Happy 10th Anniversary to BADBADNOTGOOD & Ghostface Killah’s collaborative album Sour Soul, originally released February 24, 2015.
Dennis “Ghostface Killah” Coles is a soulful guy. Along with being one of the illest emcees to ever walk the planet Earth, the Staten Island emcee frequently acknowledges his love of traditional (and contemporary) R&B music. This love has been reflected in much of the Wu-Tang Clan member’s solo material over nearly three decades.
During an approximately three-year period, Ghostface released four different albums where he rapped to live instrumental musical backings. The best known of these is Twelve Reasons to Die (2013), his collaboration with renowned producer, composer, and instrumentalist Adrian Younge. But in terms of quality, the proverbial cream of the crop is Sour Soul, his collaborative effort with Canadian psychedelic soul outfit BADBADNOTGOOD. I’d go as far as to say that the project, released 10 years ago, is Ghostface’s best album since he departed Def Jam in the early 2010s.
BADBADNOTGOOD was founded by Matt Tavares (keyboards), Chester Hansen (bass) and Alex Sowinski (drums). The trio formed while attending Humber College in Toronto and became better known in the late 2000s/early 2010s. Part of their early claims to fame were their unorthodox covers, as their acclaimed albums and riveting live performances featured the band playing tracks by such artists as Gang Starr, Slum Village, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Gucci Mane and members of Odd Future.
According during an interview with the Passion of the Weiss, the trio connected with Ghostface through Frank Dukes, a Toronto-based producer. Dukes had worked with Iron Man Starks on Apollo Kids (2010), his final album for Def Jam, and served as Ghost’s DJ on one of his tours. Dukes attended one of BADBADNOTGOOD’s early performances and connected with the band soon afterwards. He broached the idea of the band working with Ghost. The band agreed, and began putting together the project, with Dukes producing the effort.
Sour Soul took three years to complete. BBNG and Ghostface didn’t record in the studio together during the process—the group crafted the instrumental tracks and would then consult with Dukes, who’d make recommendations where necessary. After making the appropriate tweaks, the group would email the finished products to Ghostface, and he’d lay down vocals in his own New York studio.
The lengthy process compelled the group to experiment with numerous musical styles, which gives the album a lot of sonic diversity. Many of the entries play like the theme song to an individual, unrealized, genre-bending Blacksploitation flick. On the mic, Ghostface keeps his delivery smooth, but he remains focused. In terms of subject matter, he touches on many eras of his career, without ever sounding like he’s going through the motions.
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Few songs have hooks, and Ghost and the occasional guest tend to keep things brief. The brevity allows more room for BBNG to demonstrate their chops, as many songs feature extended interludes, adding to the album’s variety. Other full-length instrumentals, like “Stark’s Reality,” are some of Sour Soul’s highlights.
The album’s title track is an anthem for Ghostface in all of its mafioso-styled glory, operating as a “stone-faced killa with a mask,” paying a type of homage to his mid-1990s partnership with Raekwon on Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… (1995). BBNG does an excellent job backing him up, providing staccato-like percussion and swells of strings and guitars. It’s one of the album’s many songs where the instrumentals were recorded at New York’s Dunham Studios, featuring contributions from members of the Budos Band.
Ghost morphs into full Pretty Toney/pimp mode on “Tone’s Rap,” laying down game while describing his fly extravagance in ridiculous detail. Musically, it conjures the feel of an Isaac Hayes composition, as Tavares acknowledged that it was influenced by Wu-Tang team-up with Black Moses, “I Can’t Go To Sleep.” Ghostface exudes flyness as he raps, “Cognac sipper, keep a blade at the tip of my cane / For snakes that slither? Cry me a river, bitch.”
Starks later transforms himself into a Punisher-styled, gritty drug-dealing anti-hero on “Mind Playing Tricks.” Musically, the song suggests the gothic sound of Twelve Reasons To Die. Lyrically, he fully commits to this path, using horror-themed imagery, beating down the Freddy Krugers of the world and shouting out the Wu-Tang affiliated Gravediggaz.
“Six Degrees,” which was released during the summer of 2014, is a team-up with then ascendant Detroit super-talent Danny Brown. With its creeping guitar line and echoing acoustics, it evokes Wu-Tang’s mid-1990s kung-fu centered era. While Brown promises to “eat rappers like Butternut Squash,” Ghostface describes how he “still keep them Clarks crispier than printed money.”
On “Gunshowers,” the album’s official lead single, BBNG’s musical backdrop sounds lifted from a Shaolin-styled Spaghetti Western, complete with layers of ominous guitars. Ghostface and Detroit virtuoso Elzhi each deliver deadly “bath salt flows.” “’Cause every meek head that speak street cred ain’t banging heat lead,” Elzhi declares. “And probably cut like sweet bread, wetting their sheets spread.”
Sour Soul peaks with “Ray Gun,” another great Ghostface collaboration with MF DOOM. According to Tavares, BBNG were listening to a lot of Brazilian music when they recorded the song, lending it the vibes of a low-budget 1970s TV superhero series. Both Ghost and DOOM sound properly motivated and animated, delivering their trademark bugged lines and non-sequiturs with zeal. DOOM apparently didn’t deliver his first verse until about a month before the album’s completion, but he came correct regardless. “These dudes is toys like Wham-O,” DOOM raps. “Damn though, chip paint driving on the gravel with the Lambo … Blammo!” Sadly, this was the last released collaboration between the two emcees, as the long-planned Swift and Changeable never saw the light of day.
Ghost dedicates a decent portion of Sour Soul towards offering education in the most Ghostface-oriented way possible. “Street Knowledge,” featuring the raspy-voiced Chicago emcee Tree, has the two dispensing lessons on how to become an effective drug dealer. The pair supply advice on not dressing too flashy, finding creative places to stash your cash, and getting the right people to test the purity of your product.
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After spending much of the album promoting his own criminal bona fides, Ghostface seemingly turns over a new leaf as the album draws to a close, offering a different sort of training on “Nuggets of Wisdom” and “Food.” Each use similar imagery, instructing listeners on how to live clean and promote positivity. “Food” leans heavily on spiritual wisdom, encouraging listeners to “protect ya neck, evil lurks in the shadows / Darkness is best where the Devil wins battles.”
Ghostface his released scant few full-lengths in the decade since dropping Sour Soul. As of late, he has issues properly channeling his energy into something distinctive and interesting. Something about BBNG’s organic output brought out an energy and precision that he’s struggled to recapture with his most recent releases. Given Ghostface’s established fondness for sequels, it might be a good idea to revisit this partnership 10 years later. This effort proves that the raw soul music the band specializes in can bring out the best in him.
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