Ghostface Killah

At 53 years old, Ghostface Killah has this physical status:

Dennis Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper, songwriter, and founding member of the Wu-Tang Clan.

Following the group's triumph in the aftermath of Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), the members went on to pursue solo careers to different degrees of success.

In 1996, Ghostface Killah began his solo career with Ironman, which was well-received by music critics.

He has maintained his success over the years with critically acclaimed albums like Supreme Clientele (2000) and Fishscale (2006).

The stage name was derived from one of the characters in the 1979 kung fu film Mystery of Chessboxing.

He is the founder of Starks Enterprises, a privately owned company. Ghostface Killah is best known for his loud, fast-paced flow, and his emotional stream-of-consciousness stories that include cryptic slang and non-sequiturs.

MTV included him on their list of the Top 50 MCs of Our Time (1987–2007), listing him as "one of the most innovative storytellers of our time" in 2006. "He is the best storyteller in the rap," a Q magazine magazine said of him. "Ghostface has unparalleled storytelling instincts; he may be the finest, most vivid storyteller rap has ever seen," Pitchfork Media reported. "His fiction is painterly," NPR called him "a compulsive storyteller" and said, "His fiction is painterly."

Early life

Ghostface grew up in the Stapleton House housing project in Staten Island, New York City, helping with the daily care of two younger brothers who had muscular dystrophy. The feud between him and fellow Clan member Raekwon is chronicled in Wu-Tang: An American Saga, where they later reconciled and became close friends. Raekwon and Ghostface were in junior high school together.

Personal life

Ghostface, like Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon, converted to Islam in 2004. Infinite, the father of rapper Sun God Supreme and singer Infinite, and rapper Infinite.

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Career

Ghostface, a roommate of Wu-Tang founder RZA, helped bring together the other seven members. Ghostface appeared on almost every song and receiving nearly identical compensation in 1995 on Clan member Raekwon's debut album, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. "It felt good to have my child right next to me, Ghostface," says the author, who comes from the same lifestyle as mine. "We were able to sit down and concoct a belief that we were able to honor and essentially get everyone in the team involved," Raekwon said of Ghostface's involvement in the project. Raekwon wanted Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... to be like a film with himself as the "star," Ghostface Killah as the "guest star" and RZA as the "director." In addition, he performed songs for the Sunset Park and Don't Be a Menace to South Central in the Hood soundtracks; both songs were included on his first solo LP, Ironman, in 1996. Ghostface's upcoming albums, which debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, had a more pronounced soul influence (particularly 1970s soul) than previous Wu-Tang releases, and Ghostface's upcoming albums would continue to feature this stylistic feature.

Ghostface's second studio album, Supreme Clientele, debuted in 2000. Critics loved the album, and it reached #7 on the Billboard 200|Billboard 200. It featured "Apollo Kids," a famous single starring Raekwon, as well as a a sample of Solomon Burke's "Cool Breeze." "Cherchez La Ghost," another track off the album, became a minor club hit. Supreme Clientele was a turning point in terms of RZA's influence on Ghostface's sound, as only six songs on it were recorded by RZA, while for Ironman, the company's predecessor, every song on the album is produced by RZA, although one of it is not. Though RZA personally oversaw the mixing and production of the album as a whole, contributing to Supreme Clientele's united sound.

Ghostface wasted little time on recording his next album, the heavily R&B-influenced Bulletproof Wallets, which came a year after Supreme Clientele was released. "Never Be the Same Again" was its main single, starring Raekwon and Carl Thomas. "Flowers," a minor club hit, including guest vocals from fellow Wu-Tang members Method Man and Raekwon, and "Ghost Showers," a popular Wu-Tang artist who performed Madame Majestic, became one of her most popular Wu-Tang artists, whose other notable feature is that she performs on the famous Wu-Tang track "Gravel Pit."

Ghostface debuted on Def Jam Records in 2003. Ghostface released The Pretty Toney Album in April 2004, after temporarily removing "Killah" from his stage name. Although the album contained two RZA projects, it did not include any of the Clan; rather, it featured collaborations with Missy Elliott, D-Block, and Jacki-O. The singles "Tush" and "Run," which were joint ventures with Missy and Jadakiss respectively, had moderate success in the clubs and on the charts, and were included on a number of "best of the year" lists; for example, it was Pitchfork Media's top-ranked list of the year, "Best of the year" lists. The album "On My Knees" by the UK R&B group the 411; the song became a hit in the United Kingdom and Australia. With a group of his followers, the Theodore Unit, Ghostface released an album titled 718 (after the Staten Island area code). On The Grind Date, Ghostface appeared on "He Comes" by De La Soul. Trife Da God, the Ghostface and Theodore Unit's breakout star, and the Ghostface and Theodore Unit's breakout star, Weave (1991) presented a joint venture, titled Put It on the Line in November 2005.

Ghostface collaborated with underground artist MF Doom in 2006 for a still unveiled album titled Swift & Changeable. MF Doom released several songs for Ghostface's 2006 album Fishscale, on which he revert to "Ghostface Killah" rather than simply "Ghostface." The album debuted well, landing at number one on the US charts, occupying the fourth position. Billboard 200 and at #1 on the R&B charts, the rapper's most prominent chart since the Wu-Tang Clan's heyday and the debut of his solo debut. The album has also received near-unanimous praise. Ghostface embarked on a limited-date tour of U.S. venues in support of the album, appearing several of his shows together with many of the Wu-Tang Clan's other participants.

Ghostface provided the theme tune for the Irish animated film Skunk Fu! in 2007. It was on Kids' WB that it ran. Ghostface's seventh solo studio album, The Big Doe Rehab, was released on December 4, 2007.

In a May 2008 interview, Ghostface Killah said he'll make an R&B-inspired album in the vein of certain tracks he's performed before with artists like Ne-Yo and Jodeci. The album, Ghostdini: Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City, would be his eighth studio album, receiving rave reviews from music critics. "Baby" and "Do Over" were among the singles that were included in the magazine. Ghostface responded to the Rihanna/Chris Brown controversy by releasing "Message from Ghostface," a tribute to women in abusive situations.

Raekwon said in a Rolling Stone interview in May 2009 that Ghostface Killah was planning to debut a new album. "Everybody's doing different stuff right now," Raekwon said in reaction to a query about whether the Wu-Tang Clan would have a sequel to 8 Diagrams. On Raekwon's highly awaited debut of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Ghostface appeared on a total of eight songs. Pt. II.

Pt. : Only Built 4 Cuban Linx was released shortly after the introduction of the product, but Pt. II. Def Jam sponsored Raekwon to collaborate with their label artists Method Man and Ghostface Killah on a record that later became known as Wu-Massacre. In November 2009, the company was established. Wu-Massacre was launched in 2010 to generally favorable feedback from music journalists; this time, however, reviews were more mixed, with some commentators ressing the 30-minute album's rushed feel. Its first week, with heavy advertising, it sold 37,900 units; as of May 12, 2010, it has sold 64,000 units. It features work from Scram Jones, Mathematics, and The RZA, the album's lead single, "Our Dreams."

Ghostface announced in 2010 that two new studio albums, Apollo Kids and one that would act as a sequel to his 2000 album Supreme Clientele. Ghostface Killah appeared on UK artist Josh Osho's debut single "Redemption Days" in 2011.

Sheek Louch, a member of the D-Block, and Ghostface collaborated on a Wu Block album. The album was released on November 27, 2012, on E1 Music, and debuted at number 73 on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 8,600 copies in the United States. In its second week, it dropped to #52, despite selling 4,200 more copies. Ghostface and Sheek Louch announced on their respective social media pages in January that a second collaborative album was in the works.

Ghostface revealed in a recent interview with Complex Magazine that he had left Def Jam, making Apollo Kids his last album on the label. In the same interview, he also stated that Blue & Cream, the sequel to his critically acclaimed album Supreme Clientele's critically acclaimed album Supreme Clientele, was 80-85 percent complete. Ghostface's tenth album Twelve Reasons to Die, which was produced by Adrian Younge and executive produced by RZA, was released on April 16, 2013. The album was released in various formats, including CD, vinyl, and cassette under RZA's Soul Temple Records. A comic book was also included in the deluxe digital and CD versions.

He would confirm that the sequel to Supreme Clientele would be released between July and September 2013 and that his collaborative album with MF Doom would be released around Halloween 2013. No plans were confirmed, however neither project was announced. He and his girlfriend Kelsey Nykole appeared on VH1's Couples Therapy in January 2014. In December 2014, Ghostface revealed that his eleventh album, 36 Seasons, would be released. He worked with Canadian jazz band BADBADNOTGOOD on an album titled Sour Soul, which was released in 2015.

On July 10, 2015, a sequel to Twelve Reasons to Die, simply titled Twelve Reasons to Die II.

In 2016, Ghostface would have a series of UK and European tour dates.

He performed vocals on Kendrick Lamar's album "Purple Hearts" in 2022. Morale & The Big Steppers is a film from Edward Edward O'Hardrick Lamar's 2022 album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.

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