More Fish marks the
second release from Ghostface this
year on Def Jam, a label that has a
stable of gifted artists’ lying in wait. There is no doubt that Ghost is incredibly accomplished in his
craft and the release of Fishscale
earlier this year cemented the Staten Island natives’ place in the halls of “Best
Ofs” for 2006. More Fish
features Theodore Unit and Ghostface, but it’s hard to find the fine line between the
two. Standing strong after 10 years in the game, Ghost still has the Wu work ethic; he’s teaching his younger crew
of emcees how do it and showing no signs of slowing up himself.
Ghostface has pushed Theodore Unit and Trife Da God in past, with official mixtapes 718 and Put it On the Line
respectively. Trife, of course, was
also heavily featured on Fishscale as
well. Given that they are released in the same year and bare such a similar
name, there will be no shortage of comparisons between More Fish and Fishscale.
The difference with More Fish lies in
the inherent storytelling nature of every Ghostface
album. While on Fishscale, he
documented his successes, failures and the distractions he found while moving
that Peruvian Fishscale. On More
Fish, his stories continue, but Ghostface
shows his breadth over the industry as he seamlessly moves from track to track,
story to story while taking some chances in other areas he’s not usually known
for. His talent may be genetic. His son, Sun God, is featured prominently on two tracks shows no signs of
weakness, especially on the red hot father-son collabo, “Street Opera.”
The album features a few veterans of the industry; Cappadonna stands alongside Theodore Unit brethren Trife Da God on the out-of-control MF DOOM-produced-gem, “Guns N’Razors,”
which uses a sample from an old Spider-Man
cartoon. Another Def Jam artist
last seen on a milk-box, Redman is
featured on the hilarious Anthony Acid-produced
“Greedy Bitches,” with a much-improved and almost impressive Shawn Wigs. The production on the
album includes many of the producers he’s been working with as of late, but the
RZA drought continues as the hype
for Raekwon’s OB4CL2 rises. MF DOOM
beats with Ghostface work perfectly,
giving many a preview of their upcoming album Swift & Changeable, but J-Love, Mark Ronson, Hassan aka ‘Phantom of the Beats’ (another
Staten Island native) from UMC’s,
do their best to help in crafting a new tale for Tony. Madlib and Ghost shine on “Block Rock,” with Madlib’s
usual “shorter-than-three-minutes-faire”, but it steams along
nonetheless. Again, on “Alex(Stolen Script),” the old-timey DOOM beat captures the true nature of Ghostface; his deft wordplay and
clever, vivid storytelling make his material the standard for comparison when
it comes to New York emcees. Kanye
and Ne-Yo are featured on the
unnecessary “Back Like That (Remix).” It when he teams with Amy Winehouse for the albums gem “You
Know I’m No Good,” that Ironman proves
his metal in the R&B arena.
There are a few weak tracks (“Gotta Hold On,” “Good”), but the
dope easily makes up for it (“Grew Up Hard,” “Blue Armor,” “Ghost is Back”…word
to Rakim). It’s impossible to complain about too much Ghostface; an oft-heard complaint here will more likely be there
isn’t enough Pretty Tone with the
heavy second billing of his crew. Needless to say, Ghost has nearly mastered his craft while his young crew is trying
everything to see what sticks. Some tricks work, some don’t, but Ghost is the only obvious constant on
the album. Few artists can boast having two albums released in the same
calendar year, no less on a crowded major label. It’s a testament to just how
good Ghost is. With the fury and
relative ease that Ghostface is
working at now, we’re liable to see three albums next. We can always hope
for less of the Unit and more of Ghost though. The album may not be
as “pure” as Fishscale, but More Fish certainly hold its weight