Ghostface Killah is a legend in hip-hop culture and rose to fame alongside his counterparts, like RZA, Method Man and Raekwon, from the projects of Staten Island as part of the Wu-Tang Clan.
Concerning the Wu-Tang Clan, Ghostface Killah is often considered one of the most lyrical, with his debut project, Ironman, debuting at number two on the Billboard 200 in 1996.
Concerning his lyrics, Ghostface Killah was far from just a preacher of violence; he was a detailed storyteller who told vivid tales of his life growing up in desolate Staten Island. Telling stories has always been an integral part of hip-hop, and many of the best lyricists, including Biggie Smalls and Ice Cube, have been praised for their skilful ability to do so.
However, during a recent interview with Complex for their ‘Brackets’ YouTube series, Ghostface Killah (real name Dennis Coles) spoke to Brian ‘B.Dot’ Miller, and during their conversation, he broke down his pick for the best storytelling rap song of all time.
In the tournament-style battle of iconic storytelling singles, Coles was asked to choose the greatest ever. The songs in the contest included Eminem’s ‘Stan,’ 2Pac’s ‘Brenda’s Got a Baby,’ Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Sherane’ and many more lyrically cinematic masterpieces.
Picking off and eliminating the tracks one by one, Coles had a choice between Wu-Tang Clan’s 1997 song ‘Impossible’ and Nas’ 2001 song ‘Rewind’. However, Ghostface insisted Nas’ track, where the Queens emcee tells the story of a robbery in reverse, had to take the top spot, stating, “I gotta go ‘Rewind!’ The skill on this record right here and the thought he put it into that is crazy!” The song featured on Nas’ 2001 project Stillmatic which also boasted his classic diss track ‘Eteher.’
You can watch Ghostface Killah picking the best storytelling rap song of all time in the video below.
