Ghostface Killah
Supreme Clientele 2 (released August 22, 2025)
Sequel albums are a gift and a curse.
And I mean that literally – look at Jay Z’s Blueprint 2, for example.
In terms of music, attempting to create a direct sequel to a classic body of work is always an uphill effort. Yeah, it’s cool for marketing and branding, but it also sets unrealistic expectations. Artists are required to transport themselves back to the zenith of their careers, and either match or top their best work – often years after the fact.
Father Time don’t work like that.
But then again, Father Time never stepped in the ring with the Wallabee Champ.
Full disclosure: Y’all know I strive to be your Unbiased Album Reviewer but I’ve made no secret that Supreme Clientele, Ghostface Killah’s heralded sophomore album, is one of my favorite rap albums of all time. In fact, we celebrated its 25th birthday here on the site in February.
Although I adore that album with all by being, I’m not the same kid I was in 2000 riding around campus blasting “Nutmeg” from my Chevy Cavalier. My knees actually sound like nutmeg now. And while Ghostface followed up Supreme Clientele with more than a dozen additional dope albums, he also isn’t the same man he was in 2000. Last year’s Set the Tone was one of the few misfires in his previously bulletproof wallet discography.
Maybe it’s the fact that Supreme Clientele 2 is part of Mass Appeal’s Legend Has It series, and with artist like Nas and Raekwon finding new life, GFK knew it was time to step his game up. Maybe it’s because he has a chip on his shoulder after the so-so response to last year’s LP. Or maybe we forgot just how good he is.
Regardless, Supreme Clientele 2 is here to smash all your doubts. Father Time took an L, but Tone doesn’t.
It’s pretty clear that SC2 doesn’t stray far from the foundation laid by not only its namesake, but other Ghost hits like Fishscale and Ironman. On the first proper track named, um, “Ironman” Ghost returns to the frantic non-sequesters, insane storytelling and wild imagination that defined his best work:
“Chase bank – Nobody move! Just finish your lunch/damn, I got brain matter all over my dunks!”
“I one sold Colgate sniff to the owner of Zales/had the whole building lit, the department of sales/One lady screamed, “F you Starks, you’re going to jaiiiiiil!”
I have no idea how he comes up with this stuff, but it never fails to entertain.
Current singles “Metaphysics” and “Rap Kingpin” are clearly cut from the SC1 cloth, with the latter even borrowing from the legendary “Mighty Healthy,” aka one of the greatest songs of the 2000s. It’s not biting if you’re sampling yourself!
But thankfully SC2 isn’t a rehash of well-worn territory. It’s familiar, sure, but manages to freshen up the formula. MOP joins Starks for “Sample 420,” with production so groovy it forces you to walk with a limp. For those looking for more aggression, “Curtis May” recruits the other Ghost Styles P and Conway the Machine as they bully their way through production that Timberland-stops over the light keys. Conway drops one of the best verses on the album here, by the way.
We also get more wild narratives that can only be cooked up in the mind of Pretty Toney. “The Trial” has Ghostface and Raekwon on trial pleading their case to Judge Method Man, with Pills and Reek the Villain in tow while stenographer GZA adds his usual genius insight. It’s as ridiculous – and compelling – as you’d hope. But honestly, I was more impressed by “4th Disciple,” where Ghost starts telling a story at its climax, pleading with his friend as he takes his last breath. It’s pretty jarring – we don’t know the backstory and very little about the final moments of his friend’s life, all we hear are Ghost’s heartfelt cries for him to hang on. It’s the type of gripping cinematic narrative that defined Ghost’s underrated Twelve Reasons to Die series.
About halfway through the album, Ghost takes a moment to pay homage to rap’s golden age, with strong results. “Break Beats” turns back the clock with 80s production accenting his Tasmanian Devil pace and blistering punchlines (“every kiss begins with Kay – then I blast it off”). We even get some beat-boxing on, duh, “Beat Box” and he doesn’t lose a step.
We all know that Ghost is an old soul, and if it’s one thing he loves, it’s classic R&B. That’s why “Georgy Porgy” is such an unexpected expected treat. Yes, Ghost turns an Eric Benet song into an insane heist record and it’s magnificent. But even that pales in the face of arguably the album’s best record, “Love Me Anymore,” where he and Nas trade bars over the rumbling baseline of “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore.” Ghost takes shots his opps while Esco warns that you may take your homies to the well but you can’t make them drink from it. If you like your Ghostface yelling at his enemies over classic R&B – and unless you’re Action Bronson, who doesn’t – these are the records for you.
Admittedly, the album does lessen in its final stages. “Soul Thang” is a massive posse track full of GFK’s proteges and they mostly hold it down, it just lacks the creativity or fervor of previous cuts like “The Trial” or “Curtis May.” “Candyland” brings the album’s pace down quite a bit as Ghost drops endless candy metaphors to describe his drug escapades. It’s creative, but often feels like he’s just naming all the stuff he picked up trick-or-treating. A little more of that unhinged storytelling would have helped this out a lot.
But one track I greatly appreciated was “You Ma Friend,” a touching – and needed – look at the platonic love that bonds male friends. The original Supreme Clientele was teeming with hyper masculinity (almost to a fault) but a track like this is the result of 25 years of maturity: “You say you love me/brother, I love you/I push you out the way and then take a slug for you.” Ghost has always been his brother’s keeper.
Is Supreme Clientele 2 as good as Supreme Clientele 1? Nope, and we didn’t expect it to be. It just stands as a great album in its own right. But if we must compare, it’s probably his best work since the Fishscale/More Fish era, and that’s mighty high praise for the Mighty Healthy MC.
I don’t know what’s in the water at Mass Appeal Records, but head honcho Nas needs to be in the running for a Nobel Peace Prize. Supreme Clientele 2 is yet another album of the year contender from that camp, giving another deserving rap legend like Ghostface the chance to prove that age may be a number, but Wu-Tang is forever.
Best tracks: “Love Me Anymore,” “Ironman” “Georgy Porgy”
4 stars out of 5
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