The Return Of The Purple Tape

Hot damn!  Raekwon's no-longer-mythic Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II leaked several hours ago.  I haven't listened to the album in full yet, so I won't comment on it, but expect a review soon.  One track stood out in my brief listen, and it is really the only impetus you need to buy the album on September 8th.  "Cold Outside" is classic Ghost and Rae, as they step away from coke raps and give a painful glimpse of the life around them, similar to "Babies."

Purchase the album on the 8th and show the labels there is still a market for gritty rap.

The Ghost of Oz

Ghostface is doing an R&B album...sorta.  He's going with guest appearances from well known R&B acts, and the subject matter is gonna be a little different.  As Ghost explains,  "we gettin' older! And everybody don’t sell crack no more, man. I don’t sell crack, yo. I ain’t movin' no bricks or none of that other shit. I ain't shoot nobody in like…since the early 90's, man."

But the real issue that needs to be explored is his love for "The Wizard of Oz."  Maybe it's the Ironman/Tin Man link, or maybe there's some sort of visceral connection, But it's no surprise; Ghost has always had a playful side.  The classic movie has popped up in his rhymes several times:

I'm like a green and white kickball, I bounce
Spin off walls and cars, the Wizard of Clarks, Tony Oz
- “Ghostface,” The Pretty Toney Album

Mossied off gracefully, New York's most wanted tee-ball hawk
Seen the yellow brick road, lust of pastries
- "Apollo Kids," Supreme Clientele

Walk with me like Dorothy
Try to judge these plush degrees
- "Apollo Kids," Supreme Clientele

None of that matches the cover for his new album Wizard of Poetry

This is easily the best album cover I have seen in the last two years.  If I ever get a chance to interview Ghost, the first question I'm asking is about his affinity for that movie.  Wizard of Poetry drops on Sept. 29.