I know I'm going to catch a lot of heat for this, but as far as I'm concerned, Ghostface Killah isn't just the best emcee to come out of Wu-Tang, he's one of the best rappers alive, period. Constantly on the verge of not making sense, grippingly narrative, unstoppably creative, Ghost has a style that can not be imitated or duplicated. Can anyone else pull off his flow from "Run"? No way.
Lyrics are underneath the video:
Aiyo, I jumped from the 8th floor step, hit the ground
The pound fell, cops is coming
Runnin' through the pissy stairwells, I ain't hear nothin'
Buggin', only thing I remember was the bullshit summon
so I stopped at the 2nd floor, ran across, cracks is fallin'
My pockets is lean, clean when I vanished off
Took off, made track look easy
The walkie talkies them D-E-T's had, black, they was rated P.G
Run, I will knock your bug, no, quick flag the car down
Take me to.. Ghost here they come now!
Errr! Pull off quick, back up, hit the bitch, dog
Turned down Hill, light the Marley spliff
Run! I will not get bagged on the rock
Run! I seen what happened to Un, they bad with they cops
Run! They am' shit, plant shit, destroy evidence
Get cassed, I'm not comin' home with no fifty six
Die with the heart of Scarface and take fifty licks
Before I let these crackers throw me and shit
Bounce if you a good kid, bounce, do the bird hop
Curse, swerve to get served, these cocksuckers got nerve
Heard I was killin' shit, they must got word
That I told the chief on Rich Port I don't wanna merge
A few things I fucking love about this flow. First, the way the words circle back in on each other. This is no A B rhyme scheme where the last words of each line rhyme, instead we're given couplets like "Runnin' through the pissy stairwells, I ain't hear nothin' / Buggin', only thing I remember was the bullshit summon". Second, Ghost developed a habit of talking to himself and narrating people talking to him early on, which can often get confusing but always keeps you on your toes: "Run, I will knock your bug, no, quick flag the car down / Take me to.. Ghost here they come now! Errr!" For those keeping score at home, he just narrated what his own interior thoughts, someone else's voice, and the sound of ther car peeling out. Last but not least, he's constantly inventing his own slang and references. What's a "bird hop"? Who's the "chief on Rich Port"? I have no idea, but that only serves to draw you further inside his world. Classic.
Instant Classic Ghost, I don't think there's anyone who disagrees with you Nathan, he's a blessed emcee.
Posted on Jun 29, 2010
1stround-ko
you'll get no heat from me, Nathan. Ghost is the easily one of my favorites.
And this song is a banger.
I have an All Instramental Wu Tang CD that I brought to this club one night... put it on, started drinkning and smoking... then THIS song came on... oh sh!t!!!! It was bananas.