Put It On The Line

Ghostface Killah w/ Wigz - "Out The Way"
Ghostface Killah - "Struggle"
Ghostface Killah w/ Raekwon - "The Watch"

The Ghostface and Trife Da God has been out for a minute and it's not too bad. Lot's of pre-Fishscale hoopla pushed Put It On The Line and ghetto-hipsters lined up quick math to purchase this CD/ DVD.

Neatly packaged CD/ DVD combos hit the radar hard. Usually a gang of remixes, OK B-sides and collaborations with third-string musicians fill the CD while gimmicky video footage of unreleased music videos and visual op-eds fill the DVD; now erase everything I have written about CD/ DVDs when considering Put It On The Line.

The first track on the album is "Cocaine Trafficing" with Ghostface and Trife. The whole "we major" on bricks reminds me of a new "Criminology," but the production from Look Out Entertainment sounds heavily influenced by Jay-Z productions. Coincidently, Trife is really on some HOVA-type delivery and large on the early-`90s NYC hustle raps. Trife's "Hustle Hard" confirms that he has taken a page from Jay-Z's rap book (incidentally, Jay-Z "borrows" from Biggie Smalls like money from pawnshops). Example, "Thugs with hidious scares/ bag the prettiest broads/ and teach them how to move coke/ in their panties and bras," wait, there is more:

"That was nine-seven when Biggie Smalls gave us the script/ the Ten Crack Commandments on how to manage a brick/ shopping bags popping tags with the brand-newest shit/ no more hand me down rags my apperance was dipped."

Jay-Z Lyric Casserole

1 Biggie reference
1 brick, or "snow" if a brick reference is not available
3 cups of "new shit"
1 post-bling reference

Bake for 45-minutes and let cool for 15-minutes before serving.

Damn Duke, looks I just baked me a ghostwriter's pay cheque.

Ghost's "The Sun" with Raekwon and Slick Rick is official. Cats that are not too deep into the Tony Straks' catalogue will find a new favorite. Ghost shines over a sample driven "Stuggle" (sampled from?) but "The Watch" with Raekwon is sure to make heads bop. Que the Chauncey-type intro reminiscent to "Daytona 500" and then it happens; holyshit, Barry White joins the party!

Now a history lesson that O-Dub put me up on through a recent J-Love interview. "The Watch" was supposed to be on Bulletproof Wallets with "The Sun," and were pulled. Unless you were keen and bought a first issue you won't. "The Watch" was pulled, because of a Barry White sample ($$$) and "The Sun" was pulled to avoid a lawsuit, because RZA lost the sample!

Live Ghost is priceless and the DVD portion of Put It On The Line would have sold minus a CD. The interlude to "Holla" is vintage Ghost explaining how babies are made.

"A-yo this is the music right, my mother and my father used to fuck off of shit like this, right. It's like when theywas doing shit like that, them motherfuckers made me and shit, you know what I mean. So now when you see me, you see my kids, I fuck off of shit like this now."

Damn. Next thing Ghost says, "Put the blue light on, man," and "Holla" carries clout for cats in the audience. The DVD is brilliant. Cappadonna, Killah Priest, GZA, Masta Killa and Son God (Ghost's adult child) appear on classics like "Liquid Swords," "Ice Cream" and "Be This Way" that make a potential gimmick official.

I've selected three tracks and none of them have Trife; a little oversight on my part. How about that "Misdemeanor" sample from Foster Sylvers on "Out The Way," not too shabby; "Misdemeanor" is too nice not to be every rappers' sample. I will post that "Holla" with the interlude in a couple days.