“You ain’t been hungry, since Supreme Clientele!” a random motivator who sounds nearly identical to Rocky’s trainer Mickey screamed at Ghostface Killah. The soundbite can be found on the Just Blaze produced “The Champ” from the Wallabee Don’s now cemented fifth studio effort, Fishscale Despite the fairly positive reception the previous The Pretty Toney Album, some were turned off by its more commercial endeavors including the Missy Elliott-guested lead single “Tush.” For Fishscale The Wu-Tang Clan member increased his signature ability in coke filled storytelling and went a little deeper to subjects including childhood punishment. Helps that he fished production from both established and up-and-coming producers who sonically brought his lyrics to life.
Many agreed. According to then HipHopDX staff writer J-23, “To no surprise, Ghost delivers yet another dope LP, long cementing his status as the best solo artist outta the Wu.” Released March 28, 2006, Fishscale’s tenth birthday is fastly approaching and we deciding to talk about it! Giving their individual thoughts in a roundtable, DX Editor-In-Chief Justin Hunte, Managing Editor Trent Clark, News Editor Soren Baker and Senior Features Writer Ural Garrett talk about their appreciation for GFK’s second Def Jam release as it streamed in the background on Apple Music.
Photo: F. Scott Schafer/Def Jam Records
Is Fishscale A Hip Hop Classic?
Justin: All right, all right. We’ve come up on the 10th anniversary of what I like to call “Ghostface Killah’s Seminal Classic And My Absolute Favorite Ghostface Killah Project, Fishscale. Now this project came out in 2006 and featured production by Pete Rock, MoSS, MF Doom had joints on there. The Clan was all in together now. Soren, what are your first thoughts when you think about Fishscale?
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Soren: I loved this album. I know it didn’t get much acclaim and attention when it first came out in comparison to his other albums, but I thought it was great. I thought the production as you mentioned was incredible. It had a nice mix of what Ghostface was known for like the break beats and soul samples, but he also had some of the backpack-ish elements that made some of the Wu’s better material so potent. Then he resurrected the great storytelling that we had seen on Ironman, Supreme Clientele and even parts of Bulletproof Wallets. I thought it was one of my favorite albums of the year.
Justin: I mean look at these producers. You have Lewis Parker on “Shakey Dog,” Moss from Canada who later did an album with Eternia [At Last]. You have Just Blaze on “The Champ” which is still crazy. MF Doom had three tracks including “9 Milli Bros,” “Clipse of Doom” and “Jellyfish.” Pete Rock like we just mentioned and J Dilla. That’s just a range of awesomeness.
Soren: Even J Dilla was a bit of a curve ball and surprise to see [Ghost] working with established producers and show his range as the group [Wu-Tang] continued to do more and more stuff without RZA, as had been the case for a long time. I thought it cemented Ghost’s status as the best solo artist of Wu-Tang.
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Justin: Do you miss RZA when you listen to Fishscale, Ural?
Ural: Hell naw. By that time, RZA’s production was kind of meh. It was alright to me by that time. I don’t think RZA could have given anything to the equivalent of “Shakey Dog,” “Kilo” or what Doom did with “Jellyfish.” I can’t picture how he’d fit within this selection of tracks. The production went from really hard sounding to lush and dreamlike. It also turned me into a fan of MoSS who did the At Last project with Eternia which was really dope. Looking back at it, it was a really cool first introduction because the “Kilo” beat was sick.
Justin: Crazy, Crazy production on that. I also think about the range of topics that he talked about. He’s talking about chopping up fishscale [“Kilo”], getting his haircut [“Barbershop”], hollering at chicks at the bus stop [“Beauty Jackson”], getting his ass beat over a Dilla beat [“Whip You With a Strap”]. What stands out to you, Trent when you think about Fishscale?
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Trent: Well I mean, going back to what Soren said, I think Ghostface has brought The Wu back from the dead on multiple occasions. You look at Ironman in the era when glossy Hip Hop was starting to become all the rage which was three years before 36 Chambers. That was a long time in the way the rap game was changing. He held it down with Ironman and in 2000, there essentially was no Wu-Tang Clan. They were acting, in-fighting and moving on to projects that didn’t sound like traditional Wu projects. He brought it back in with Supreme Clientele. He was on promotion with RZA for that album, but it wasn’t a RZA album. Ghostface had proven what he could do on Fishscale and not use RZA for his entire project. It’s not his strongest project, but at the same time, all praises for it to be 2006 in the midst of the ringtone era. I bought this album the same day I bought T.I.’s King. Aside from King, I don’t think any other album in rap went platinum that year. For him to make an album like this during that era really showed his resolve.
Justin: Ghostface did an interview where he talked about his catalog. He really reveres Ironman, he really reveres Supreme Clientele. This wasn’t one of the ones he mentioned as one of his favorites. I was super disappointed to hear that because again, there’s four years between Ironman and Supreme Clientele. So, basically…
Soren: That’s an eternity.
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Justin: That was an eternity. Even in the 1990s that was a long time between albums. Even for OutKast, that’s a long time. So then you have Supreme Clientele and Bulletproof Wallets, which was also strong. That was a great streak back-to-back. His imagination was going to really cool places. And then the Pretty Tony album was… well… I was not a fan of the Pretty Tony album. This one had all the elements of his three strongest projects up until that point in Ironman, Supreme Clientele and Bulletproof Wallets. It’s diverse. He could shift from talking about drugs to life and not sound inauthentic. When he said this wasn’t one of his best projects, I’m looking at the rest of his projects like… he has something like 15 albums. This is definitely top third at the bare minimum.
Trent: This is definitely one of his best albums. For him to shortchange it. Going back to 2006, a lot of albums came out, but a lot of them went unappreciated on the charts and the conversation. Dance singles were dominating the culture. Fishscale is a throwback to Ghostface so it wasn’t a lot of people checking for that.
Soren: I also think along those lines because “Back Like That” was the only single that got any mainstream attention. I’ve noticed that sometimes if the songs don’t resonate with people as singles, then the artist sometimes don’t think it’s as good for some reason. I don’t agree with that. That was the biggest song singles wise for the album, but in my opinion, it was one of the lesser songs on the album. I also think Ghost doesn’t talk about it a lot because people don’t ask him about it.
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Ural: Plus, I think at that time in 06, I think “Back Like That” was released at a time where Ne-Yo was the “It” guy in R&B. Even comparing “Back Like That” to other tracks on the album, it really doesn’t fit that well. Not discrediting the track because I think it’s a dope single.
Soren: It’s a dope song on its own, it just doesn’t fit the album and it strikes of “Ne-Yo’s on Def Jam and he’s the hottest guy on the planet right now. Let’s get him on a song with Ghostface.”
Justin: Right. It’s funny because with all the producers on the album, Xtreme produced “Back Like That.” I remember thinking, who is Xtreme? That was the one guy I hadn’t heard of and he got the lead single. That sounded like a Def Jam plug more than anything else. One of my favorite lines on “Shakey Dog” was “Why? Why you behind me leery?
Shakey Dog stutterin’ / When you got the bigger cooker on you / You a crazy muthafucka.” It’s just raw, raw, raw rhymes. Lyrically, what stands out to you, Trent?
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Trent: “Clipse of Doom” and I’m not a big MF Doom fan. I have this conversation all of the time. MF Doom does nothing for me. I respect it and the loopyness. I respect the strategic off-kilterness of it, but I’m not an MF Doom head what so ever. However, just hearing him just spaz sounds like a stingray though the next song is “Jellyfish.” The song sounds like a stingray eating at your skin and Ghostface “Nah’mean yo.. what? Fuck you too, nigga! / ‘Kind of pants you got on motherfucker, Capris?!” I think it’s criminal that [Doom and Ghost] never worked it out for that full length project in their prime. I hear they’re working on it now. It’s a little too late for that. It’ll stir a conversation and interest, but it’s not the same sensibilities they had then. That song to me is an instant classic.
Photo: Tai Linzie/Def Jam Records
Justin: Especially with Doom doing projects with seemingly everybody at that time. How could he not work Ghost in at that time?
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Ural: I think one of my favorite tracks was “Columbus Exchange.” I think it’s one of the better narrative moments of Fishscale. Then it’s so short like an interlude/song almost. And then you go to something like “Barbershop” where it feels like a real conversation.
Justin: He raises a good question. You go to the same barber for 20 years and never get a free cut. I’ve never gotten a free cut from a barber, ever.
Trent: You go to McDonald’s for 20 years, do you ever get a free hamburger or Happy Meal?
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Justin: I’ve gotten free refills.
Ural: I think the relationship with a barber over the years turns into like a brotherly relationship, but you’re still paying them.
Soren: It’s like a paid therapist.
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Justin: You can’t go to your therapist and just talk about things out loud. You’re on the clock. What’s your favorite lyrical moment Soren?
Soren: I wouldn’t endorse it but “Whip You With a Strap” was crazy in a sense in that it’s a taboo subject in general. The fact that he made a song about it was kind-of startling to me and gave insight into his world because—being a parent now, not when the song came out—I think about that song sometimes and I realize he’s telling a story and giving a different take that’s not portrayed in the media.
Ural: I think I was the asshole kid when it came to my mom’s boyfriends as well.
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Soren: That’s what I’m saying. It’s a very intriguing subject and song on a lot of levels.
Trent: In retrospect, I’m real big on skits. I think albums and mixtapes on sites like LiveMixtapes just throw skits on there and are not really be funny. The skits on this album are masterful. I think that’s a part of its legacy as well. “Bad Mouth Kid” skit is classic and “Heart Street Directions.”
Justin: “Heart Street” is classic!
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Trent: I let my mom hear that and she looked at me with the stoneface. I get off on silly shit like that. The skits on this album are great. Even “The Return Of Clyde Smith” sparked some 50 Cent drama from the Supreme Clientele days.
Justin: What song would you take off other than “Back Like That?”
Trent: There are 24 tracks, though.
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Justin: There are a lot of skits, though. It is skit heavy. There are about seven skits.
Soren: I don’t know man.
Justin: This is what I’m talking about, man! It’s a great album!
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Trent: Actually I do know, “Underwater.”
Justin: The Spongebob joint? Word?
Trent: I didn’t say that I didn’t like it, I just would take it off if I had to pick one.
Justin: It is outside of the rest of the album except for the fact that the album goes so many places. Why not “Underwater?” I’ll help out. I’ll take “Dogs of War.” I’m not a fan of Trife da God nor Sun God and Cappadonna is just hit-or-miss with me. I wish it was just Rae and Ghost and I would have been straight. I love the beat and 40% of the artist on it. Away from that, nah.
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Soren: That’s the thing, the album from start to finish, top to bottom, skits, songs and sequence is great.
Ural: Also for me, didn’t he release More Fish some months down the line anyway?
Justin: We’ll have to go back to More Fish because I felt the complete opposite about that project.
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Trent: “Miguel Sanchez” is hard as hell. That’s all I got.
Ural: If that project was nothing but throwaways from Fishscale, it makes me appreciate his picking of records a lot more.
Justin: Last question: Where does Fishscale rank in his catalog?
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Soren: For me, I would say depending on the day, at best #2 for me because I think Supreme Clientele is the best. This might be my second favorite Ghostface album.
Ural: For me it’s neck and neck with Supreme Clientele. Like Soren said, it depends on how I feel that day.
Trent: I got it at #4. I got Supreme Clientele, Ironman, Bulletproof Wallets and then Fishscale.
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Justin: For me, it’s by far my favorite and second best behind Supreme Clientele. I think Ironman is next and Bulletproof Wallets behind that. On a good day, I can hang with Big Doe Rehab… on a good Saturday.
Ghostface Killah’s Fishscale is currently available on iTunes courtesy of Def Jam Records.
Photo: Tai Linzie/Def Jam Records
