Ghostface's debut Ironman follows his guest star role on Chef Rakewon's indelible Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (a/k/a the 'Purple Tape'). RZA helms production and blesses Ghost with a mix of soulful backdrops inspired by 1970's Blaxploitation films.
While Ironman presents Ghostface, reunited with Raekwon and joined by Cappadonna, revisiting vivid street narratives, mafioso themes, and 5% ideology, 'All That I Got Is You', the first single off the LP, finds Ghostface reminiscing and praising his Old Earth over a sample of 'Maybe Tomorrow' by Jackson 5.
Utilizing his usual descriptive storytelling, Ghost speaks on his mother's struggles to raise a family in the projects:
'Sadly, daddy left me at the age of six
Didn't know nothing, but mommy neatly packed his shit
She cried and grandma held the family down
I guess mommy wasn't strong enough, she just went down
Check it, fifteen of us in a three-bedroom apartment
Roaches everywhere, cousins and aunts was there'.
This 1997 European vinyl pressing features the video version of 'All That I Got Is You' with Wu songstress Tekitha replacing Mary J. Blige, as well as a DJ Mighty Mi remix.
The remix features Ghost's verses re-recorded over A Tribe Called Quest's 'Bonita Applebum', which in turn samples Little Feat's 'Fool Yourself' and 'Memory Band' by Rotary Connection. While unremarkable from a production standpoint, 'All That I Got Is You (Remix)' quietly pays homage to Lauryn Hill of The Fugees, whose worldwide cover of Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly' also samples 'Bonita Applebum'.
In 1995, on '4th Chamber', off GZA's seminal Liquid Swords LP, Ghostface raps:
'Watch out for Haiti bitches, I heard they throw hex'.
Ms. Hill, being of Haitian descent, took offense and responded in-kind on The Fugees's 1996 single, 'Ready Or Not":
"Bless you if you represent The Fu
But I'll hex you with some witch's brew if you're doo-doo
Voodoo, I can do what you do, easy
Believe me, frontin' niggas give me heebie-jeebies
So while you imitating Al Capone
I'll be Nina Simone and defecating on your microphone.'
Yikes.
Lauryn also references Ghostface on the Purple Tape saying he doesn't want any rappers to sound like his brethren from the Wu.
Despite this exchange of words, Lauryn returned respect to Ghost and the Wu on her own solo album, 'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'. The title alludes to 'The Education of Sonny Carson', a biographical Blaxploitation film about renown Brooklyn activist and community organizer Robert 'Sonny' Carson, which also provides the conceptual framework for Ghostface's Ironman LP.
Additionally, 'Ex-Factor', the second single from '...Miseducation...', cues the Wu in sampling Gladys Knight and the Pips's 'I Feel A Song (In My Heart Again)', which RZA flipped for the original and remix of 'Can It All Be So Simple' - the first Wu joint to feature Rae and Ghost as the dynamic duo of New York mafioso rap.
Lastly, Lauryn's own duet with Mary J. Blige, 'I Used to Love Him', utilizes the same sample of Earl Klugh's 'A Time for Love' that RZA freaked for Raekwon's 'Ice Cream'.
As one of the most heartfelt tributes ever recorded, 'All That I Got Is You' represents the emotional core of music born from poverty and disenfranchisement. Ghostface's expressive songwriting and RZA's lush production combine to form a beautiful piece of music.
Shout out all single mothers holding it down for the family.
Peace to Poppa Wu, whose lessons from the Ironman album fade out on the single edits of 'All That I Got Is You'.
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One of the most iconic and overlooked records in hip-hop history, this rare collaboration between friends-turned-enemies 2Pac and Notorious B.I.G. expresses attitudes on street life and racism in law enforcement. The vinyl itself features label art of a triumphant Black fist clutching a live microphone.
The song exists in the context of the L.A. Riots, a media campaign against hip-hop, and the escalating 'War on Drugs', i.e. state violence against Black and Brown communities.
Originally recorded in 1993 and intended for an unreleased 2Pac solo album, this 'radio mix' of 'Runnin'' made its way onto the Nation of Islam's 'One Million Strong' compilation to commemorate the Million Man March on Washington, D.C. in 1995.
Easy Mo Bee, legendary multi-genre producer and frequent collaborator of Big and 'Pac, blesses the track with steely guitar and mournful keys lifted from Booty Collins's 'Munchies for Your Love' (1977). The instrumental recalls Easy Mo Bee's production for Thug Life, though Big's smooth flow finds the perfect place over a silky melody and boom-bap drums.
Biggie drops some of his most memorable opening lines:
"Check it, I grew up a fuckin' screw up
Got introduced to the game
Got a ounce and fuckin' blew up".
Buju Banton's ragga chorus complements the flows of young MC's speaking truth to power as police from Kingston to Brooklyn reign terror against Black and Brown people.
2Pac closes the last verse of the joint off lovely:
"I'm rollin' with the Thoro Headz
We gettin' ghost on them hoes and yo
I got no love for the 5-0
I'm runnin' from the police".
The tragedy surrounding this most classic record crystallizes it as a moment in cultural history. Around the time of 'Pac and Biggie's shooting deaths, Outlawz representative Yaki Kadafi and Live Squad member Stretch, also appearing on 'Runnin'', lost their lives to gun violence.
Shout-out the album version of 'Where You At' and 'He Made My Heart Sang' on the second string and b-side respectively.
If you haven't heard this version of 'Runnin'', I suggest you do the knowledge and check one of the illest cuts of all time!
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