Ghostface: I didn’t use the Madlib one. I had too many songs on there, I had to fuck around and take it off. (As far as getting other producers) It was just a sound that I wanted a little bit, I wanted to change the sound around and go back to the old sound a little bit, that’s all. It wasn’t nothin’ too big, it was just exactly what they had at that time.

HipHopDX: Fishscale is a lot grittier and more street than The Pretty Toney Album. What’s with the change?

Ghostface: I don’t know, man. Just the beats. When I was on Pretty Toney, I was looking for certain beats that I couldn’t really find, so I had to deal with what I could deal with. The beats and the era, you know what I mean? That’s all that it really was. This one, you may have a few cocaine raps on the shit, but that’s just what it is.

HipHopDX: This album is really heavy on concept songs as well, and that isn’t as strong on your last albums. What made you take this approach?

Ghostface: Really, the beats are what makes me do the shit. I’m good at stories, I’m starting to really know that that’s really my element, so I know on the next album…I might have a mixture of shit, because every time I listen to an album, I get thoughts of where I want to go for the next one. Now I know that stories are really my technique, I know what to do now. As opposed to just getting a freestyle, (but) I’ma have freestyle shit up there too, like regular abstract shit that people up there love me for, on some real “Mighty Healthy” shit. I know how to mix it up. I learn from a lot of shit; sometimes when you’re in the mix of just doing shit, you’re just in the mix and you don’t understand it until you complete the shit. I’m good now, I’ve got the shit down to a science, and I’m just ready to move on.

HipHopDX: You’re one of the few artists who’s able to be with a major label like Def Jam, but still keep your street credibility intact. How difficult is it to balance the two?

Ghostface: I don’t know, man. I just do what I do, G. I know not to play myself, man. I just do what I do, make sure I do it right, let niggas know, “You’re still fuckin’ with a real cat, G.” I’m just one of them niggas. You’ve got to be that dude, unless you’re going to fuck around and play yourself. Niggas will have you in a suit and tie, niggas will have you doing all types of shit, G. I just know, I could be that “Back Like That” cat, I could be that street nigga, ‘cuz that’s just me. A lot of mothafuckas can’t do that.

HipHopDX: What happened with the album cover?

Ghostface: I never changed the album cover, everybody keeps saying that. That’s just the poster with the fish, that was only for the sampler, that wasn’t the album cover.