What's going on ladies and germs?! We have another anniversary salute to present and give props too. This album has been hailed as one of the single greatest Wu solo albums ever. Following up his debut, Ironman, wasn't easy by any means. His debut, which relied heavily on Wu-mates Raekwon and Cappadonna, was a stellar debut that was worthy of being in very heavy rotation and marked the official arrival of Ghostface as his own identity within the group. Then, this album came. Complex, yet at times brilliant, and one hundred percent Wu-Tang.Easily rivaling Raekwon's treasured Only Built 4 Cuban Linx as best Wu solo effort, this album made him a star while Ironman had put him on the map. This salute goes to Ghostface Killah and his sophomore album, Supreme Clientele.
Hoping to capitalize off the success, commercially and critically of Ironman, GFK wanted to have an album that was distinctively him. At this time, The Wu was going in a downward slump of sorts, and this album was needed to remind cats who still ran the game. From the onset of the first single, "Mighty Single", we knew this would be a ride. Was it ever. While heads were open off of "Mighty Healthy", it was the instantly hypnotic and infectious follow-up, "Cherchez La Ghost" that put him another step up. Sampling the old disco cut, "Cherchez La Femme", this was an instant club smash that put the ladies AND the fellas on the floor. Complete with vocalist Madam Majestic, this was became a notable Ghost classic. The remainder of the album was vintage Wu, but definitely next level Ghost. Blazers like "Nutmeg", "Buck 50", and the Juju of The Beatnuts-produced "One" encapsulate the star appeal Ghost was shooting for while still staying apologetically true to his origin. However, there was one cut that remains among the brutal, yet unorthodox, cuts to exist within his discography, and that's the scratched record-looped, "Strokes Of Death", which is as menacing as you could imagine. Along with Solomon Childs and RZA (who snapped on here), this cut is half rugged, half ingenious, especially in terms of the RZA-laced production.
What Ghost tends to always excel in is his storytelling abilities. With cuts like "Child's Play", "Saturday Nite", and "Malcolm", he executes his pen game along with his imagination to excellent craftsmanship, and reaffirms how gifted he is to be mentioned with fellow lehendary stroytellers such as Slick Rick and even his own Wu brethren Raekwon. While Ironman was clearly a more gutter record, Supreme Clientele was the more star making record, and he achieved it here. Lyrically on point even more than his debut, plus with less Rae and Cappa influence and co-hosting, Ghost was able to shine on his own for the majority of this album and was able to create for himself a standout album that was able to uphold the tradition of the Wu, yet be able to avoid the sophomore slump that Wu brothers such as Meth, Rae, and GZA had unfortunately endured.
Ghost has been named, by most accounts, the most prolific and consistent member of the Wu. Later efforts such as his follow-up, Bulletproof Wallets, The Pretty Tony Story, Fishscales, and his collaboration with producer/composer Adrien Younge, Twelve Reasons To Die are all examples of the greatness that is Dennis Coles. With his mask on or off, GFK officially took off with Supreme Clientele. One of its most unlikely heroes to truly uphold the Wu flag, Ghost presented a monster album that remains arguably the biggest calling card of his career, and as incredible as his other projects have been, they've never been able to top this knockout of an album. For that, we salute Ghost and Supreme Clientele. Glasses up! Until next time.
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