the youth and applying what you learn to the knowledge you already have to come up with something fresh every time. What type of new things are you learning every day, be it from your kids or just younger up and coming emcees in the game?
Ghostface Killah: Yeah, you always learn from the children. You watch the seeds and what they do and stuff like that. But, um, I don’t got nothing on my mind like I learned this or that. Nah, I haven’t been around no kids to pick up on something. But, you know, you always pick up and learn something, and you don’t even know like your mind didn’t even recognize what the fuck just happened.

DX: While we’re speaking about kids, I know you have kids. How did having kids change you? How did it change the way you approach different facets of life?
Ghostface Killah: Certain things I say on my records, I don’t want to say certain shit. Kids teach you responsibility, man. You’re not that person no more who just live...I mean, I don’t stay with my kids. I don’t live with their mother. I take care of my children. But, that’s my responsibility now. You can’t walk away from that. You have to go ahead and talk to ‘em, make sure that they’re taken care of so they don’t have to rob and steal like how I had to when I was young [and] to prevent them from going to jail. You just have to teach them the rights and the wrongs and stay in they ass.

DX: I spoke with you in 2007 and you told me something that I found really interesting. You said “After I start throwing these little dirty darts, I’m gonna have to start throwing mature darts speaking on men and women. It can be positive or a fucked up situation, but you have to address certain issues.” Is that something we are going to be seeing with The Wizard of Poetry?
Ghostface Killah: Yeah, this Poetry album is older. It’s mature. So, it’s adult situations on it and stuff like that, some shit that a nigga can go through. On this album right here, I focus a lot on women. I just threw my dart at women and other types of situations, too. So, I didn’t go ahead and get to that but as my albums go on, I’ll get to the phase where you gotta talk about “Nigga, you fucked up,” talking about the men. Or, it could be “I miss my kids” or it could be “Yo, we gotta get our morals together,” speaking on men. But, then you got women, too, that’s fucked up and might fuck a different dude every month and that’s not good. Yeah, [that will come] as time goes on, but, this album is a mature album. This is the album that sets it off for all that shit.

DX: In that same interview, you also said “You gotta have people to grow with you.” For a long time, people had a feeling like rappers couldn’t do it past a certain age. But, now we are seeing emcees go on for much longer and maintain success for much longer as the culture grows with them. Do you think the people, the genre and the fans are ready for that type of maturation now more than ever?
Ghostface Killah: We’re going to have to take a turn somewhere, whether they’re ready for it or not. It’s going to have to evolve into something. Like [KRS-One] said in ‘87, “Fifty years down the line, you could start this/ because we’ll be the old school artists.” I’ve been here for about 14-15 years probably. KRS was here in ‘86-‘87. Twenty years down the line, he’s still putting it down. So, that’s just what it is right now. By the time you hit 50, there’s other things to talk about, B. You can’t talk that crack shit. You gotta talk about shit that people relate to. I don’t give a fuck if you’re broke. If you’re broke, [rhyme like] “Nigga, I don’t got it! Don’t ask me for no fuckin’ money, nigga, I don’t go it!” You gotta be talking about real shit like that. Say you fuck around and you on health care or Social Security: “Yo, yo, yo, Social Security ain’t payin’ me too much!” It’s that shit that motherfuckers can relate to. I don’t give a fuck if you old and you have a cane, nigga. You gotta talk about your cane! You know what I mean? We do these things. Like, “Me and my bitch got glass canes with iced out...” or “I got false teeth with frames on ‘em.” You know what I mean? If you a 60 year-old nigga, you gotta spit a 60 year-old dart! I want to still be rhyming when I’m 60. I might not want to do shows, I don’t know, but I still believe I’ma be throwin’ old man darts because I’m a fly nigga in my head. I believe that yo, you could do whatever the fuck you want. It’s nothin’ to write rhymes. It ain’t like I’m out there with a shovel, slavin’ every fuckin’ morning. This is something you do with a pen and a fuckin’ paper, B. This is music. So, in my old man darts, even if I’m going senile, I’ma have to write that shit. If my dick can’t get up, I might have to go ahead and start throwing that shit like “Yo, I done reached that age when my dick can’t get up!” You know what I’m saying? Just make it sound fly to where motherfuckers is like “Oh shit!” That’s what it is. That’s how you’re going to keep your fans with you. Don’t front on ‘em

DX: It’s like, we’ve heard everything in the mind of a 20 year old and even 30 year olds. How important is it to get that different perspective...
Ghostface Killah: Yeah, things evolve. So, when they be talkin’ that retire shit or “I’ma stop rhyming?” Yeah, alright, man. Tell them niggas to fuck off, B. They need to stop it. You have to come back because you love Hip Hop. So, what you gon’ do? It’s nothin’. You hear some fly shit, rhymes gonna come in your head. Lines are gonna start comin’ at you. It’s not gonna stop, yo.

DX: The Wu-Tang legacy is already cemented. People know that. But, you’re saying you don’t plan on stopping. You just talked about rhyming til you can no longer do it in the future. Where do you want your legacy to be when it’s all over?
Ghostface Killah: Respect is the most important thing that you could ask for in life. I just want people to respect me and respect what I’ve done, man. That’s it, yo. I’m not asking you to put me as your best emcee or your best that. If any of that ever came to be, that’s just gravy, the cherry that’s on top. At the end of the day, you want to go sleep knowing that you was well respected and mother fuckers loved you, B.


http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/features/i...illah-peace-god

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Dieser Beitrag wurde von magicfingaz am 15.09.2009, 09:14 Uhr editiert.

Ghostface Killah

by Tom Breihan, posted October 5, 2009



On two albums released this September, Wu-Tang MVP Ghostface Killah shows two very different sides of himself. In his many appearances on Raekwon's excellent Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II, Ghost cuts a fearsome, snarling figure, telling crime-life stories with a Raymond Chandler-esque vividness that can get downright terrifying when talk turns to dead kids or interrupted blowjobs. But on his own Ghostdini: The Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City, Ghost ditches hectic mid-1990s boom-bap for slick, luxuriant R&B, spitting come-ons and relationship confessionals while R&B singers like John Legend and Raheem DeVaughn purr the hooks.
It's a testament to Ghost's versatility that these two practically opposed personae only occupy a couple of facets of Ghost's catalog. He's also been a bare-knuckle bruiser, a wounded old-soul wailer, a splenetic absurdist, and everything in between. On the eve of Cuban Linx II's release, Pitchfork spoke with Ghost about his recent projects and what the future holds for him.

Pitchfork: Rae's Cuban Linx II is coming out right around the same time as your album, and you are a huge part of that record. The two projects are very different. What does it feel like to be split between two directions like that?
Ghostface Killah: Well, that's not a problem. One direction is the other way, and I'm doing a much more mature album, so it don't really clash with me. I'm glad that we, at the end of the day, are just Wu-affiliated and we got material coming out all together.

Pitchfork: Cuban Linx II has been a really long time coming. Do you look at that as being partly your own project? Your face is on the cover and everything.
GK: Yes, I do. Raekwon is spearheading it, but, you know, I've been dealing with him, like on the first one. This one is the sequel, and it's all good.

Pitchfork: You really black out on every one of those tracks that you're on. Did you have to get into a certain headspace to get to the level of intensity you've got on that?
GK: Well, no. You know, you just rhyme. You just do what you do. Certain shit brings up certain things about you. And that's it, though. I don't think I really blacked out on it. I just think I did all right. I think I did okay. I don't think I did superb. You know what I mean? Because I've been moving around in different cities, recording shit, not really having enough time to sit down and write the way I really want to write.

Pitchfork: You don't think that it's up there with your best stuff?
GK: I think, in my mind, if I was relaxed and I had myself time, I could have wrote better. You know, we all say that. It's like [Michael] Jordan could have scored 60, and he could've been like, "Yo, if my ankle wasn't killing me or whatever, I could have did 80." You know what I mean? It's like that.

Pitchfork: Did you have more of a chance to sit down with the stuff on Wizard of Poetry?
GK: Yes.

Pitchfork: Can you talk about the direction you took on this one?
GK: The direction is more based around storytelling. It's poetry. You know, different situations and topics. It ain't all lovey dovey, you know what I'm saying? You do got your songs complimenting women, and songs where I fucked up, where I might have got a girl pregnant. Songs where I'm feeling lonely and shit, where my girl left me and there's another man that moved into my house with kids. And you got situations where you bump into a pregnant girl, but she's so pretty, and you wish you could have her, but she's pregnant and she's married. Just problems when I might have messed around, let the cable man come to my house, fix my cable, but two weeks later he's somewhere on my property in my guest house, screwing my wife. So it's just different topics on the album and shit. It's more mature; that's what I'll say.

Pitchfork: So it's really an album of grown-up relationship talk?
GK: Yeah. Growing up, relationships, and me just spitting game at women, complimenting them, things of that nature.

Pitchfork: Is it all written directly from personal experience?
GK: No, not everything. Just where the beat takes you. I'm like a movie director, so wherever I feel that I need to go over this type of beat, that's what I'm going to do, that's where I'm going to go.



Pitchfork: You've been really outspoken in the past about how much you love 1970s soul music. You are working with a lot of younger singers who are using Auto-Tune. Is any of the album going to be more of that classic soul sound?
GK: A few songs. Not every song. You still got that stuff in there, but it's broke up. You just gotta hear it.

Pitchfork: Who are some of the other singers you've got on there?
GK: John Legend, John Legend's brother, Vaughn Anthony. I got Estelle on it. I got Shareefa, Fabolous. I got Raheem DeVaughn on two tracks. I got Lloyd. I got Adrienne [Bailon] from the Cheetah Girls-- that's the girl that goes with Kim Kardashian's brother. She was fucking with him. Little nice cute girl.

Pitchfork: That's the girl from 3LW, right?
GK: Yeah, 3LW. Yeah. And that's really basically it. [Jack Knight and Ron Browz also appear on the album; Ne-Yo and Kanye West feature in remixes. --Ed.]

Pitchfork: Is Fabolous the only other rapper on the album?
GK: He's the only one, yeah.

Pitchfork: Is this your last album for Def Jam?
GK: Supposedly, yes.

Pitchfork: Have you thought at all about what you're doing afterwards?
GK: No, I haven't been thinking about it.

Pitchfork: What does the title of the album mean?
GK: It means what it sounds like: Wizard of Poetry. I'm a wizard at poetry. The Emerald City was because I was trying at it, like The Wizard of Oz, like I was going to the Emerald City to go look for love. You understand what I'm saying? I couldn't really get too much into that because they would try to sue me for likeness. I was going to base my skits around The Wizard of Oz and stuff like that, but I couldn't do it. The Wizard of Poetry, I had that title since I did The Pretty Toney album. That's when the name first came to me.

Pitchfork: The album cover relates to that too. Is the idea that the Emerald City is the place where you find love?
GK: Yeah, the Emerald City was the place where-- not where I found love, but where I was going to ask God if he could give me love, or ask the whoever was the highest in The Wizard of Oz, the highest power or whatever. I was searching for love. You know, the Scarecrow needed a brain, the Tin Man needed a heart, and the other dude needed courage. I need love, you feel me? So that's what that was.

Pitchfork: I believe It's the first album cover you haven't appeared on.
GK: Of course.

Pitchfork: Why the change?
GK: Well, if you look closely at the album cover, you will see that I have appeared.

Pitchfork: When you're in that really intense story-teller mode like on "Gihad" or "Shakey Dog", how does it feel to write something like that?
GK: I dunno. I just do what I do, man. I love it.

Pitchfork: You've been recording at a faster clip than anyone else in Wu-Tang. Do you think you'll be able to maintain that?
GK: I think so.

Pitchfork: There's been some talk about a joint album between you and Method Man and Raekwon. Is that going to happen?
GK: Yeah, that's going to happen.

Pitchfork: Do you have the whole label situation figured out?
GK: Yeah, it's going to be on Def Jam.

Pitchfork: Are you recording for that now?
GK: Not right now. It's probably going to be another week and a half.

Pitchfork: The three of you have really good chemistry on all of your songs together. Do you all push each other?
GK: No. I mean, we probably won't be around each other for the most part. I'll go where I go to record it, and everybody else go where they go to record it. We just fly our verses in.

Pitchfork: So it's not like you're all are in a room together?
GK: Not all the time, no.
Pitchfork: Did it used to be like that all the time?
GK: Yes, yes. Hell yeah.

Pitchfork: It's a real testament that you are able to keep that same kind of intensity without being in the same room like that.
GK: Yeah. You know, when you hungry for this, man, when you love what you do, more than likely everything is gonna just come out decent.

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