Though never a household name, Ghostface Killah has spared no opportunity to extend his brand as the unspoken savior of the Wu-Tang Clan’s legacy. Amongst his tireless run of projects there’s been his well-regarded solo discography (including Ghostdini: Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City, a foray into R&B), an audio book with MTV, the Wu-Block group project with The Lox’s Sheek Louch and an awkward appearance on television’s “Couples Therapy”, proof positive that his ambition is truly limitless. An elder who has survived multiple generations and outlasted former peers (not to mention flash in the pan sensations), Ghost can do little to no wrong in the eyes of his devoted cult following. But with Twelve Reasons To Die II being his fourth album in two years, it has to be questioned whether his latest spurts of productivity are quick cash grabs that compromise his once thorough track record.
While serious Killa Bee fanatics blindly give the Clan’s offshoot projects benefit of the doubt, the Twelve Reasons To Die series may be a hard sell. For one, composer Adrian Younge isn’t quite a traditional Hip Hop producer. Where he’s well versed in the genre (and his music was sampled by DJ Premier on the Royce Da 5’9 collab album PRhyme), his musical core competencies stray outside of Ghostface Killah’s comfort zone. The challenge Younge faces in scoring cinema Rap is not only achieving synergy with various acts but doing so over the course of whole projects.
With Ghost forced to follow a continual rigid storyline for two albums now, this emphasis on structure leaves him unable to play off of the comedic unpredictability that is one of his greatest strengths. Twelve Reasons To Die II is the latest conceptual chapter in a detailed saga where the spirit of Ghostface Killah convinces mob kingpin Lester Kane (played by longtime cohort Raekwon) to sacrifice his life so they can become one. While neither “Return Of The Savage” nor “King Of New York” contain the adventurous soul or grit that has enabled Ghost & Rae’s prior greatness, it may be unfair to hold them up to prior standards. Not only is Adrian Younge’s work far more intricate than the soul loops they’re accustomed to, the duo has rarely been forced to deviate from the characters they’ve played on wax over the past two decades.
A swift departure from convention is taken as Twelve Reasons To Die II replaces the original cast of Wu cronies with an ensemble mostly based out of California. As a member of the Living Legends crew, Scarub is worlds apart from Staten Island without much overlap, resulting in little chemistry found on “Rise Up”. Things go even further off of the rails as “Death’s Invitation” throws a complete wrench in the script’s climax. Here Scarub, Lyrics Born and Chino XL bring experimental, off-kilter flows behind a slow jazzy beat, a creative moment that is confusing and not even remotely innovative. The most prominent guest appearance comes by way of relative newcomer Vince Staples on “Get The Money”, with a verse that is effective yet less organic and seemingly more of a promotional ploy for Adrian Younge and Ghostface Killah.
The majority of Twelve Reasons To Die II is Adrian Younge’s mere reinterpretation of Ghostface Killah’s beloved crime tales. “Black Out” comes close to a vintage feel, but the tracks ultimately distract from the album’s plot. Narrated by RZA, the surprise ending sets up an inevitable yet unnecessary third part to come down the line. While Ghost can tell a story and his skills are sharp (despite Action Bronson’s recent claims to the contrary), he’s sounded far more at home on this past winter’s Sour Soul LP with Hip Hop jazz band BadBadNotGood. If we’re to be force fed more full-length projects, the long-awaited Supreme Clientele 2 needs to maximize Pretty Toney’s potential, lest his credibility be further tarnished.
with the cover of the 1st album. LOL
change the cover art here. that’s the first one
Can’t front on this.
Just like the cover art, HipHop DX fucks up this album review. This album is so much better than a 3.5.
You right homey….HHDX is garbage with the scores these days.
Ghostface is still witty with the word play
The Goat
I love Ghost, but quite frankly, this album sounds like the first one. Too many songs have that “been there, done that” vibe. This joint doesn’t have much replay value. Adrian Lounge’s production is becoming repetitious in arrangement and sound. Overall, 3/5 at best. Ghost brings his typical solid lyrics, Rae came hard (always good to hear them back-to-back), and the other guest all held their own. However, the same ‘ole-same ‘ole production makes this joint dull in terms of repeat listening. Who knows, maybe Apollo Brown can remix and give this project some well-needed punch.
Adrian’s beats have always been a bit repetitive, always the same live drums and instruments… He needs to change things up once in a while to avoid this. And yes, he’s still a great producer. He just needs to wake up.
Wrong cover!!!! HHDX What a bunch of clowns!
And again HHDX rates an undergoing rap album with 3.5
90% of the underground rap albums receive 3.5 on hhdx
Beats get too repetitive
truth is this has absolutely no replay value. It just doesnt feel as fresh and the beats are super repetitive. I know you can’t hope for classics from the wu anymore but at the same time i wish they would switch it up and bring something different.
Should be a 4/5 easy.
great album, production is on point and so is Ghost. definitely a 4/5
Boring album and only 33 minutes long. This is the reason why hiphop is dying. Don’t get me wrong, I prefer Ghostface over all those new rappers but hiphop needs punch beats with outstanding melo’s and ghostwriters should help these rappers to get the best out of them. Maybe they get some inspiration of working with writers. And you know why rappers today don’t work as hard as in the days? It’s because of their fan base. People are happy with shit today, so they buy shit and support the artist by doing that. So the artist is going to continue to bring out shitwork. The album from Statik Selektah, same bullshit. All the beats sound the same and there is not one track that stands out. Where are the days when a rapper came up with an album where every producer had a track on it? Hi-Tek, Nottz, Swizz, Dr Dre, Neptunes, Timbaland, Alchemist, Dj Premier, Dilla and so on. The hiphop heads of those days know what I mean. And we need it back. 60 minute albums with intro and outro and some skits or no skits. But this new Ghostface/Raekwon/AdrianYounge album is easy money for them dudes. There is no soul in it, there is no blood and tears in it. It’s just easy money. And most of you guys on hiphopDX like it.
My bad, I mean “33 minute long boring album”
U are right man, as much as I like GFK I also got the feeling that they just made this one to keep doing money…. “If part 1 worked brought some chicken to the table, lets do part 2 to bring some chicken more”. But you cant feel real passion on it
Supreme Clientele 2 and his album coming out with Killah Priest will be what hip hop needs.
dope
So the new Lil Wayne is as good as this????… SMH… Come on now. It can’t be coming to this.
DX is on some bullshit this craps all over Sour Soul you guys are either on the payoff or smoking crack!
I think that hip hop is fine where it’s at..if you take out the weezys and the futures. Hip hop is about creativity and expressing yourself in your own manner. The only problem I see is everyone sounds like someone else. After a while ppl start to lack creativity and produce failed projects.but if the artist is happy with it then it doesn’t matter
Ghost been killin shit lately, uhh I mean foreva baby!! The first one was definitely one of the best 10 hip-hop albums of 2013. This might end up in my top 10 of the year too. Piece of art, namsayin. lol
ghost the goat
boring
I miss hiphopsite.com, these reviewers don’t know good music.
It’s a conceptual album that’s “decent”. I liked the original but this seems more like a vanity project then a “cash grab” as perhaps the reviewer suggested. Ghost has been doing some off the path “rap-smithing” in the last few years but then again he’s ALWAYS been off the path, forging his own chamber and imo becoming the greatest Wu lyricist. That said…this album was aight. 2.8/5