Apollo Kids

Wu Tang Clan’s most standout member

Ghostface Killah is not the first and not the last performer who made a fortune and built up a brilliant career after working as a part of a popular band. If a man is charismatic enough, if he always has something to say and has an independent view on many things, he will definitely become a star, no matter whether as a member of a team or as a solo artist. This guy seems to have achieved the most distinguished results out of the whole bunch of Wu Tang Clan characters. Sure, he is now far from the hardcore music which was the cult to be worshipped by Wu Tang Clan. Nevertheless, for all these years of hard labor Ghostface Killah has molded a style many hip-hop supporters love and recognize. The raw and abrupt sound of Wu Tang Clan, transferred into the music of Ghostface Killah, has gone particular transformations and turned into a smoother and softer stuff, while the verses took a mire lyrical turn. As a true professional, he accomplished this reformation seamlessly; and even if he had not wanted to do it, we would not have noticed his reluctance. The new material from Ghostface Killah sounds as convincing as what he used to do long ago. You can hear it on his freshly released effort, Apollo Kids, too.

Retro-music backs rap

Ghostface Killah still loves to put something with retro flavor into his music. Therefore, on Apollo Kids we can here samples imitating old school soul music here and there. This is how the CD is launched. Purified Thoughts, and Superstar, made in cooperation with the respected boys Killa Priest, GZA, and Busta Rhymes, offer, on the one hand, heavy basses and rough voices of the artists, and, on the other hand, feature sampled female voices in the background. 2getha Baby is also retro-styled, but this time, borrowing the influence from the pop of the nineties. Another traditional feature preserved is writing stories for lyrics, which makes you hold the words in front of you while listening to such songs. Take, for example, Drama which will be remembered not as a piece of good melody, but as a song with good lyrics. Closing an album beautifully is a form of arts, and Ghostface Killah did not let the listeners down as he offered a couple of numbers with his Wu Tang Clan fellow, Raekwon. First comes another song with a soul-influenced touch, Ghetto, and then you have a more upbeat thing focusing you on drums and basses, Troublemakers.

Ghostface Killah keeps up

The casting of the persons who assisted Ghostface Killah making Apollo Kids will impress and encourage particularly those fans of hip-hop who prefer its classic form. The artist did not walk the path of his numerous colleagues who actively involve R&B performers to prepare their records. Apollo Kids is still rap. Yet the main merit by Ghostface Killah is not having his fellows sing alongside him on this record. After all, any bit time hip-hop album today forces a solo artist to invite a great number of assistants. The main merit by this guy is leaving all his helpers behind despite their names and contribution to this album. Ghostface Killah is as skilful and capable as ever. He still delivers catchy metaphors and coins rhymes at a speed of a machine-gun and with a conveyor-like productivity. Apollo Kids contains a whole lot of references to other kinds of music and different times than today, but this material complies with all Ghostface Killah standards, because this is his voice an his manner that draws your attention most of all in all songs. Everything else here is setting, while Ghostface Killah is an action, an action the whole Apollo Kids performance was arranged for.