While I rate Ghostface Killah as a rapper, I've never been able to get thorough enjoyment from any of his albums, and after a number of spins of this new offering, the main problem I've had with some his previous projects is what I'm feeling with this as well. That is that the production from Adrian Younge is far too similar among the twelve songs. It's also not progressive at all, to me sounding like something from the '90s, and I feel like I've heard it before. Overall, this is probably a fair reflection of my feelings with many of the Wu artists - I dig the majority of the rapping but the beat selection has never thrilled me. Adrian Younge's influences for this album included Curtis Mayfield and Ennio Morricone. It reminds be very much of RZA's production style who was the executive producer for this album, and there is a bit of that Wu influence, but again, I don't think there is enough for it to stand out, nor do I think that hip hop hasn't done this kind of thing before with eerie beats. Fans of previous Ghostface projects will eat this up, but I feel like I'm almost hearing the same song twelve times. I expected something more unique after boning up about this prior to its release. 2.5-3 /5
Best Tracks: Beware of the Stare, Blood on the Cobblestones, The Center of Attraction, Murder Spree, The Sure Shot
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