Ghostface Killah Recalls Making His Ironman Album 25 Years Later

Yesterday (October 29), Ghostface Killah's debut album Ironman turned 25 years old. In honor of the milestone, the Wu-Tang Clan MC partnered with his former label, Sony Records, with a special video vignette that revisits the RZA-produced Hip-Hop classic from 1996. In the interview, the Staten Island MC says, "[Ironman] was at that time when Hip-Hop, to me, was at its realest." He describes waiting his turn after Method Man, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Raekwon, and GZA released solo albums. "After 36 Chambers was released, I been had in my mind [where] I wanted to go. I was up to bat, because I burned down Cuban Linx with Rae; I knew I was up next." He continues, "The reason I named the album Ironman was based on a shirt. Me and Rae went shopping one day. As soon as I put that shirt on—it was the collar or something—I was like, 'Yo, I feel like "Tony Starks" or somethin', inside the shirt.' The [name] just stuck; ever since then it was Tony Starks." Ghost's association with the "Ironman" character even led to scenes in the Marvel movie that originally included the Wu-Tang MC. Ghostface Killah’s Supreme Clientele 2 Will Be Executive Produced By Kanye West "The album cover came about based on the [Clarks] Wallabees. On Cuban Linx, I talked about dippin' 'em [in dye]." The custom suede footwear became an iconic association with the MC. "Back in those days—in Staten Island in the '80s, you had a bunch of Jamaicans come through there. That's all they was rockin' was big, chunky jewelry with Wallabees and Fila velour suits, and just comin' through truck; I always was a fan of that. At that time, we was like the Cuban link kings," he says of the jewelry. A fresh-from-prison Cappadonna joined Ghost and Raekwon in that fashion aesthetic. A fan of the Park Hill MC's contributions to Only Built For Cuban Linx..., Ghost felt as though he should throw an opportunity to Capp' as Rae had done for him on that '95 LP. The three appeared on the cover, dipping Clarks in dye, and flaunting Cuban link jewels. The video also includes Ghostface describing a special box full of RZA beats. Following a studio flood that compromised albums by Inspectah Deck and others, RZA reportedly assigned his recorded tape creations to colorful boxes. "Making 'Iron Maiden' was just another crazy beat that RZA had produced. He had crazy boxes; the yellow box was the best box—he just had mad sh*t in there. You just gotta choose from whatever he got in that box, like, 'Yo, gimme that; put that to the side, put that to the side, put that to the side.' You make a tape of that, you bring that sh*t home, and you just start throwing your dart." Ghost elaborates, "That sound came together on that album based on the Soul that I got inside me—from growing up as a baby, listening to your mother and them playin' like the Chi-Lites, the Stylistics; it just carried with me. That Soul just came. So when it was time for me to do my album, I had like a slight vision of how I wanted to go with it, and I just picked out whatever I thought was phat at that time. But you gotta have that type of style to know how to swim through the beats and the loops." RZA Explains Why Ghostface Was Hip-Hop’s Best MC When He Made Supreme Clientele One such loop was the basis of "All That I Got Is You." The 25th anniversary edition includes the song's official remix. While RZA cut into a Jackson 5 classic, Ghostface Killah sliced into his vulnerability. "That was 'Maybe Tomorrow' by the Jackson 5; it just touches you in a certain way. The track came; Riz hit me with it, and I knew it was phat though, because the loop was crazy." GFK says that was one of RZA's best beats in the batch, and that he personally requested Mary J. Blige, who had appeared on Method Man's "I'll Be There For You" two years earlier. "I'm goin' through a lot of sh*t at that time, too," the MC reveals of the song. "I had just found out I was a diabetic. Got back to the crib, threw it on, and it just brought another side of me out that I'd never really tapped into before: childhood things, how you grew up, and stuff like that. [It has] a lot of detailed sh*t [and] a lot of people wouldn't have went there, because it was personal. But Allah said, Yo, just give it to 'em. I just followed that, and painted that picture," he says of the Ironman single. In the interview, Ghost describes living with eight other children in his youth, "I got two brothers with Muscular Dystrophy...I guess the emotion I put on it, and the way I [rapped] it over that kind of beat was just different. It just hit different." RZA Discusses Losing Hundreds Of Wu-Tang Clan Beats & 2 Albums In Floods In related news, Ghostface has partnered with Ewing Athletics to release a 25th-anniversary Ironman sneaker. It is inspired by the 1996 LP's colorful artwork. He has partnered with Get On Down Records for two dyed-Wallabee-inspired color vinyl editions of Ironman, which arrive in 2022. Last month, GFK revealed this his upcoming Supreme Clientele 2 will be executive produced by Kanye West and Mike Dean. #BonusBeat: On a recent episode of What's The Headline podcast, the Ambrosia For Heads team discusses the impact of Ghostface Killah and Raekwon after their Verzuz battle: #DmtDaily



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