Jim Jones + Rae and Ghost = Confusion

The curious case of Jim Jones being featured on Raekwon's as well as Ghostface's latest albums has left most if not all Wu-Tang fans dumbfounded, bewildered and stunned.

There is an overwhelming feeling that the inclusion of the Capo was not only unnecessary, but also a waste of precious space that should be reserved for only the most skilled of rappers -- something that Jim Jones falls well south of -- like Black Thought, who is also featured on both albums.

On Ghost's new album, the song with Jim Jones is something of a Ja Rule club track gone wrong (which is redundant, making it doubly worse), a sound and style that obviously has no business being on a Ghostface album. I always figured that if Ghost wanted us in the club he'd give us certified hits like Cherchez La Ghost, not this piece of wannabe pop fluff:

Handcuffin’ Them Hoes (feat. Jim Jones)


Not to be outdone, Raekwon has a song with Jim on his own album, but a recent performance on Jimmy Fallon sans Jim ironically shows that Jim's inclusion wasn't at all needed for the track as it is performed without a hitch.

My question is: when did this peculiar association between Jim Jones and Raekwon and Ghostface materialize? On what basis does Jim get to be featured on their albums, thus ruining the listening experience for die hard fans of both artists?

Hell, both albums are saturated with guest appearances anyway, why vex listeners even more with a studio gangster who used to rock a perm? But I digress...

A bit of research uncovered a video of Raekwon expressing his admiration for Jim, so I can only guess that the inclusion of Jim on Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang was borne out of that same esteem.

But Rae is coming off his most successful project since his debut in 16 years ago. Certainly his fans gave Rae no indication that they wanted to hear him on a song with Jim Jones. Jim -- who's recent attempt at getting attention by way of a convenient car crash failed miserably -- hasn't seen success in more than a few years.

Suffice to say, I'm confused and just slightly disappointed.

Action Bronson: Bon Appitite .... Bitch !!!!!!!!!!

Remember the first verse heard on 36 Chambers?

Remember the raw, unrefined, wild and zany flow laced with that patented bravado?

If you're looking to restore that long lost feeling found on those early Wu-Tang Clan albums then I implore you to check out Action Bronson, a Queens rapper whose dialect, pronunciations and cadences are eerily reminiscent of Ghostface Killah circa 1992-1998.

No, this is not an accusation of Hiphop's most serious (and, as of late, often ignored) sin -- biting.

Rather, Bronson takes us back to those good old days where it was all about having fun and not about popping bottles in the club or flossing in Maybachs.

And the fact that his rhyming style channels his inner Ghostface only enhances the effectiveness of this project, which at once is refreshing and invigorating -- two crucial components missing from most modern rap music.

With 35 tracks, this mixtape plays like a double CD, seamlessly moving from song to song with clever and playful high-powered lyrics and rhymes.

Adding to the listening pleasure is the fact that most of the previously unheard beats used on the mixtape are surprisingly dope, employing classic breakbeats and familiar samples used in unfamiliar fashions.

And as most new artists should do, Bronson has already filmed high quality videos for several songs from the mixtape, further showcasing his easy-going spirit and penchant for having fun.

Unfortunately the mixtape is filled with so many J-Love drops that some of the lyrics are distorted, but that only heightens the anticipation for a full length, uninterrupted studio album that can hopefully materialize sooner rather than late.

Bronson, like many rap fans, is so starved for the feeling of the early 90s that he even go so far as to name one of his songs "Re-Elect Dinkins," in honor of former New York City mayor David Dinkins who ran the city before Rudy Giuliani imposed a police state on the city's residents.

Tango & Cash -- his duet with fellow Lo-Lifes (named for both the street gang and because of the affinity for Polo clothing) member Meyhem Lauren -- uses a 90s Hiphop instrumental standard to get his point across:

My mind above the clouds
Plus I love the way the thunder sounds
Stevie Wonder mixed with Rambo on the underground
Queens sculpted, stay chisel like a Greek god
I'm on the bars, I got the lyrical physique, pa.
My style attacks like a German Shepherd
Plus I never need a gun 'cause I'm the perfect weapon.

Even with an inflated number of tracks on the mixtape Bronson stays delivering crazy couplets ("You never know what kind of pickle you in till you wake up in a cell and nuts'll tickle ya chin") with the greatest of ease while covering topics from his favorite pasttime ("I got that pure smoke, gorgeous like a sushi plate, five sticks of marijuana, I hallucinate") to describing his perfect girl ("pussy tight, ass like a leather shoe, chillin on the stoop with a Special Brew, Mickey D’s, she never seen a vegetable, but she know how to hum on the testicle").

Bronson is almost perfect on Roasted Bone Marrow, which borrows the beat from Wu-Tang's Hollow Bones from the Clan's third album. Of course Ghost went off on that beat, so it's only right that Bronson does, too ("Bronson's smoking sticky quarters, and know today we running routes just like I'm Ricky Watters, light the sky, civil war, 160 mortars; prone position, focus on the target; breathing like I'm pregnant, mental straight from Harvard").

It's uncanny how consistent he is with his Ghostface and Wu-Tang posturing, but it's even more amazing how this project doesn't come off as some two-bit fake wanna be Wu-Tang rapper trying to get put on.

The following is a sample of the visuals from the mixtape. Cop it now!

BONUS: Below is a banger of a song featuring Action Bronson but not on the mixtape. Check it out.

Money is Reality
Statik Selektah & Termanology Feat. Action Bronson

Ghostface Killah: Apollo Kids Album Review

There isn't too much to say about Ghostface Killah -- the consistent and reliable rap artist and prolific lyricist who on Tuesday will release Apollo Kids, the ninth solo album of his accomplished 14-year career -- that hasn't already been said.

By now, we know what to expect -- soul samples galore chopped up to perfection and vivid story telling with lively tales of ghetto grandiosity accompanied with the requisite braggadocio boasting his inimitable self confidence.

Classic Ghostface music, plain and simple.

So imagine the level of anticipation from his fans when it was announced earlier this month that he would name his latest album after one of his greatest and most popular songs that appeared on arguably his best album, setting the stage for the listener to expect yet another in a long line of impeccable albums from Ghostface.

And Ghost doesn't disappoint. When he actually gets the chance to rap, that is.

No, he doesn't sing on R&B tracks, as he has been known to do on occasion. However, Apollo Kids features a whopping 14 guest rappers on nine of the concise 12 tracks offered on this recording that just barely exceeds 40 minutes of playing time.

But after getting over those mental hurdles, the album promptly jumps into that good old Wu-Tang sound we all fell in love with nearly two decades ago, and the distraction of the prospects of a short album quickly fades.

One listen to the gem Superstar, a duet with Busta Rhymes, following Purified Thoughts with GZA and Killah Priest, and it's clear that Ghost is back!

Unlike past Ghost opuses, this album is devoid of skits and interludes, quickly launching into one banging track after another.

By the time we get to the fourth track, Ghost is in prime crime story-telling mode, humbly rhyming first to clear the way for Joell Ortiz (who has had one hell of a 2010) and a song-stealing and near flawless verse from the ever-improving Game ("I son/sun n*ggas like it's daytime").

Also worth mentioning is 2getha Baby, the album's lead single that features Ghost rapping over those ever elusive horns that I’ve been missing from Hiphop.

But the crowning moment of musical achievement comes from In Tha Park, a duet with Black Thought that is also a fitting ode to Hiphop in the form of a veritable checklist of true school Hiphop-isms ("linoleum breakdancing, Rust-Oleum cans"), complete with a very suitable MC Shan sample.

(Editor's note: It's refreshing to see a rapper of Ghostface's stature not be intimidated of teaming up with and possibly getting outshined by Black Thought, one of the most severely underrated rappers of all time.)

Ironically its on the three-year old song How You Like Me Baby (the Pete Rock-produced song formerly known as Chunky that was a mainstay on mixtapes) where Ghost is at his best, waxing poetic with his words of "wizdom" and effortless styles and flows:

“I came to play no games so stay in ya lane, and the ratchet’s on ya brain and fuck entertainment, y’all, the big spender rocks a robe in November, I never broke bud I throw my trees up in the blender!"

Without taking anything away from this heatrock of a song, it's too bad Pete couldn't have blessed Ghost with a previously unheard beat, considering the obvious musical chemistry these two have.

A curious duet with Jim Jones is the album's lone official misstep, seeing as though 1) Jim Jones is a below average rapper/sidekick who, over the years, has lost much of his musical appeal, 2) Ghost and Jim have never worked together before, 3) the track is a saccharine neo-R&B song that will probably never gain momentum in its presumed destination -- the club. Never mind the fact that the cheesy-sounding song wouldn't have even made the final cut for Ghost's excellent R&B-influenced opus released last year.

And maybe it's a budget thing but Ghostface has eliminated from this album the traditional presence of at least one high-profile, critically acclaimed producer. Hell, there aren't even any Wu-Tang producers associated with this project. No RZA, no True Master, no 4th Disciple. Not even past collaborators J-Love, Bronze Nazareth or Mathematics make an appearance.

Instead, Ghost employs the sounds of lesser celebrated -- but still very much able -- beat makers like Frank Dukes (3 tracks), Scram Jones and Sean C & LV, among others. Ghost has more than proven his ability to make quality music independent of Wu-Tang producers, but ultimately it's still not quite the same as hearing Ghost spaz on a RZA beat.

Despite the overwhelming amount of rappers on this album, it's never a bad thing to hear new rhymes from some of the core Wu-Tang Clan members, and, after some years of musical futility and legal snafus, a rejuvenated-sounding U-God is very much welcome on the song Ghetto, where he rhymes about the neglected portion of society ("run up in ya crib with 12 black brothers that'll die just to live").

Raekwon -- who continues with his recent streak of dope verses since the release of his album this year -- and Cappadonna and Theodore Unit member Trife Da God are all in attendance, and none disappoint in the least. Even Red and Meth join in on the fun, trading verses with Raekwon and Ghost on the Jake One-produced Troublemakers, the album's final song.

But just like that, the album’s over. No skits, no outro, nothing. Just an abrupt ending.

After listening to the album, the listener is left with a couple of certainties: 1) Ghostface is still well in his prime, miles ahead of many of his rapping peers, crafting complex rhymes with ease, and 2) Ghostface is either losing his love for rapping or he’s letting lazieness get the best of him.

Because in 2010, with just 12 tracks, the album had either better be a classic a la Illmatic, or it had better have limited to no features that take away from the lyrical wizardry that make his fans some of the most loyal in music.

Perhaps Apollo Kids is just one part of a larger marketing plan for a quick follow-up to this album much like More Fish was released months after Fishscale, but somehow that just doesn’t seem likely.