And while Method Man's solo career stalled throughout the '90s, Redman kept a steady clip of respected albums going, so a proper full-length outing from the two would be hotly anticipated. Meth and Red had a huge collaborative hit in How High, dropping in that oh-so glorious year of hip-hop fire, 1995. I recall it was a big deal during the lead-up. I'm not sure where this album sits in the Grand Rap Pantheon anymore. Even if that concept is nothing more than Deck and Eso' hanging out with GFK down in the slums for a late-night indulgence of hot noodle soup. Still, 'tis better to get in with the dope cuts and out leaving them wanting more, than linger far beyond the concept needs. Not that it takes long to get there, Czarface Meets Ghostface a rather short LP. This strong run of final tracks more than makes up for the album's somewhat sluggish start. The King Heard Voices brings even more great bass-stomp, while Listen To The Color has plenty of room to switch things up from gritty funk to slummy soul (no Ghost on that one tho'). Elsewhere, Morning Ritual features a rhythm and gnarly bassline that sounds like its constantly tripping over itself, suitable for a tune about sunrise regrets. Like, holy cow, that Mongolian Beef cut at the end, already a remarkably grimey bit of business, but the ganky soul-funk that bridges everyone's verses is permanently seared into my grey matter. It's great hearing him when he does, his presence dragging this project deep into the slums of Shaolin.Ĭredit also given to 7L for coming up beats that suit the street-soul Ghost is well known for. Like, he's an apparition, or something (especially at the end of Masked Superstars, almost invoking 12 Reasons To Die). Heck, the Killah is totally absent in a number of tracks, which I guess makes this more of a Czarface album, with Ghostface appearing on about two-thirds of it. 'Tis tempting.įor a supposed cross-over event though, Face n' Face doesn't feature as much Ghost' as you'd expect. Ooh, The Odd Czar Against Us has a Days Of Future Past homage on the cover.
There's been two more Czarface records since the MF Doom cross-over that I've yet to check out, some even coming with an included comic book. I mean, that would be dope as all Hell, but the group helmed by Inspectah Deck, Esoteric, and 7L still have yet to fully capitalize on the concept, so why would they here? Or maybe they have, and I just haven't heard it yet. That isn't to say Czar Meets Ghost is some epic narrative of the two combining forces to take on injustices inflicted upon the streets and beyond. Bobby Digital? Golden Arms? The Genius as one of those big-headed ultra-beings? Method Man as. Does make me wonder who else from the Wu might show up for a Czarface cross-over such as this, with a comic-ready backstory. I don't know if the Ghostface we get is a whole new version or a returning one, though I could see the ghetto vigilante of 36 Seasons working here, as that one had a rather comic book origin story itself (lab experiments gone wrong, never gets old).
Similarity in names aside, Dennis Coles' alias has seen many iterations over the years, including multiple outlandish tales of origin. If any of the Wu needed an official full-length, super-sized cross-over event with Czarface, it'd be Ghostface.
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