Album review: Ghostface trades in drugs for love on 'Wizard Of Poetry'

October 3, 7:16 PMSan Diego Rap Music ExaminerQuan Vu

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Make no mistake: Ghostface's Wizard of Poetry is not Fishscale. It is not Big Doe Rehab. It is definitely not Cuban Linx II. In recent years, Ghostface has begrudgingly settled back into the coke rap genre that he and Raekwon fathered on the original Only Built 4 Cuban Linx album. On one hand, this move was an artistic statement. After seeing so many rappers turn the genre into an empty shell of generic tough-talk, Ghostface had to show them how it's really done, twisting and turning the subject over and over, exploring every possible angle he could take with it. But on the other hand, this move was an artistic compromise. Ghost shilled his raps to an audience increasingly fascinated by drug-dealing, a move for which he could barely hide his frustration during interviews. But now with Wizard of Poetry, his "R&B album," Ghostface frees himself from the shackles of industry and makes the album he's always had inside of him ...... well, sort of.

Many fans see Ghostface as just another hard-edged, grimy, street rapper but he's always had this loverman side to him that's been undeniably great. Songs like "Child's Play" and "Never Be The Same Again" from earlier in his career all the way up to "Killa Lipstick" from just a couple years ago--these songs reveal a tangible sense of sweetness and tenderness and, most of all, honesty that hits home. All of these qualities inhabit Wizard of Poetry.

And Ghostface uses these qualities to go to lyrical places that neither R&B nor rap usually do. In both genres, men usually take on one-sided roles that are either very patriarchal or very macho. Throughout Wizard of Poetry, Ghosface ably assumes those same roles. But he also takes on new perspectives that put the patriarchy and machismo in question. "Lonely" stands out as the best case. "Lonely" joins Ghostface after his girlfriend has already dumped him for another man. On the first verse, Ghost imagines, obsessively and bitterly, how this new man has hijacked his life, not just taking his girl but also taking his TV, his cologne, his entire home. But later, Ghost admits to himself that it was his fault she left. Then he goes one further, speaking from the perspective of his son who tells Dad how the new man treats Mom and him much better than Dad ever did. It's a simultaneously refreshing and sober take on the "cheating woman" idea that sides with the woman (as opposed to calling her a hoe and shooting her cheating lover) and humbles the man.

That's a rare thing elsewhere but Wizard of Poetry is full of these moments where Ghost can empathize with the woman. Whether he speaks as his pregnant wife re-telling the mundane but intimate details of her day on "Baby" or he narrates a brief, cozy dialogue with a beautiful stranger on "Paragraphs Of Love," Ghostface sounds very much in-tune with feminine perspectives ...... while still rounding it out with a taste for raunchy sex ("Stapleton Sex") and more typical "cheating woman" fare ("Guest House," where he calls the woman a hoe and shoots her cheating lover). This balance gives depth and convincing emotion to Wizard of Poetry, both of which have been lacking in some of Ghostface's more recent works.

But even as Ghostface reaches new lyrical plateaus, you can't escape the feeling that this album is infected by label concessions. Wizard of Poetry features an extensive guestlist of modern day, middling R&B crooners from John Legend to Lloyd to Estelle, Raheem Devaughn, and even the abhorred Ron Browz. Much of the production is equally middling, frequently falling on tepid, radio-friendly R&B/pop instrumentals that pack no punch (e.g. "Not Your Average Girl," "Lonely," "Let's Stop Playing," "She's A Killah," to name but a few). This sort of works because Ghostface's relatively calm writing needs suitably calm backing music. But it tests your will when it should please your ears. And eventually, you just wish for the gut-wrenching soul that Ghost is known for, something along the lines of "Holla" from The Pretty Toney Album.

Ultimately though, Wizard Of Poetry is a good look for Ghostface. With the rise of effeminate rappers like Drake and Kid Cudi, "real" hip-hop fans have responded by re-imagining all their favorite rappers as straight-up, mad gully street rappers. Raekwon took the bait and released Cuban Linx II. But him, Ghostface, and the Wu-Tang Clan in general are much more complex than fans give them credit for. Wizard of Poetry, however uneven, is a reminder of that complexity. Hopefully the rest of the Wu can follow Ghostface's (and RZA's--remember 8 Diagrams?) example, evolving from punch-you-in-the-face music to something ...... well, something new.