Dennis Coles, better known by the stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and member of the Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the early- to mid-1990s, each member was free to pursue solo careers.
Ghostface Killah took his name from one of the characters in the 1979 kung fu film Mystery of Chessboxing.
Career
Ghostface Killah was born on May 9, 1970 on Staten Island. GFK was raised in the Stapleton Housing Projects in Staten Island, New York. He debuted with the rest of the Wu-Tang Clan on their critically acclaimed debut, 1993's Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). A roommate of Wu-Tang founder The RZA, Ghostface helped bring together the other seven members, and would function as executive producer on all the Wu-Tang Clan releases.
In 1995, Ghostface would guest star extensively on fellow Clan member Raekwon's debut album, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx.... He also contributed songs to the Sunset Park and Don't Be A Menace To South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood soundtracks, which would be included on his first solo LP, Ironman, in 1996. The album, which debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200, had a more pronounced soul influence (particularly 1970s soul) than previous Wu-Tang releases, and Ghostface's future albums would continue this stylistic trait.
Ghostface became well-known for both his up-tempo, seemingly indecipherable stream-of-consciousness rap and, later in his career, for his emotionally charged raps and his smooth constant flow. In 1996 he would discover that he was diabetic, a condition that would severely weaken his health. According to "Trials of Life", a 2007 song with fellow New York rapper Prodigy (himself a sickle-cell anemic), Ghostface assumed he had been stricken by a sexually transmitted disease until he received the diabetes diagnosis. This assumption was brought on by a rapid weightloss he experienced and that he had "went raw on plenty".[1]
He would return in 2000 with his follow-up to Ironman, Supreme Clientele. "Cherchez LaGhost", a single off the album, became a minor club hit, and the sentimental "Child's Play" brought numerous comparisons with Slick Rick.
Ghostface wasted little time in recording his next album, the heavily R&B-influenced Bulletproof Wallets, released a year after Supreme Clientele. He had another minor club hit with "Flowers", which features guest vocals from fellow Wu-Tang members Method Man and Raekwon, although the album would be met with disappointing sales and reviewscitation needed.
Signing with Def Jam Records, Ghostface (officially but temporarily dropping the "Killah") released The Pretty Toney Album in April 2004. The album, while containing two RZA productions, featured none of the Clan; instead, it featured collaborations with Missy Elliott, D-Block and Jacki-O. The singles "Tush" and "Run", the collaborations with Missy and Jadakiss respectively, achieved moderate success in the clubs and charts, and the album was featured on numerous "best of the year" lists, including number nine on Pitchfork Media's.[2] Ghostface also appeared on the track "On My Knees" by UK R&B group The 411, which became a hit in the UK and Australia, and released an album titled 718 (after the Staten Island area code) with a group of his Protégés, the Theodore Unit. In November 2005, Ghostface and Theodore Unit's breakout star Trife Da God released a joint project, Put It On The Line.
In 2006, Ghostface teamed up with underground favorite MF DOOM for a still unreleased album entitled Swift & Changeable. MF DOOM also produced several songs for Ghostface's 2006 album Fishscale, which was once again attributed to "Ghostface Killah". The album debuted strongly, in the #4 position on the US Billboard 200 and at #2 on the R&B charts,[3] the rapper's most auspicious chart showing since the heyday of the Wu-Tang Clan and the release of his solo debut. The album also nearly unanimously received positive reviews. Ghostface embarked on a limited-date tour of US venues in support of the album, performing several of his concerts together with most members of the Wu-Tang Clan.
He has worked with 4Cast to produce his own action figure.[4] In December 2007 Ghostface appeared on Spinner.com's comedy show The DL [1] to do a holiday commercial for his action figure.[2]
On December 4, 2007 Ghostface released his seventh solo studio album, The Big Doe Rehab.
In a recent interview, Ghostface Killah said that his next project is going to be an R&B album. It is going to be in the vein of the tracks he has done before with such artists as Ne-Yo and Jodeci. [5] [6]
Aliases
Ghostface Killlah, like most members of the Wu-Tang clan, rapped under several personae, each with their own name, mythology and influences. Some recurring aliases:[5]
- Ghostface Killah (occasionally spelled Ghostface Killer, Ghost Face Killah, or abbreviated GFK)
- The stage name Ghostface Killah comes from the film Ninja Checkmate (_Shuang ma lian huan_, also known as The Mystery of Chess Boxing), part of the Wu-Tang Clan's extensive mining of Kung fu movie mythology.
- His shortened stage name during the The Pretty Toney Album era. [7] [8]
- Ghost Deini [9]
- Ironman, Tony Starks
- Ghostface has frequently assumed the persona of both Ironman and Tony Starks, a reference to the Marvel Comics character Iron Man and his true identity, millionaire industrialist Tony Stark (note the variant spellings). He released a 1996 album titled Ironman and has drawn deeply on the Iron Man mythology.[10]
- Starky Love [11]
- Pretty Toney, P Tone[12]
Rivalries
The Notorious B.I.G.
Ghostface and Raekwon "subliminally" dissed The Notorious B.I.G. on 1995's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... skit, "Shark Niggaz (Biters)", wherein the pair make angry references to Bad Boy Records' use of cover art motif from Nas' debut (a portrait of the artist as a child, although Big's cover is of his then-infant daughter) for B.I.G.'s Ready to Die album. Nas refers to this episode in his song "Last Real Nigga Alive" (from 2002's God's Son), where he confirms the tensions between Raekwon, Ghost and Biggie. Despite this conflict, Biggie was a fan of the Wu-Tang Clan, collaborating with Method Man and The RZA on his first and second albums respectively and performing live with Ol' Dirty Bastard on occasion. As Method Man would say in a 2004 XXL interview, Ghostface and Raekwon "don't like anybody". However, Ghost has gone on record praising Biggie in two later albums. On "Ghost Deini" from Supreme Clientele he croons "Tupac, Biggie / ohh how we miss you so / We want y'all both to know / We really love you so". Also, a bonus track featuring the late B.I.G. (as well as Raekwon) was included on Ghostface's 2006 album Fishscale.
Discography
-
Solo albums
Filmography
Movie appearances
TV series appearances
Video game appearances
References
- ^ Ghostface & Prodigy "Trials Of Life", accessed on March 21, 2007.
- ^ "MMTV 2004: The 50 Best Albums", Pitchfork Media, accessed on April 30, 2006.
- ^ Ghostface Killah Billboard chart history
- ^ GFK Doll
- ^ http://nahright.com/news/2008/08/05/angela-yee-speaks-to-ghostface-raekwon/#more-6652
- ^ http://www.zshare.net/audio/16564278512b2daf/
- ^ All Music Guide review of The Pretty Toney Album: "The Pretty Toney Album [is] the rapper's first under the just-Ghostface moniker"
- ^ Onion AV Club interview: "The Pretty Toney Album was credited to Ghostface, and Fishscale is credited to Ghostface Killah. What's the difference?"
- ^ Lyrics from "Ghost Deini": "How the f--- was y'all n--- thinkin? You think I fell off the ledge? / The legendary Ghost Deini might be dead?"
- ^ Introduction of Tony Starks in the song "Wu-Gambinos": the fifth verse is performed by Ghostface Killer, a.k.a. Tony Starks
- ^ Lyrics from "Ice Cream": "They call me Starky Love"
- ^ Ghostface Killah's TV.com page: "Alias Names: Ghostface, GFK, Pretty Toney, Tony Starks"
External links
|
