This is the 16th full-length solo LP from New York veteran Ghostface Killah of the all-powerful Wu-Tang Clan. One of hip hop's most prolific storytellers and easily the most consistent member of the Clan by example Iron Man, Supreme clientele, Fish scale, Apollo Kids, 12 reasons to die & Sour Soul to name just a few. Ghost's latest album Ghostface Killahs fall 2019 stands as one of the only few duds in his discography along with More fish & went on to debut on Mass Appeal Records Set the tone (Guns, Roses) here hoping he fixes it.
Wu-Block links up for opener “6 Minutes” with Jim Jones jumping over a sumptuous instrumental giving the contestants that exact time, while “Pair of Hammers” with Method Man works in some horns, warning that they're dropping people in comas and make vegetables during. “Skate Odyssey” featuring Raekwon takes a smoother route in general talking about no one who compares to them, but then “Scar Tissue” featuring Nas talks hard about the sunrise to break the day and picks up for a while to give us warmth.
“Kilo in the Safe” is chaotically bagged and after the first skit, “No Face” featuring Ye formerly known as Kanye West returns to boom bap so they can both talk about having the ability to take down entire division. “Champion Sound” featuring Beniton picks up from there with a decent reggae fusion that can tell from someone's persona that their moms used to keep them at home a lot when they were growing up just before “Cape Fear” featuring Fat Joe returns . the keys, kicks and snares that call themselves the best in New York.
After the 2nd skit, “Plan B” comes in with more of an atmospheric vibe organically to pretty much tell wax that Ghost is done having kids at this point in his life, while “Bad Bitch” featuring Ja Rule might it's my least favorite song. the album comes off as a sticky pop-rap ballad. “Locked In” featuring AZ gets the ball rolling again talking about a life connected and after the final skit, “Touch You” featuring Shaun Wiah mixes pop rap with R&B showing a romantic side to Starks for one more time.
“Shots” featuring Busta Rhymes & Serani mixes hip-hop with dancehall resulting in a mean club, while another weak track “Trap Phone” featuring Chucky Hollywood follows a cloudier trap vibe asking their significant others who they love as they like. After the outro skit, the bonus track “Yupp!” featuring Remy Ma was a lead single that I had mixed feelings about from the moderate beat to the hard hitting lyricism.
Wu-Tang is my favorite group of all time and anyone who has followed my platform long enough can back me up on that. Having said that, Set the Tone (Guns & Roses) it's just a few steps up from the previous LP we got from him 5 years ago. There are moments where the production can be commercial, but there are others where it sticks to the signature hardcore vibes that Wu is known for. Ghost sounds noticeably more focused than last time and the guests play up to his level, although some of them are weak.
Rating: 7/10
