The album Ghostface Killah called a “dark” moment in his life: “My mind wasn’t all the way there”
Ghostface Killah is a name everybody knows. As the most prominent lyricist in the Wu-Tang Clan, he was at the forefront of hip-hop during the early 1990s, when the collective exploded onto the New York underground.
Alongside legends such as Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon and GZA, Ghostface greatly impacted rap music. The emcee significantly contributed to the collective’s debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), and is widely considered a New York legend. As a solo artist and Clan member, Ghostface has released an unfathomable amount of music.
As part of the Clan, the lyricist broke onto the scene in 1993 and was overwhelmed with the success he and his friends were getting for songs such as ‘C.R.E.A.M.’ and ‘Protect Ya Neck. However, part of him wanted to prove his capabilities as a solo artist.
As such, after having already achieved mainstream success and a degree of renown, in 1996, Coles began recording his debut album with RZA, which he appointed as executive producer—operating out of Mystic Studios and 36 Chambers Studios in Staten Island. Released on October 29th, 1996, the 17-track project entitled Ironman performed exceptionally well and peaked at number two on the Billboard 200.
Although the project had good standing in the charts, to this day, the Staten Sland native considers his sophomore album, Supreme Clientele, to be one of his best projects and insists that his debut was too dark and negative.
During an interview with Complex magazine, the rhymer began by trying to pick his favourite songs from Ironman, stating, “I’m just throwing one in the air. ‘Daytona’ was mean, but I might go with the ‘All That I Got Is You’ joint just because of the story based on it. And I loved the Michael Jackson sample that was there. That’s why I rhymed on it. And we felt Mary belonged on that. And it worked. So I would say that. But you had ‘Wildflower.’ You had ‘260.’ You had the shit that Rae was on for dolo. That shit was beastie.”
Despite his apparent love for the album, Ghostface Killah admitted that behind the recording of Ironman was a lot of pain, and he detailed how he was in a genuinely dark place when that album was released.
Recalling the tribulations of 1996 and how they affected him creatively, Ghostface recounted, “I was going into a slump during Ironman. I found out I was a diabetic around that time, and I was just stressed out. My mind wasn’t all the way there. Certain joints I couldn’t really catch. Like the one I had Masta Killa and Deck and RZA and them on ‘Assassination Day.’ I couldn’t catch it. I let it live, but like, ‘Fuck it, I’ll back out of that one,’ and kept it moving.”
He continued to describe the theme of his music compared to other New York acts at the time, sadly reflecting, “To me, Ironman is dark. ‘After The Smoke Is Clear,’ and the last couple songs at the end. Even the Mary joint. It’s down. Even ‘Assassination Day.’ They’re dark. And I was mad as a motherfucker, but I couldn’t do nothing about it after it was wrapped up. They were like, ‘Yo, put it out there.’ Then Nas came with I Am…, after that, and he had nice, colourful joints. But it was what it was.”
Although Ghostface Killah wasn’t happy at the time of its release, Ironman set him up for Supreme Clientele, which was critically acclaimed and is still loved by New Yorkers to this day for its raw energy.