When you think of legendary hip hop duos, one thinks of groups such as Gang Starr, OutKast, Mobb Deep, the Clipse etc..but without a doubt, Raekwon & Ghostface were the illest tag team to never be classified as such (Nas & AZ come in close second.) While never doing an official collaboration album, any hardcore Wu fan will tell you that their classic debut albums "Only Built for Cuban Linx.." & "Ironman" are joint albums, especially considering they feature each other on the covers. When dealing with these dynamic duos, the "which one is better" question is inevitable. Since Ghost & Rae were never officially a group, the question doesn't come up as often, but it does come up. This editorial, and the follow up editorial, will focus on the careers of these two artists and attempt to determine who is the better of the two.
For those unaware (which should be none of you) Raekwon the Chef & Ghostface Killah are standout members of the 8-10 man hip hop group the Wu Tang Clan, who saw their release in 1993. Method Man proved to be the most popular member of the group, which allowed his Platinum selling debut, "Tical", to drop a year later. That same year, ODB dropped his classic debut, which featured Ghostface & Rae spitting standout verses on their respective features. The Wu Tang momentum was building, and with gold & platinum plaques, as well as Grammy nominations, there was no end in sight. It was now time for what is widely considered the greatest & most influential Wu Tang solo album, "Only Built for Cuban Linx..". Produced entirely by the RZA, and featuring Ghostface on most of its tracks, Raekwon dropped what can be considered the first, and best, "trap rap" album in history. However, there were no strip club anthems or R&B crossover cuts here, just raw rap about cocaine dealing and all that entailed. Other than "Incarcerated Scarfaces", every single/video from the album featured Ghostface, including the biggest hit off the album, "Ice Cream". Thus, the Rae/Ghost duo was born.
Fast forward to 1996, after GZAs critical and commercial success "Liquid Swords" came out. It is now time for the last Wu Tang solo before the next group album, Ghostface Killah's "Ironman". "Ironman" was unique because it was the first Wu Album to portray a member as a regular guy (as regular as a drug dealing rapper from Staten Island can be). While Method Man was a potheaded superstar, ODB was a drunken maniac, Raekwon was a coke selling kingpin & GZA was some sort of, well, Genius, Ghostface was your average inner city youth. From having relationship problems ("Wildflower"), to expressing love for his Mother ("All That I Got is You"), to witnessing crime ("Motherless Child"). Ghostface had a wider range of topics, which made for a less cohesive album than Raekwon, but a more appealing one. "Ironman" went platinum, "Cuban Linx.." went gold.
Despite Ghostface having more sales, it was generally thought that Raekwon had more skills, which can be evidenced in the adaptation of the Mafioso style that Cuban Linx embraced in such rappers as Nas, Biggie, Jay-Z & AZ, as well as the number of and calibre of guest appearances Raekwon was supplying, as opposed to Ghostface, who usually made guest appearances along side Rae anyway. The number of guest appearences these two got together, however, is not to be underestimated. They appeared as a duo on albums from The GZA, Mobb Deep, & Jodeci, showing that their chemistry was a notable one in the industry, as well as in the confines of the Wu Tang Clan.
Despite Ghostface having more sales, it was generally thought that Raekwon had more skills, which can be evidenced in the adaptation of the Mafioso style that Cuban Linx embraced in such rappers as Nas, Biggie, Jay-Z & AZ, as well as the number of and calibre of guest appearances Raekwon was supplying, as opposed to Ghostface, who usually made guest appearances along side Rae anyway. The number of guest appearences these two got together, however, is not to be underestimated. They appeared as a duo on albums from The GZA, Mobb Deep, & Jodeci, showing that their chemistry was a notable one in the industry, as well as in the confines of the Wu Tang Clan.
In 1997, after 5 succesful solo albums, tours, and guest appearences from Raekwon, Ghostface, & the rest of the Clan, the Wu joined together for their second album, the classic double disc "Wu Tang Forever". This marked a sharp increase in Ghostface Killah's rhyme ability. It was as if he was a new MC. RZA stated that he had unique presets on his compresses for his microphones for each member of the Clan. Meaning, he had his mics set up specifically to accomodate each member of the Wu Tang individually, so they'd all sound a certain way. After a flood in the Wu Tangs studio, these presets, along with records, beats, and other valuable equiptment, were lost. This would explain the increase in the pitch of Ghostface's voice. However, the presets weren't the cause for the improved flow (as seen on "Cash Still Rules"), the increased vividness of his story telling ability ("Impossible" which RZA sites as his favorite verse on the album, in addition to winning a Source award) and the new stream of consciencousness style that had only been done prior by Kool Keith. Ironically enough, Ghostface & Raekwon had the most lyrical appearances on the album, in addition to a song where they are the only performers (as on the groups debut, with "It Can All Be So Simple"). These performances may not have cemented Ghost as the superior MC, Raekwon had 1 or 2 more features than Ghost, but the attention would shift as the second round of Wu Tang solos began.
Part 2 coming soon!
Part 2 coming soon!