This album was released on November 13th in the year of our lord 2001. I don’t really know much about this album because it’s one of the many Ghostface Killah projects that nobody ever seems to talk about. I think it’s supposed to be pretty good though, so I’m looking forward to it. I mean, I’m not really expecting greatness, but I’ll be shocked if I don’t like it to some extent. It looks like its got some pretty good features and production credits, so I’m expecting it to be good. Hopefully I’m not let down.

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The intro is called Stairway to Heaven, and I actually think it’s pretty good. The instrumental is really nice. I’m not sure who produced this one, but they did a good job. Nobody raps on this song. Raekwon is just asking Ghostface why he’s upset, and GFK expresses his frustration with biters. I mostly like this track for the production, but I also like how angry and aggressive Ghostface sounds at the very end. This is a good intro to me. The first actual song is called Maxine, and it’s unfortunately not very good to me at all. The production from RZA is incredibly lackluster. The rapping from Ghostface is cool I guess. I mean, it’s definitely not bad lyrically, and his flow is nice. I just don’t like his vocal delivery that much here. I’d still say it’s a good verse overall though. The storytelling is really well done.

In Pam's house there was money missing
She was too dumb, had her nose numb, sniffin' blow in the kitchen
Her kids never ate, BCW's involved with her
Kids that she never seen, shipped two to Florida
Maxine, dark skinneded bald headed bitch, mean
Pam's right hand, together they're the coldest fiends

The verse from Raekwon is better to me honestly. I think he sounds better than Ghostface did on this track. My biggest issue with this song is really just the production though honestly. The more I listen to this beat, the more I hate it. The drums are nice, but other than that it fucking sucks. The song’s mediocre to me overall. Track 3 is called Flowers, and it features Raekwon, Method Man & Superb, as well as another instrumental from RZA. The beat here still isn’t great, but it’s definitely a lot better than that of the preceding track in my opinion. Once again, the drums sound very good. The opening verse from Rae is pretty solid. Method Man killed this shit though. He easily had the best performance on this song in my opinion. His flow was fire, especially during that last quatrain. I’m not really into the short verse from Superb, and the “I better pay Big Mama for using his lyrics” bridge was pretty wack to me. The final verse from Ghostface Killah is pretty good, but the sung outro from Superb is awful. Overall, this song is just okay to me, and that’s me being lenient. The beat is wack, and the feature from Superb kinda sucks. However, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, and especially Method Man all came through with dope performances. The following song is called Never Be the Same Again, and it’s produced by LIL Z & PLX.

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I actually like the melodic production on this song honestly. I think it sounds pretty good. It’s just not the kinda beat I would’ve given to Ghostface Killah personally. I guess it fits the softer, more emotional lyrical content of the song well though. I unfortunately don’t care for the sung hook from Carl Thomas on this song at all. His vocals aren’t particularly bad. I just don’t care for the actual melody that he’s singing. Lyrically, this is kind of a strange song to me. The whole track is about how he’s a cuckold, and it gets very detailed.

Ask you one question, was it good?
He have you on the wall like me, was it hood?
You probably showed him your sexy faces, how you ride on top
Grabbing the sheets, in a deep zone if he hit the spot

The second verse starts with a very questionable couplet…

It was the beauty that caught me and held my soul hostage
'Member those days had you smellin' my boxers

At least his flow sounds pretty good. Honestly, I just thought this song was mediocre on my first listen of the album, but the more I hear it, the less I like it. I think this shit is wack. Track 5 is called Teddy (Skit). I don’t like it. I don’t think it’s wack overall because I like the instrumental, but the “let’s smoke some weed, and can I fuck you too” refrain is really bad. As a whole, this shit is mediocre to me. It’s followed by Theodore, which features Trife da God & Twiz. I’m gonna just come out and say it; this is the only song on the album that I actually like. The beat from Mathematics is actually pretty goddamn cool. It’s easily one of the best instrumentals on the whole project. The opening verse from Ghostface is fire too. His flow was fantastic, and he rhymed really well.

Stark edition, rock Christians
The crystalized rock got them big jewelry dealers on a mission
With a slick taste of lace I done smacked New York City
The four-fifty went poppin' when he tried to dip me
Balled out in bingo halls, reported skied on jury duty
Judge Judy, big groupie bitch blew me, Bajan rush kufis
Blast the last uzi, ship me to Africa, right? I shit rubies
Due to the night upon my behalf
I threw the shotty in the glass so I could have a double blast
Scuffle past teams and couples quick with the knuckle, fast
Rain, hail, snow, sleet, still bust that ass

The sung hook on this track is kind of ass, but it’s not wack enough to completely ruin the track for me. The second verse from Trife is pretty nice. Same goes for the final verse from Twiz. Ghostface easily had the best verse on this track, but all of them were good. The hook is really the only aspect of this song that I dislike. Overall, I think this track is pretty good. Track 7 is called Ghost Showers, and it features a really bad sung hook from Madame Majestic. I don’t like her vocals at all. This track actually grew on me a lot though. I thought it was terrible on my first listen of the album, but now I don’t really hate it anymore. I think the production is actually pretty good, and Ghostface’s flow and rhymes on the verses is mad nice.

Behind the wall action, barely spaghetti jewels
Machetes for y'all, little Debbie say "I bet he do"
Big bellies to big tellies, Jim Kelly's, we flip cellies
It's Lils, dusted out heavy in the big Chevy

It’s a frustrating track because it really could’ve been great, but the hook ruins it for me. I don’t care for Madame Majestic’s vocals at all. This isn’t a bad song to me overall though. I just think it’s mediocre. The following track is called Strawberry, and it was one of the more exciting songs in the tracklist for me because it features Killa Sin, who killed the first verse. I swear I’ve never heard a verse from that dude that isn’t really dope. The beat from Mathematics is pretty decent too thankfully. Unfortunately I don’t care for anything else about this track. The interlude in which GZA is telling RZA that Ghostface is in the process of getting his dick sucked is not something that I find particularly enjoyable, and I was very turned off by the lyricism in the final verse. I’m not tryna hear about “high school pussy.” No thank you. Ghostface goes into vivid detail about cumming, and it’s quite disturbing. I think the verse is terrible. Overall, the song is very wack to me. Track 9 is a pretty interesting track called The Forest, and it’s produced by The Alchemist. This is kind of a hot take, but I happen to believe that the overwhelming majority of The Alchemist’s beats prior to 2010 were wack. For every good instrumental he made in the 2000s, there are about 25 mid ones. This song is a perfect example of that. This beat is 100% pure, uncut mid. It’s definitely not the wackest beat on the album, but that’s not saying much. I don’t care for it at all. The intro of this song in which Ghostface interpolates What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong is pretty funny. I think the concept of this track is pretty interesting too. The way Ghostface is rapping about all these cartoon characters doing fucked up shit is funny.

Bugs still sniffin', Daffy Duck snitchin'
And heard that crazy Bird took the stand on The Simpsons
Bet you "my golly, oh glory" with a story to tell
Droopy got knocked, now he Muslim in jail
His name is Abdrul, Colorful, Snow White tattoo
She used to send him mad flicks in Cash Rule
And the cat too, old girl who's clackin' her shoes
And that wicked witch broke her broom, clappin' at Scoob
It happens every night, I seen it, shoot outs in Jellystone Park
Kermit had the whip, he dip from the narcs

I like the verses on this song, but that’s pretty much it. I’m not into the beat or hook at all. I wouldn’t say this is a bad song, but it’s just very mediocre to me. I’m not feelin’ it. Same goes for the following track, The Juks, which features another beat from the Alchemist, as well as vocal contributions from Trife da God and Superb. This beat from The Alchemist is way better than that of the preceding track. I actually think it’s pretty decent. I unfortunately don’t really care for the opening verse from Ghostface. It’s not a bad verse. I just don’t care for the way he delivered it. His voice was annoying to me here. I also think the hook is pretty bad, and I don’t care for the second verse from Superb at all. The closing verse from Trife is definitely my favorite part of the song.

I rocks, believe it or not
Come broke to a dice game, step off and leave with a knot
Head cracks is all you see when I'm hot, what's in the pot?
A 100 G's in the bank to the man who got it stopped
My hand is like a gun, feel the heat when it's cocked
4-5-6 your heart drop, way deep in your socks
You wanna walk, book your ass down the street with a bop
The drinks is on you tonight for my peeps in the spot

Overall, this is another really mediocre track to me. However, I will say that I enjoyed it more than the preceding track. Track 11 is called Walking Through the Darkness, and it features Tekitha. The production from RZA is okay I guess. I appreciate how energetic and uptempo it is. The opening verse is fine. I just don’t like the hook from Tekitha. I don’t really think her vocals are that impressive in general, and this song certainly didn’t change my opinion. I really don’t like the way the second verse ends. The only aspect of the song that really stands out in a bad way is the hook, but nothing else about the track makes up for it. I think this is another mediocre song. It’s followed by an interlude called Jealousy, which feels really unnecessary. Ghostface just uses this track to explain the concept of jealousy to the listeners. The beat and vocals sound really bad. I didn’t mind this track that much on my first listen of the album, but now I just find it really annoying honestly. I think this track kinda sucks. Track 13 is called The Hilton. It’s produced by 6 July and has a feature from Raekwon. This is one of the better songs on the album to me. I think the production is okay, and the storytelling from Ghostface is great. There are a lot of cool details, like how Ghostface lied to the hotel staff by telling them that the sound of gunshots was just balloons popping and that they were having a party. The hook isn’t really anything special, but the second verse from Raekwon is nice. This song isn’t bad at all. I think if the production was better I probably would’ve enjoyed the song more. It doesn’t really have any replay value for me, but I enjoyed it to some extent. I think it’s an okay track. Track 14 is an interlude called Ice, produced by Arsonist of Da Heatmakerz. I really don’t care for the production here. It sounds super dated. The entire track is just one 16 bar verse, and it’s fine. This just isn’t really… I mean, I just don’t have any reason to listen to this in the future. Maybe if the beat was actually good I would appreciate this song more, but as it is I think it’s really mediocre. The penultimate track is called Love Session, and it’s pretty bad to me. The rapping from Ghostface isn’t bad, although I’d be lying if I said I really enjoyed it. My main issue with this song is the hook. I don’t know who the hell Ruff Endz are, but they sound absolutely terrible. That’s definitely my least favorite hook on the whole album. I also just don’t really care for the dated, R&B-adjacent production from the Underdawgz. This line from the second verse stood out to me…

Burnin' the chronic, we laughin while I'm shittin on the toilet

That line is funny to me because it reminded me of this meme.

Anyway, I think this song is really bad overall. There’s not a single aspect of it that I enjoyed. It’s wack. The closing song is entitled Street Chemistry, and it features Prodigal Sunn & Trife over another Alchemist beat. Once again, the production is very mediocre. The verses on this track are pretty solid, but it just feels like this song doesn’t have much to offer. The repetitive beat is really stale. I don’t think this song is bad overall, but it’s just not very entertaining to me. I think it’s midpack.

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^{This shit is not good. However, I will say that I enjoy it just ever so slightly more than I did on my initial listen. This album is incredibly inconsistent though. There’s an alarming dearth of quality instrumentals. However, I read that this album apparently got fucked by sample clearance issues, so that’s probably why. The rapping is pretty good for the most part, but everything else is unfortunately very lackluster. I don’t care for any of the sung features on this album, and Ghostface Killah’s vocal delivery came off a lot more annoying on these songs than it had in the past. Most of the songs on this project are just very mediocre. There were only a handful of songs that I thought were actually bad. There’s just one song that I liked though. This is honestly way worse than I was expecting it to be. I obviously wasn’t expecting it to be on the level of his first two albums, but I did think it would be good. This is actually one of the weakest albums I’ve covered so far in this marathon though. I’m not feelin’ this shit. It’s mid.}

Favorite Song: Theodore
Least favorite Song: Love Session

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