It was only a matter of time before Inspectah Deck tapped his Wu-Tang Clan cohort Ghostface Killah for yet another installment of the
Although they all revolve around a fictitious comic book-themed superhero, some of the albums are rhyme-less, some came in hard copy comic book format and one even features the lyrical stylings of MF DOOM.
This time around though, the assumed crown jewel installment ultimately falls flat on its czarface.
One would assume that having Inspectah Deck, Esoteric and Ghostface all collaborating would bode the best verses the series has yet to see but, in reality, the punch is far from packed. 7L sets off the project with the same astute production (a crash course of black hoodie boom bap and eccentric comic book sound effects) and as the 12 songs roll through and show-stopping excitement is never delivered.
After “Back at Ringside” (an on-brand comic book intro sans rapping), “Face Off” opens the floodgates with a strong screwface-inducing, black hoodie beat courtesy of 7L and Spada4. Ghostface kicks the track off with a promising premonition: “Ayy, yo it’s CZAR vs. Ghost, we about to face off/Turn my mic up, and when the verse drop, turn the bass off/Dangerous material, spread like venereal/Got the scoop on the game like a bowl of cereal.” However, that’s as exciting as the song gets – trailing off tenacity as the three minutes come to an end.
The same monotone bars and delivery carry through to the proceeding two tracks, “Iron Claw” and “Czarrcade ’87.” It isn’t as if Ghost, Esoteric and Inspectah are dishing out nursery-rhyme level raps but the conviction in their cadence reflect that of overworked rhyme-writers reading the back pages of their composite notebooks. Ghostface brings some steam to “Power and Stuff” with a heightened intensity while rapping: “Son, I walk through the night with a cat-like vision/Precision, you get smashed like a head-on collision”. But just like many of the peaks and valleys on this album, he concludes the verse with his most cringe-worthy line in years: “Still gettin’ our burgundy and gray on/We colorful like that box of 64 crayons.”
While Ghost and Deck might not be completely in their bag on this one, 7L and Spada4 keep wildly consistent, bringing spot-on sounds that match the series’ unique superhero-themed soundtrack. Both “Super Soldier Serum” and “The King Heard Voices” have cosmic beat switches that are as seamless as they are Super-Saiyan. Not to mention Kendra Morris’ haunting chorus on the latter track that will bring shivers to listeners; that also goes for her contributions on “Morning Ritual.”
Czarface Meets Ghostface is far from a “bad” rap album despite having a seemingly uninspired rap trio. From a bar-for-bar standpoint, the rhymes on here are better than a lot of today’s modern offerings but it’s missing the menacing attitude which is often times half the battle.
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Esoteric makes all of these albums unlistenable. A Damn shame really.
Gotta agree. Love the Wu but their collabs in the last 15 years have not met their own standards
I was beginning to start thinking something was wrong with my hip – hop card. If you go on youtube they pump this Czarface album up year after year and like ya alluded to— it’s just unlistenable.
How the fuck 2chainz album get a better rating than this.
That’s usually the case with better albums
Wu Tang fell off years ago
The white rapper in the group is corny. Would have prefered an album with just Deck and Ghost. Fuck those backpack wannabe 90s white rappers.
thought it was fuckin great. eso isn’t on ghost or decks level but still not bad.
Think y’all got this one wrong. It’s not the best we’ve seen from Czarface but it’s still a solid album.
Solid yes but also disappointing. I had my hopes set for a legit 5/5 for this project but actually to me it falls short of last year’s Czarface/MF Doom album. Having said that I still give it 4/5 because it’s still better than at least 80% of the albums being released.
fire whoever wrote this, I love this album and it stays on repeat… love the esoteric and deck combination
this is the best album of 2019 so far …. but it ain’t for the Blueface fans it’s for Czarface fans
This guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about. This album is amazing. Biggest downside is that it’s too short. This is fire. Idk what this guy was expecting. Maybe he’s not a Hip-Hop Head
this album was fire. a 3.4? you must be out of goddamn brain. this was some of Czarface’s best work yet.
What the fuck! Czarface only received 3.4 rating. It is amazing that bullshit like drake, migos and all of the lils muthfockers received higher grades. Czarface is the shit. The beats and rhymes are tight. Cop it NOW!
I give this muthfocker 5/5. Czarface and Ghostface are killin’ the rap game.
Yeah I’ll give this album a 3 at best.
Grand total of 5 albums (1 instrumentals) do u even listen to the music or do u just skim threw it. This shit bangs so hard. Compared to 90% of the bullshit rap that is being released. Stupid ass writers
Whoever wrote this article is an idiot
Grown ups and comics…hah! Do they work for Marvel comics?
So Creativity has an age cap? foh lil man…
Lol age “cap”. You foh and do your homework boy
Still on replay here
I listened to it and I have to disagree with you… The Album is Fire and exceptionally dope. The Beats and rhymes are all on point and it didn’t in any way disappoint or dated far as flow and barz goes…