Ghostface: Words From Pretty Tony
Ghostface Killah recorded Fishscale while battling a broken leg, but up-and-coming MCs, dont get any ideascrafting classic hip-hop albums is routine activity for Dennis Coles. From his contributions as a member of the Wu-Tang Clan and sidekick tasks with Raekwon for Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, to solo opuses like Ironman and Supreme Clientele, Ghost has already made history. He has also displayed mentoring and team leader skills by helming his Theodore Unit collective to releasing 718, one of the best indie releases of 2004, and giving the groups standout Trife Da God shine with album cameos and last years Put It On The Line mixtape. This year, he continued his legacy, but with a few new ingredients in his gumbo: a major label push from Def Jam, beats from underground hip-hops best, and a rejuvenated concentration on conceptual gems. In this interview with HipHopDX, Ghostface talks about employing producers like Pete Rock and MF DOOM, balancing the streets with the boardrooms, and how the sight of a random breezy fucked up his fibula.
HipHopDX: Youve really stayed busy since The Pretty Toney Album, working on both the DOOM project and the Put It On The Line mixtape with your protg Trife Da God. How difficult was it to find time between these other projects to work on your own album?
Ghostface: It was crazy as shit, nahmean. I fucked my leg up, I broke my ankle doing this shit, so I wrote the shit on a broke ankle inside the crib, inside the bed, really. That was it. I finished a lot earlier than I what I usually do, because I dont be puffin no more weed, but it was just a crazy task.
HipHopDX: Howd you break your leg?
Ghostface: Fuckin with my niggas I aint seen in like eight years and shit. You know how shit be. Mothafuckas badden up on you and shit, same night and shit, fucking around outside in the snow. It was my ankle, my fibula. Were just on ice, step out the car, Im standing on ice. My nigga called me, I turned around and checked this bitch ass out, and just fucked around and slipped a little bit. I aint go all the way down, I held on to him and shit, but my leg just snapped back. And thats what it was, I just broke the shit. I sat around for like three and a half or four months, just trying to get my shit back together. Just fucked up with pain and shit, thats all.
HipHopDX: You have a whole lot of production from some of the games premier underground producers, like DOOM, Madlib, J. Dilla, and Pete Rock. What made you take that route this time around, even though youve established a trademark before from your own producers?
Ghostface: I didnt 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, thats all. It wasnt 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. Whats with the change?
Ghostface: I dont know, man. Just the beats. When I was on Pretty Toney, I was looking for certain beats that I couldnt really find, so I had to deal with what I could deal with. The beats and the era, you know what I mean? Thats all that it really was. This one, you may have a few cocaine raps on the shit, but thats just what it is.
HipHopDX: This album is really heavy on concept songs as well, and that isnt as strong on your last albums. What made you take this approach?
Ghostface: Really, the beats are what makes me do the shit. Im good at stories, Im starting to really know that thats really my element, so I know on the next albumI 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) Ima 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 youre in the mix of just doing shit, youre just in the mix and you dont understand it until you complete the shit. Im good now, Ive got the shit down to a science, and Im just ready to move on.
HipHopDX: Youre one of the few artists whos 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 dont 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, Youre still fuckin with a real cat, G. Im just one of them niggas. Youve got to be that dude, unless youre 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 thats just me. A lot of mothafuckas cant do that.
HipHopDX: What happened with the album cover?
Ghostface: I never changed the album cover, everybody keeps saying that. Thats just the poster with the fish, that was only for the sampler, that wasnt the album cover.
HipHopDX: Youve really stayed busy since The Pretty Toney Album, working on both the DOOM project and the Put It On The Line mixtape with your protg Trife Da God. How difficult was it to find time between these other projects to work on your own album?
Ghostface: It was crazy as shit, nahmean. I fucked my leg up, I broke my ankle doing this shit, so I wrote the shit on a broke ankle inside the crib, inside the bed, really. That was it. I finished a lot earlier than I what I usually do, because I dont be puffin no more weed, but it was just a crazy task.
HipHopDX: Howd you break your leg?
Ghostface: Fuckin with my niggas I aint seen in like eight years and shit. You know how shit be. Mothafuckas badden up on you and shit, same night and shit, fucking around outside in the snow. It was my ankle, my fibula. Were just on ice, step out the car, Im standing on ice. My nigga called me, I turned around and checked this bitch ass out, and just fucked around and slipped a little bit. I aint go all the way down, I held on to him and shit, but my leg just snapped back. And thats what it was, I just broke the shit. I sat around for like three and a half or four months, just trying to get my shit back together. Just fucked up with pain and shit, thats all.
HipHopDX: You have a whole lot of production from some of the games premier underground producers, like DOOM, Madlib, J. Dilla, and Pete Rock. What made you take that route this time around, even though youve established a trademark before from your own producers?
Ghostface: I didnt 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, thats all. It wasnt 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. Whats with the change?
Ghostface: I dont know, man. Just the beats. When I was on Pretty Toney, I was looking for certain beats that I couldnt really find, so I had to deal with what I could deal with. The beats and the era, you know what I mean? Thats all that it really was. This one, you may have a few cocaine raps on the shit, but thats just what it is.
HipHopDX: This album is really heavy on concept songs as well, and that isnt as strong on your last albums. What made you take this approach?
Ghostface: Really, the beats are what makes me do the shit. Im good at stories, Im starting to really know that thats really my element, so I know on the next albumI 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) Ima 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 youre in the mix of just doing shit, youre just in the mix and you dont understand it until you complete the shit. Im good now, Ive got the shit down to a science, and Im just ready to move on.
HipHopDX: Youre one of the few artists whos 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 dont 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, Youre still fuckin with a real cat, G. Im just one of them niggas. Youve got to be that dude, unless youre 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 thats just me. A lot of mothafuckas cant do that.
HipHopDX: What happened with the album cover?
Ghostface: I never changed the album cover, everybody keeps saying that. Thats just the poster with the fish, that was only for the sampler, that wasnt the album cover.
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