Ghostface Killah, accompanied by his entourage of at least 15 other rappers, received a roaring applause from fans as they hit the stage to perform songs such as “Ice Cream,” off Raekwon’s Only Built 4 A Cuban Linx, “Shimmy Shimmy Ya,” from Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s Return To The 36 Chambers (The Dirty Version), and Wu-Tang Forever’s “Triumph.”

A few weeks before Tony and I graduated high school the clan dropped their critically acclaimed double disc Wu-Tang Forever LP, which was followed up by a summer tour with Rage Against The Machine that brought all the members to West Palm Beach to perform. We immediately hit up the local ticketmaster like two bats out of hell and landed ourselves dead smack in the middle of the open air venue, but to Tony’s dismay, Ghostface was the only member not present at the show. Don’t get me wrong, the show was incredible. We got to witness Ol’ Dirty Bastard sing Wu-Tang Forever’s “Dog Shit” live, as well as watched Method Man perform some of his verses up close and personal as he sang from inside the crowd. Despite the impressive performance from everyone on stage the show was short one Ironman.

That changed, though, in September of 2006 at Ft. Lauderdale’s Club Revolution when Tony and I witnessed the clan, including Ghostface (but minus the RZA and, of course, Ol’ Dirty Bastard) give South Florida Hip Hop fans a stellar performance to close out their summer long tour. In the time between these two shows Wu-Tang had released two more mildly successful albums, The “W” and Iron Flag accompanied by a string of solo albums from Method Man, Raekwon, Ol’ Dirty Bastard (who died in 2004), The RZA, The GZA, and yes, even U-God. Although the group dynamics were different the energy from the live show remained in tact. The thing that caught me by surprise at the 2006 Ft. Lauderdale show was how much love audience members gave Ghostface Killah during his verses. I started thinking to myself that maybe Tony was right about Ghostface becoming the leader of the pack.

Tony’s prophecy was confirmed on May 15th at New York City’s Highline Ballroom when Ghostface Killah, accompanied by his entourage of at least 15 other rappers, received a roaring applause from fans as they hit the stage to perform songs such as “Ice Cream,” off Raekwon’s Only Built 4 A Cuban Linx, “Shimmy Shimmy Ya,” from Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s Return To The 36 Chambers (The Dirty Version), and Wu-Tang Forever’s “Triumph.” Although the show’s headlining act was the spirited group Spank Rock, who sang their hit song “Rick Rubin,” it was obvious that half the audience was there to see Ghostface. Ghostface’s set ended with a special guest appearance from fellow Wu-Tang member The RZA who led the famous “Wu Tang Wu Tang!!” cheer that continued even after everyone left the stage.

I applaud Tony for showing me that MTV doesn’t always acknowledge the most skillful rappers, and exposing me to rappers like Ghostface Killah. With his stream of consciousness rap technique accentuated by an ability to stay fresh sounding throughout Hip Hop’s evolving trends is a remarkable feat not mimicked by anyone else from the Wu-Tang Clan’s original cast. If you listen to any of Ghostface’s recent albums like 2006’s Fishscale or 2007’s More Fish or have an opportunity to see him live you too will realize that Ghostface Killah really is…The Champ!!!

Tony’s Ghostface Killah Recommendations:

Guillotine (Swordz) off Only Built 4 A Cuban Linx
Winter Warz off Ironman/Don’t Be a Menace to Society While Drinking Your
Gin and Juice in the Hood Stdk
Can’t It Be All So Simple off Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Shakey Dog off Fishscale
Blue Armor off More Fish
Josephine off More Fish/Hi-Teknology 2: The Chip

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