Album Review: CZARFACE, Ghostface Killah - Czarface Meets Ghostface
Despite the dramatic growth in the popularity of hip-hop throughout the decade, the rise of trap music in the mainstream has left many older styles of rap by the wayside, including the boom bap that CZARFACE calls back to with their mere existence. The group, composed of rapper-producer team Esoteric and 7L together with former Wu-Tang Clan member Inspectah Deck, pays tribute to the Marvel Comics that inspired so many old-school rappers, using snippets from Saturday-morning cartoons, their own antihero character, and comic book references aplenty.
Their last album, Czarface Meets Metalface, was a much-anticipated collaboration with MF DOOM, one of the most acclaimed underground rappers ever who shares with CZARFACE the comic book aesthetic and use of a masked persona, but their team-up was arguably below the standards expected from all parties involved. However, while DOOM is unfortunately past his prime, this new record features prominently fellow Wu-Tang alumnus Ghostface Killah, whose dark, menacing style is just as perfect a match while still being able to rap proficiently: "My alma mater from the school of hard knockers/Today's special, grilled medulla oblongata".
However, though Czarface Meets Ghostface is billed as a joint effort, Ghostface is noticeably missing from multiple tracks here, including Czarrcade '87, Masked Superstars, and more throughtout. His absence is unfortunately quite evident, as not only is his talent undeniable, but in his stead CZARFACE lean too heavily on an endless repetition of similes and punchline bars, an Esoteric habit that Deck occasionally slips into as well. Listen to the Color suffers particularly from this annoyance, made even more evident by the track's length.
Still, this tendency does in moderation lend the album an amusing twist to balance the brooding atmosphere of its production. The teaser track Iron Claw features an ominous, percussive beat underneath threatening bars from all three rappers, from Deck's one-two punch of "You'll get wiped clean like a counter top/How I'm workin' the beat, I'm like a housing cop" to Ghostface quipping "You can't dress me with that bullshit, you ain't even my stylist". Even Esoteric can boast cleverly without resorting to 'like' or 'as', opening Powers and Stuff with "Your best shit ain't better than his worst verse, and/CZARFACE a triple threat, he rhyme in third person".
Where the record delivers, especially with respect to other CZARFACE releases, is in its consistency. Largely gone are the shorter gimmick cuts, the needless interludes, and the sub-par guest verses that marred past efforts from the group. From the opening Face-Off with sharp bars like "Can he rhyme or what?/The sharper mind shine, diamond cut/Overtime grind, eyes on us", the album is from front to back an arrogant flaunting of skills by three MCs who dare anyone else to match their wit and flow.
In lieu of the skits that dominated their last album (perhaps a DOOM addition), CZARFACE have largely cut the fluff this time around, save for a spoken-word intro and an outro in (Post Credits Scene) that at least includes verses from all but Ghostface. The closest we get to a joke track is Morning Ritual, which hilariously juxtaposes Ghostface's boastful early routine against Esoteric's woeful tale of cracking his phone screen, blaming last night's hookup for stealing his money, then sheepishly apologizing after learning she just went to get them breakfast. The difference is bravado is comical; where Ghostface's bathroom mirror tells him how fly he is, Eso opts to shoot his for being a snitch.
In the modern era, the influences of rap's most illustrious pioneers are felt less and less, both in the mainstream and in the culture at large. But while CZARFACE might not be bringing the sounds of boom bap to popularity anytime soon, the fact that rappers like Inspectah Deck and Ghostface Killah can produce something this sharp and skillful so long after their glory days is commendable on its own. While it might not hit the highs of the group's previous few releases, Czarface Meets Ghostface is noteworthy just for showing that these sounds are still as fresh as they were twenty years ago, and in the right hands, they can do great things.
7.5/10
Favourite Tracks: Iron Claw, Czarrcade '87, Mongolian Beef
https://open.spotify.com/album/4hQXk5RY7rL0NMxdR0x49U?si=-cS7v9PrTvWG-7KPrN5aaA