GHOSTFACE KILLAH "Supreme Clientele" DOUBLE LP MINT CONDITION Original Print

$

38

MINT - NEVER PLAYED. Opened for inspection then went straight on the collector's rack, still has plastic on it.

"Supreme Clientele"

Studio album by Ghostface Killah
Released: January 25, 2000
Recorded: 1998?1999;
New York City, New York
Miami, Florida
Genre: Hip hop
Length: 64:10
Label: Epic Records, Sony, Razor Sharp
Producers: Black Moes-Art, The Blaquesmiths, Carlos Bess, Carlos Broady, Choo the Specializt, Hassan, Inspectah Deck, Ju-Ju, Mathematics, RZA

Ghostface Killah Chronology:
Ironman
(1996)
Supreme Clientele
(2000)
Bulletproof Wallets
(2001)

Singles from Supreme Clientele
"Apollo Kids"
Released: July 10, 1999
"Cherchez La Ghost"
Released: February 28, 2000

Supreme Clientele is the second studio album of American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member Ghostface Killah, released February 8, 2000 on Epic Records. The album showcases Ghostface's signature up-tempo, stream-of-consciousness rhyme style, and features guest appearances from Cappadonna, GZA, Masta Killa, Method Man, Raekwon, Redman, RZA, U-God, and others. It features members of what would become affiliates Theodore Unit and T.M.F. Supreme Clientele contains a large amount of production from group member RZA, who also re-worked and remixed beats from other producers involved, as a means to create a unified and cohesive sound for the album.

Supreme Clientele debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200 chart and number two on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, while selling 134,000 copies in its first week. On March 8, 2000, it was certified Gold in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album featured the singles "Apollo Kids" and "Cherchez La Ghost", which, despite receiving limited airplay, went on to achieve notable chart success. Supreme Clientele gained strong reviews from critics, despite its contrasting sound and style to that of his previous critically successful album Ironman.

Supreme Clientele became one of the most acclaimed of all second generation Wu-Tang projects, and featured the most contributions from RZA during this era. It was praised and noted for Ghostface Killah's obscure and creative lyrics, and for the cohesive format of production.[1] Along with Ironman (1996) and Fishscale (2006), it is often ranked as Ghostface Killah's best work. It has also been regarded as one of the best solo Wu-Tang albums, and has received accolades for being one of the best albums of the 2000s decade.


After the release of Wu-Tang Clan's second album Wu-Tang Forever, group leader RZA assigned the members to work primarily with affiliates on their up-coming solo projects, while he "called dibbs" on Ghostface Killah. RZA also instructed the members to keep Wu-Tang guest appearances to a minimum, as he saw their earlier solo albums as "giving away Wu-Tang to labels who had only signed one member". Although RZA would work occasionally with other group members and affiliates during this time, Supreme Clientele would be the Wu-Tang related project he was most involved in since Wu-Tang Forever.

Recording for the album began in 1998, and took place at several studios in New York and Florida. These sessions, however, would be interrupted due to Ghostface Killah serving a prison sentence at Riker's Island for a 1995 charge he caught at the Palladium nightclub in New York. Although Ghostface was in prison for six months, he still had a weapons charge that was pending when he and RZA got back to finishing the remainder of the album.

In late 1997, Ghostface Killah and producer RZA took a several month long trip to Africa, where a large portion of Supreme Clientele's lyrics would be written. While in Africa, the culture had an effect on Ghostface's lyrics. Unlike his acclaimed lyricism on his debut Ironman, and Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... album, Ghostface Killah rarely makes references to crime and materialism on Supreme Clientele. He explained "Fuck all this Tommy Hilfiger, Polo, all that shit. They don't give a fuck about none of that in Africa. Everything is the same. But over here, everybody wanna be better than the next one. Nah, it's not like that over there. They might be fucked-up money wise, but trust me, them muthafuckas is happy. They got each other".[4] One of the earliest lyrics Ghostface wrote while in Africa was "Nutmeg", a song with a rhythmic, off-beat cadence. Regarding the song's form, he stated "That's a wild song. That shit's one of the illest styles I ever came up with, because I had no music to write to".

In the mid-1990s, Producer RZA had a flood in his basement studio, which resulted in the loss of recording equipment and several hundred beats, many of which were un-finished. As a result, he would have to use new equipment, and start over from scratch for production contributions. In a later interview, he stated "The jewel of the whole shit is that I lost mad shit in that flood. I got it again. It took me about two years, but I got now at least 200-300 beats. I studied the music, I studied the books and I said 'fuck that. Hip-hop is gonna be able to be played in Carnegie Hall. Not with a DAT, but with a 10-piece orchestra, and have a turntable in it, and Bobby Digital right there in the middle'. "

Although a number of producers, such as JuJu from The Beatnuts, Hassan of the U.M.C.'s, The Hitmen, and several Wu-Tang affiliates are credited for production, RZA and Ghostface Killah did the majority of the production and mixing for the album, as they "re-compiled" and "re-worked" the album's beats.In regards to this, RZA explained "Usually a producer comes in, makes a beat, mixes it, and gives the direction for it. But not with this album. That's why you get that special sound. I just needle and threaded the beats all together." This approach would later result in critical praise and recognition for its fluidity and cohesiveness.

TRACK LISTING:

Note: Although various producers are credited for production in the album's liner notes, producer RZA re-worked and re-mixed every track on Supreme Clientele.

# Title Performer(s) Producer(s) Note(s) Time
1 "Intro" RZA
Contains dialogue from "Iron Man Theme" by Jack Urbont
0:46
2 "Nutmeg"
First verse: Ghostface Killah
Refrain: Ghostface Killah
Second verse: Ghostface Killah
Third verse: RZA
Bridge: Ghostface Killah
Black Moes-Art
Contains a sample of "It's Over" by Eddie Holman
Contains an interpolation of "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers
4:25
3 "One"
Verses: Ghostface Killah
Hook: T.M.F.
Outro: Ghostface Killah, T.M.F.
Juju
Contains a sample of "You Roam When You Don't Get It at Home" by The Sweet Inspirations
3:46
4 "Saturday Nite"
Ghostface Killah
Carlos Broady
Contains a sample of "Shine" by Lamont Dozier
1:39
5 "Ghost Deini"
First verse: Ghostface Killah
Second verse: Ghostface Killah
Third verse: Superb
RZA
Contains a sample of "My Hero Is a Gun" by Michael Masser
Contains a sample of "All Night Long" by Mary Jane Girls
Contains an interpolation of "Nightshift" by Commodores
Contains an interpolation of "Move the Crowd" by Eric B. & Rakim
4:05
6 "Apollo Kids"
First verse: Ghostface Killah
Chorus: Ghostface Killah
Second verse: Ghostface Killah
Third verse: Raekwon
Hassan
Contains a sample of "Cool Breeze" by Solomon Burke
3:54
7 "The Grain"
First verse: Ghostface Killah
Second verse: RZA
Chorus: RZA, Ghostface Killah
Third verse: RZA, Ghostface Killah
RZA
Contains a sample of "The Breakdown" by Rufus Thomas
Contains a sample of "Do the Funky Penguin" by Rufus Thomas
2:34
8 "Buck 50"
First verse: Method Man
Second verse: Ghostface Killah
Third verse: Cappadonna
Fourth verse: Redman
Refrain: Method Man
Fifth verse: Ghostface Killah
Sixth verse: Method Man
RZA
Contains a sample of "Hard Times" by Baby Huey
4:02
9 "Mighty Healthy"
Ghostface Killah
Mathematics
Contains a sample of "Wish That I Could Talk to You" by The Sylvers
Contains a sample of "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss
Contains a sample of "Funky President" by James Brown
Contains a sample of "Nobody Beats the Biz" by Biz Markie
Contains an interpolation of "Holy War (Live)" by Divine Force
Contains dialogue from "Shaolin Rescuers"
3:21
10 "Woodrow the Base Head"
(skit)
Superb, Ghostface Killah
RZA
Contains a sample of "All Your Goodies are Gone" by Parliament
3:04
11 "Stay True"
Verses: Ghostface Killah
Chorus: 60 Second Assassin
Inspectah Deck
Contains a sample of "Terri's Tune" by David Axelrod
1:39
12 "We Made It"
First verse: Superb
Second verse: Chip Banks
Third verse: Ghostface Killah
Fourth verse: Hell Razah
Outro: Ghostface Killah
Carlos Broady
Contains a sample of "I Hate I Walked Away" by Syl Johnson
4:37
13 "Stroke of Death"
First verse: Solomon Childs
Second verse: Ghostface Killah
Third verse: RZA
RZA
Contains a sample of "Ain't No Sunshine" by Harlem Underground Band
1:56
14 "Iron's Theme - Intermission" (Intermission)
Ghostface Killah, RZA
RZA
Contains a sample of "Free Again" by Gap Mangione
1:30
15 "Malcolm"
Ghostface Killah
Choo the Specializt
Contains a sample of "Going In Circles" by Isaac Hayes
Contains a sample of "My Little Brown Book" by Duke Ellington and John Coltrane
Contains dialogue from Malcolm X's "After the Bombing" speech
4:15
16 "Who Would You Fuck"
(skit)
Superb, Solomon Childs, RZA
RZA
Contains a sample of "Rain, Rain, Go Away" by Bob Azzam
2:44
17 "Child's Play"
Ghostface Killah
RZA
Contains a sample of "It's Over" by George Jackson
Contains a sample of "Aretha, Sing One for Me" by George Jackson
Contains a sample of "Long Red" by Mountain
Contains an interpolation of "The Bridge is Over" by Boogie Down Productions
3:33
18 "Cherchez La Ghost"
First verse: Ghostface Killah
Chorus: Madam Majestic, U-God
Second verse: U-God
Carlos Bess
Contains a sample of "Cherchez La Femme" by Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band
Contains a sample of "Greedy G" by Brentford All-Stars
Contains an interpolation of "I Get Down for My Crown" by Wu-Tang Clan
3:11
19 "Wu Banga 101"
First verse: GZA
Second verse: Ghostface Killah
Third verse: Raekwon
Fourth verse: Cappadonna
Fifth verse: Masta Killa
Sixth verse: Ghostface Killah
Mathematics
Contains a sample of "Queen of Tears" by Gladys Knight & The Pips
4:23
20 "Clyde Smith" (skit)
Raekwon
RZA 2:40
21 "Iron's Theme - Conclusion" (Conclusion)
Ghostface Killah
RZA
Contains a sample of "Free Again" by Gap Mangione
1:58