Ghostface Killah
The Big Doe Rehab
By Kevin Jones

Ghostface Killah, by far the most proficient torchbearer of the Wu-Tang dynasty, has turned out yet another record that further solidifies his status as a pillar of rap consistency in The Big Doe Rehab. Jay-Z may have copped the titled for his recent return to form, but the Wu have been the genre's true American gangsters since day one, and Ghost makes that clear from the disc’s opening skit, humiliating some Latino mob types on “At The Cabana” before lighting things up with Beanie Sigel on the earth-quaking “The Barrel Brothers.” His love affair with soul beats is fully intact, and the tireless MC crafts a Clan reunion of sorts here, as buttery verses by Method Man and the true crime stories of Raekwon, Cappadonna and U-God fill the air with nostalgia of the unit’s early days. The looking back continues in the R&B gems that form the basis of so much of this record, with Ghost even rhyming right over top of Johnny “Guitar” Watson’s entire untouched “Superman Lover” classic, essentially making sound hype something that no other MC could even get away with. It’s a formula Ghostface has definitely perfected, and you get the feeling he could run it for another ten years and it would still sound just as fresh. (Def Jam)
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