As I give my creaking knuckles calisthenics, I’m reminded of how great 2013 was for music. There were a lot of great releases, and I think that a few of my selections might shock a few people this year, but it’s necessary to give credit where it’s due. Leave your comments in the C-Section below, and let me know how you feel.
14 years after OB4CL, Chef Raekwon and Ghost will be releasing the sequel. The only track I’ve heard, “New Wu” is sick. The album features a lot of Ghostface, GZA, Method Man, Inspectah Deck, Busta, Jadakiss, Styles P, Slick Rick, and more with production by RZA, Dr. Dre, Mathematics, The Alchemist, J Dilla, Marley Marl, and Pete Rock. If you haven’t seen the video for “New Wu”, here it is:
Anyway, I’m super pumped for the new release. Hopefully it will not dissapoint. It’s due out September 8th. Here’s the tracklisting:
1. Return to the North Star f. Papu Wu
2. House of Flying Daggers f. Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah & Method Man
3. Sonny’s Missing
4. Pyrex Vision
5. Cold Outside f. Suga Bang & Ghostface Killah
6. Godfather f. Inspectah Deck
7. New Wu f. Method Man & Ghostface Killah
8. Penitentiary f. Ghostface Killah
9. Criminology 09 f. Ghostface Killah
10. Fat Lady Sings
11. Canal Street
12. 10 Bricks f. Cappadonna & Ghostface Killah
13. G-hide f. Ghostface Killah
14. Rockstar ft Inspectah Deck & GZA
15. Catalina f. Busta Rhymes
16. 40 Deuce f. Jadakiss & Styles P
17. Walk Wit Me
18. We Will Rob You f. Slick Rick, Gza & Masta Killah
19. Have Mercy f. Beanie Siegal
20. Surgical Gloves
21. Nigga Me
22. Mean Streets f. Inspectah Deck,
23. Kiss the Ring f. Inspectah Deck & Masta Killah
24. Ason Jones
As if MF Doom (sorry DOOM) had to make it any more confusing, he added yet another moniker to the seemingly endless list of names. Born Like This is his first outing under the alias known as DOOM (yes, it has to be ALL CAPS). It’s always been hard for me to put a term on how I feel about MF Doom’s music, it’s great, but I just don’t know where I sit with it. If there’s one thing for sure, he never fails in making me laugh my ass of. DOOM is one of the funniest and quirkiest emcees I’ve ever heard, I love the way that he rhymes and the things he spits about.
With the information above being said lets start by saying that the production on this album is nothing short of amazing. With the majority of production being handled by DOOM himself (DOOM has always been a great fucking producer), the rest of the production is handled by Jake One, J Dilla & Thom Yorke (only on the iTunes purchase) . By the names already mentioned, you should have a pretty good idea that the beats on this album are going to be pretty close to off the charts. Continue reading
The theme track for the new Grand Theft Auto game, coming out March 17th for the Nintendo DS, features two hip-hop heavyweights. 
Ghostface Killah and Doom tag-team this Oh No produced track, once again showing why the GTA series leads the gaming industry in its soundtracks and original music. Titled “Chinatown Wars”, the track has a bit of a far eastern feel to the production and beat throughout the track, obviously tailored to fit the game. The two rappers switch off verses, with Ghostface starting and Doom really steals the show with his first verse, just as the song really settles into it’s own. It’s certainly worth checking out, the game and the song of course. Enjoy!
MP3: Ghostface and Doom – “Chinatown Wars” (Produced by Oh No)
MP3: Ghostface and Doom – “Chinatown Wars” (Remix)
Dig Deeper: GTA Chinatown Wars Ghostface Killah Doom
They just keep coming, whether it’s individual tracks or entire mixtapes, the Hood Internet impress me every time they come out with
new material. This time it’s all-time great Ghostface Killah and Beirut getting all jammed up together. Half the track comes from new Beirut material as well, otherwise known as Real People Holland, which is kind of cool. Ghostface sound slightly ridiculous over the top at first, but I’ve really come to like this song on my second listen. Check it out for yourself and see what you think, and if you enjoy there is TONS of other material out there from the Hood Internet as well.
MP3: The Hood Internet – Ghostface Killah vs. Beirut “Save Me Concubine”
OR
MP3: The Hood Internet – Animal Collective vs. Paper Route Gangstaz “Animals Collecting Money”
While more and more material from North America South America, better known as N.A.S.A, leaks out I get more an more anxious to listen to the whole disc front to back. The beyond ambitious group is making noise amongst all crowds with prior leaks featuring Lil Wayne and another featuring Chuck D, not to mention tracks that feature Tom Waits and Karen O.
This track though comes close to being the best leak thus far. “The Mayor” is a track that bangs from front to back, reminding listeners of what rap and hip-hop infused can really result in. The collaborative effort is astonishing considering the amount of talent on one track. I’ve gotta say that Ghostface takes the cake and really makes the track, which is somewhat disappointing for high my hopes were for the Cool Kids on this album.
Give a listen for sure though, and be sure to check out the album release February 17th on Squeak E. Clean records
The making of Spirit of Apollo documentary below:
What can I say about Tony Starks (AKA Ghostface Killah)? The guy has it all, he’s one of the greatest rappers in the history of the game, he is part of one of the most highly influential collectives in Hip-Hop history and now he has his own doll. Rhettmatic was nice enough to release this mix entitled 36 Deadly Darts: The Ghostface Doll Mix CD which has some of the classics that you have come to love by Ghost. These mix tapes were originally sold on the road with Rhettmatic (with an initial press of 1,000) and now they are being given away with the purchase of the Ghost doll.
You can go over to 4CAST Limited and buy the doll for a mere $299.99. Many of you may be thinking, “Why the fuck would I pay three hundred dollars for a doll?” It’s because this doll is made with the finest quality materials. Ghost’s chain and wristband are made out of pure 14kt gold. They truly saved the best for last, this doll has a built in voice unit that has Ghost himself delivering classic lines. The voice byte titles: “I put it in em shot up in em deadly venom”, “Ghostface, ghostface”, “Remember when i longed dicked you and broke your ovary”, “Yo bitch i fucked your friend ya you stank ho”. This promises to be a must have for any die hard Wu-Tang or Ghostface Killah fan.
Here’s the tracklist:
1. Intro (Produced by Dj Rhettmatic)
2. Fish
3. Camay
4. Mighty Healthy
5. The Sun
6. Tearz
7. Verbal Intercourse
8. Can It Be All So Simple
9. Criminology
10. R.A.G.U.
11. Clipse Of Doom
12. Be Easy
13. One
14. The Forest
15. The Juks
16. Poisonous Darts
17. Winter Warz
18. Protect Ya Neck
19. Da Mystery Of Chessboxin
20. Guillotine
21. Wu Gambinos
22. Buck 50
23. 9 Mili Bros.
24. Daytona 500
25. The Grain
26. Last Night
27. Cherchez La Ghost
28. Iron’s Theme
29. No No No
30. Whip You With A Strap
31. Run
32. 4th Chamber
33. The Champ
34. Apollo Kids
35. Block Rock
36. All That I Got Is You
Download: 36 Deadly Darts: The Official Ghostface Doll Mix CD
This video was taken on the third of this month at the Red Bull Big Tune Beat Battle finals in New York. Ghost rips through some classic Wu-Tang material such as “C.R.E.A.M.” and “Ice Cream”. Go peep the new Ghostface compilation Ghost Deini The Great. Props to C-Sick for winning the Championships (the kid is 17).
It seems as though the Chef is cooking up some classic material once again. Raekwon talked to Pitchfork about his new masterpiece, the sequel to arguably one of the greatest solo Wu albums of all time, Only Built for Cuban Linx 2. According to Raekwon, “This record is the shit, it’s been getting around in my camp. It’s another masterpiece that is ready to be released.” The Chef also said that he strayed away from all RZA production because as an artist he felt as though he wanted to move on to other things. He noted that he has some of the best producers in the game for the last 20 years on this shit. Who would he be speaking of? Dr. Dre, Marley Marl, J Dilla, Pete Rock and DJ Scratch (holy shit, what a producer list) will be heading the production side of the album and guest appearances will include Ghostface, Method Man, GZA, Busta Rhymes & Inspectah Deck.
If you go over to the original article Rae talks about how he wanted the new OBFCL to compliment the original one coming out. he wanted to “be like seeing DeNiro do a mafia flick, do something completely different and then come back to another mafia film and be the same dude he was in The Godfather.” That’s almost exactly the way that Raekwon’s career has gone, he released two other albums since the original OBFCL and this is like him going back to the stove and cooking up classics.
It sounds like this album is already going to be one of the biggest albums to come out next year. All of you Wu heads out there get ready because this album is going to be exactly what you’ve been waiting for. Based on the last OBFCL I can assure you that chances are, you are going to be seeing plenty of Ghost on this album to.
ALSO… go check out the Wu in your city because they are on the road right now:
12-14 Chicago, IL – House of Blues
12-15 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
12-17 Cleveland, OH – House of Blues
12-18 Rochester, NY – Main Street Armory
12-19 Philadelphia, PA – Trocadero
12-20 New Haven, CT – Toad’s Place
12-21 Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom
12-23 New York, NY – Hammerstein Ballroom
12-26 Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Small’s
12-27 Lancaster, PA – Chameleon Club
12-31 Baltimore, MD – Sonar
01-01 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
01-02 Providence, RI – Lupo’s
01-03 Worcester, MA – Palladium Nightclub
01-04 Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
01-07 Norfolk, VA – The NorVa
01-08 Richmond, VA – The National
01-09 Greensboro, NC – N Club
01-10 Charleston, SC – Music Farm
01-11 Charlotte, NC – Amos’ Southend
01-12 Raleigh, NC – Lincoln Theatre
01-13 Columbia, SC – Level
01-14 Atlanta, GA – TBA
01-15 Jacksonville, FL – Plush
01-16 Tampa, FL – Jannus Landing
Ghostface Killah’s new album Ghost Deini the Great comes out this coming Tuesday. This is the first track to be released off of the album and of course Ghost sounds like he’s murdering bars like he always does. Go out and grab Ghost Deini The Great on Tuesday and enjoy one of the best Ghostface collections to date.
MIND INVERSION 