Album Review: Ghostface Killah, Set the Tone

Ghostface Killah

Set the Tone (Guns & Roses) (released May 10, 2024)

If you ask me – and if you came to this site for this post, I guess you kinda did – there is no better time than right now to be a veteran in hip-hop.

A decade ago, it was hard out here for a 90s legend. Y’all know the score: Somewhere around 2009, almost in an instant, everything changed. Production, delivery, subject matter – nearly everything that once defined what a rapper was was completely reimagined by a new generation of artists. Between an industry that pushed them aside and young audiences that were outright antagonistic toward them, the old guard struggled to find a way.

But as I’ve said for almost the decade-plus lifespan of this site, change eventually comes. Nas’ historic union with producer Hit-Boy seemed to bridge the gap, allowing a veteran spitter to continue his legacy while also connecting to audiences that were in diapers (or in vitro) when his debut was turning heads. And with Kendrick Lamar going 4-0 against Drake in the most one-sided battle since Godzilla C-Walked through Tokyo, it seems like, finally, lyrical skill is back in style.

I guess it’s time to throw up the Iron Man symbol for Pretty Toney.

No offense to Paul Wall or that Rocky Maivia guy, but Ghostface Killah has been hip-hop’s people’s champ for decades now. From his enigmatic presence in the early days of the Wu-Tang Clan, to his star-making solo releases, and his vastly underrated run in the 2000s where he legit could be ranked among the best in the world, GFK always stood among rap’s elite.

This seemed like the right moment to remind the game that nobody can step in his Wallabees.

That said, I was a little nervous about the release of Set the Tone (Guns & Roses), his 12th solo studio LP. It’s not that I doubted his talent, it was Father Time who had me a little shook. His last project, Ghostface Killahs in 2019, is probably his weakest effort to date. I also wasn’t the biggest fan of his 2023 single “Yapp,” with Remy Ma. It just felt oddly dated, like a leftover from one of those 2000s sessions. And even his new single “Scar Tissue,” featuring the rejuvenated Nas, wasn’t the atomic bomb you’d expect. It’s a solid outing, sure, but when you have two titans on the same track, “solid” feels like a letdown.

But I come bearing good news – when Ghost is at peak performance, Set the Tone pulls no punches. It’s just the softer side of GFK that quickly runs out of gas.

Let’s start with the great: Think of Set the Tone as a double album, hence the Guns & Roses subtitle. The first half of the album is Guns, and yes, they are a blazin’. Things kick off with “6 Minutes.” No cute intro, no easing the listener into the project, just Ghost, Jim Jones and Sheek Louch going crazy over classic boom bap. I’ve often come to the defense of Sheek over the years – he’s so much better than he gets credit for – and I’m always happy when he reunites Wu-Block with Ghost. He’s GFK’s best rhyme parter, next to a certain chef. This track is exactly what you’d want from Ghost’s first album of the 2020s – intense delivery and ridiculous bars, like Toney bragging about being “surrounded by women big heinies.” Only he can pull off a line like that.

Ghost turns back the clock with Method Man on “Pair of Hammers,” doing the tag-team thing over a track that seems like the spiritual successor of Biggie’s “The What,” which, of course, also featured Meth.

We don’t often talk about Ghostface’s production post RZA but it really shines on the first half of the album. “We’re making movies,” Ghost yells on “Kilo in the Safe,” before going in on over a horror movie score. On the opposite end of things, we get our requisite Raekwon appearance with October London on “Skate Odyssey,” which VERY quickly will be in the running for my favorite song of the year. Ghost goes from ranting about glass floors in Vegas to Maybach couches to robbing jewels all in one breath over the most decadent of horns. It’s elegant chaos. But the biggest surprise by far is “No Face.” Ghost always sounds his best over soulful soundscapes, which this song delivers. But it’s the inclusion of Kanye West that really takes things to another level. And this isn’t “Noob Saibot cosplay while my wife is dressed like a Fruit Roll-Up” Kanye. If you told me this song was recorded in 2005 I’d have a hard time disagreeing. It’s great to hear Chop Up the Soul Kanye, if only for a couple of minutes.

The second half of the album is Roses, and the bloom, unfortunately, is off it.

Back in 2009, Ghost got a LOT of criticism for his so-called “R&B album” – The Wizard of Poetry. I certainly wouldn’t call it an R&B album – he wasn’t T-Paining all over the record, thankfully – but it was a collection of love-laced rap tracks, which Ghost was not a stranger to at that point in his career. GFK playing Staten Island Teddy Pendergrass over soulful production worked very well and it’s an underrated release. The Roses section attempts to follow the yellow brick road paved by its predecessor but most of the tracks don’t work at all.

The biggest issue is the production – while Guns was boom-bap inspired with a few twists and turns, Roses is modern-day radio fare, and it’s a very, very awkward fit. Guest vocalist Harl3y, who features on a ton of tracks on the project, comes off as Great Value Ty Dolla Sign. More grating than great, actually. Shaun Wiah’s flip of Mario’s “Let Me Love You” on “Touch Me” ain’t much better. There are a few wins though – “Locked In” isn’t bad, thanks to its Barry White-esque bassline. And even though “Shots” is the Government Mandated Afrobeats Song(TM), it’s actually a really fun outing. Busta Rhymes sounds way better here than on his ill-fated Blockbusta album; that project still makes me cry. But by all means, hit the skip button when you get to “Trap Phone” and save yourself from Chucky HollyWood’s hyperactive Uzi Vert impression. It’s like listening to one of those ratchet relationship podcasts on 10x speed.

Set the Tone is truly a tale of two albums. The first half is amazing – Ghost feels energized, the production is strong, the collabs click, it’s easily some of this best stuff since his mid-00s run. But the second half falls to the same tropes that have hindered countless legends in the past decade – attempting to shoehorn themselves into modern sounds that don’t fit who they are. Nas taught us that there is a better way to win.

Overall, Set the Tone isn’t a bad album, Ghost doesn’t make those. If anything, it’s missed potential. GFK’s legacy is secure, even with a few misses on his scorecard. But the first half of this album tells me that the potential for one more classic may reside in his pen.

Don’t count these legends out.

Best tracks: “Skate Odyssey,” “Pair of Hammers,” “No Face”

3.5 stars out of 5