2000 Rewind: Remembering Ghostface Killah’s Supreme Clientele

Y’all ready to relive Y2K? All year long the Rewind column will revisit the year 2000, celebrating great releases that will mark 25 years in 2025. I’ll be joined by a host of old friends as we look back at a new millennium of music.

We didn’t know it back in February of 2000, but when GhostDini aka Pretty Toney aka the Wallabee Champ aka Tony Stark aka GFK, better known as Ghostface Killah, dropped his third album, it would kick off a decade-long run that would cement him as the Wu-Tang Clan’s most prolific and successful solo artist. We knew Ghost was a great before Supreme Clientele, but after it we learned he was untouchable. Ronald Grant is back to chat with me about one of my favorite albums of all time, and one of the most important releases in Wu-Tang history.

Share your first thoughts of hearing Supreme Clientele way back when.

Ron: I can say without hesitation that I’d been a fan of Ghost’s lyricism from the time of 36 Chambers. And that admiration only increased with his release of Ironman a few years later. But even then, I had many a moment where, as impressed as I was, I just had to throw up my hands and say, “What the f*** is he talking about???” So, upon first digging into Supreme Clientele, my honest-to-God first reaction was that times 20. But that’s part of the beauty of Ghost’s lyricism: it’s so imaginative, so absurd and so off-kilter but is delivered with boatloads of charisma that you can’t help but to be enthralled. And Ghost really upped the ante on Supreme from the moment he starts dropping food-inspired, viciously decadent bars on “Nutmeg.” Paired with a re-energized RZA behind the boards and razor-sharp guest appearances, and Supreme Clientele instantly staked its claim as both a Top 5 Wu-Tang solo joint, and probably the last truly stellar album of that era of the Clan.

Edd: I grew up a big fan of the Wu-Tang Clan but in 2000, I’d probably say my favorite members were Raekwon, Method Man or ODB. Sure, I liked Ghostface, but his Ironman didn’t get nearly as many spins as records from those other members. That all changed when I copped Supreme Clientele not long after release day. I was always impressed by GFK’s charisma but it seemed off the charts here. Dude was just screaming the most random lines: “This rap is like ziti, facing me real TV/Crush at high speeds, strawberry kiwi!” Was he reading the lunch menu? Was he speaking in code? I had no idea but it sounded so dope regardless. This is the record that would make Ghost my all-time favorite Wu member and would eventually cement him as the Wu’s MVP in the 2000s. Also it annoyed me that the tracklisting on the CD case didn’t match the ACTUAL track listing, but that seemed to happen a lot in 2000. See Badu’s Mama’s Gun.

Best song on the project? What’s your choice?

Ron: “Buck 50”

I’m severely biased, but I’m gonna go with my favorite off Supreme Clientele: “Buck 50.” There’s just something special about a Wu Tang posse cut, and Supreme gives us two of the best, along with “Wu Banga 101.” But “Buck 50” stands out as the best song on Supreme because it’s an absolutely stacked posse cut that’s supremely catchy and highly lyrical. There’s the funky, bouncy, dusty soul sample. Each emcee dashes out of the gate in top form. Yes, even Cappadonna! Meth is relentless in how he kicks things off. Redman is in rare form with what I’d argue is the second-best guest verse on the entire album (more on that later). And last but certainly not least: name me another emcee that can effortlessly recite the word “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” forward AND backward at the end of their verse. It just proves how unique an emcee Ghost really is. “Buck 50” is not just the best song on the album, but an exercise in how to make a nearly flawless posse track.

Edd: “Mighty Healthy”

I love this project so much that I could make a case for any song in my top six as No. 1. But “Mighty Healthy” just squeaks ahead due to Mathematics’ incredible production – that “My God so they are killers” into “HEYYY” is one of my favorite beat drops in hip-hop history. From there, Ghost goes on a tear of stream-of-consciousness carnage, shouting out everybody from Raekwon to Ted Koppel to Derek Jeter. His delivery is breathless, his imagination is boundless, the beat is bananas – it’s absolutely one of the best songs in the entire Wu catalog.

Name the album’s best video.

Ron: “Apollo Kids”

Both “Apollo Kids” and “Cherchez LaGhost” are fairly standard music videos for their time, but I prefer the former. Supreme Clientele takes everything we love about Wu-Tang and turns it up ten notches, especially the videos. Ghost walking the streets of Staten Island decked out in a signature maroon robe and menacing black and while mask. Seeing Ghost and Rae owning and running their own Wallabee factory. Even Ghost, Rae and U-God carrying around the championship belts. None of it was revolutionary or groundbreaking for a music video, but Ghost still gave us what we wanted: an evolved version of the Wally Champ and his cohorts full of arrogance and having tons of fun while being on top of the hip-hop world.

Edd: “Mighty Healthy”

I guess y’all can tell I really like “Mighty Healthy.” Ron’s right, “Apollo Kids” and “Cherchez” are typical 2000s video fare, and “Mighty Healthy” isn’t THAT much different, but what sets it apart is the direction. Those rapid fire cuts – from Ghost on the block, to rocking a show, to … sorta driving a car, I guess – add to the frantic pacing of the track. Plus I love how the comic images were laid over the dialog cuts from Shaolin Rescuers. A kid who loves comics and marital arts movies holding down both the stage and the block – that’s as Wu-Tang as you can get.

Which song should have been a single?

Ron: “Buck 50”

While I think there are a few tracks on Supreme that have the potential for radio play, I’ll take “Buck 50” as my dream single. Let’s count off the obvious: the production is both vintage RZA and completely infectious, both soulful and poppy. And It’s got the slickest sample on the entire album. The way every emcee effortlessly bounces off each other from one verse to the next is indisputable. Plus, for as hot as they were, having Meth and Red on a song was a homerun for a potential single back in 2000. With all that in the chamber, it’s a little hard to understand why Ghost chose “Mighty Healthy” over “Buck 50” as a single. But hey, Ghost definitely knows better than I do, so I’ll just ride with that.

Edd: “One”

Again, anything in my top six is an easy pick, but I’ll go with “One” because I bet an imaginative director with a decent budget would have made a great visuals out of it. And though it wouldn’t work back in 2000, 25 years in the future, I could definitely hear that ONEEEEEE drop being meme’d to death in this current era. 2000 Ghost missed out on some of those modern day coins – if “One” hit big then, I guarantee it would hit again today! My guy missed the bag on that one.

The production on this album is INCREDIBLE. Which beat goes hardest?

Ron: “Nutmeg”

I went back and forth between “Nutmeg,” “Wu Banga 101” and “We Made It” on this question. But there’s this lively, animated, dramatic flair to “Nutmeg” that kicks Supreme Clientele off in the perfect fashion. It seems like Ghost knew he had to expand his ear for production for this follow-up while keeping the essence of Wu-Tang intact. That said, Black Moes-Art took RZAs formula of gritty, distorted production and added dashes of color and sheen to go match Ghost’s unparalleled storytelling. Honestly, there’s so much well-crafted production throughout Supreme Clientele that it’s difficult to narrow it down to one song. But because “Nutmeg” began the album in such a perfect manner, I’ll give it the nod for best production.

Edd: “Mighty Healthy”

My God, so they are killers
I’ve heard lots of people say once a man’s a killer, they just keep on killing and killing
They sort of develop a taste for blood
Yeah, that’s right
They kill one man, or kill 10
It’s all the same (Yes)
After all, they can only hang you once
HEYYYYYYYYYY

*BEAT DROPS AND BLASTS YOUR SPEAKERS TO OBLIVION*

Yeah, I already talked about what a work of art this beat is. It stars elegantly, almost mystical, before exploding into a boom bap symphony. However, I can’t hate on Ron’s choice and he’s right – this album is crammed with incredible production. But it’s the layers of “Mighty Healthy” that makes it mighty exceptional.

Which feature verse is the standout?

Ron: Raekwon on “Wu Banga 101”

Even with more than a few notable features on Supreme Clientele, I’ll take Raekwon’s verse on “Wu Banga 101” as the one that stands out the most. The way he comes in directly after Ghost takes me back to Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, even if just for a moment. It’s just the vivid, intense imagery that Rae gives us, with visions of burning coconut incense and stash houses in Hackensack in a verse that’s perfectly placed right after one of Ghost that really does it. True to form, GZA, Cappadonna and Masta Killa all come with some of their best work. And I can’t go without reiterating that Redman still has my favorite feature on the album on “Buck 50.” But it’s Rae that takes the cake for the best feature on Supreme.

Edd: Redman on “Buck 50”

I’m actually surprised at Ron’s pick – not because I disagree that strongly, it’s just that it reminds me how strong the top-tier features are on this list. At first glance I was like, “oh really, Rae?” But then when I go back and listen – “Haagen-Dazs goggles, White House Gucci flag on the roof, call us rock groups” – and I’m like yeahhhhh, Rae.

But for me, nobody is topping Reggie Noble on “Buck 50,” one of his best verses EVER:

Y’all ain’t trained to brawl
Y’all more like in trainin’ bras
Wet behind the ear, you’re not prepared
For the project flow, with extra stairs

It’s incredible how this project made rap’s elite spit at an even higher level. This is why more competition is needed in modern hip-hop.

Ghostface is the master of wild bars. Which one is the most memorable?

Ron: I had the hardest time deciding which verse from Ghost was the most memorable from Supreme Clientele. But just off sheer entertainment and storytelling, Ghost’s first verse on “Wu Banga 101” does it for me. I don’t think Ghost gets enough credit as a storyteller, and maybe that’s because a lot of his story rhymes are injected with lots of humor and ridiculousness. But once again, when you pair that with Ghost’s charm, it’s hard to say no. And that’s what we get here with Ghost spinning a tale about a corrupt reverend who is likely soon to get what he deserves. Don’t get me wrong: as Ed pointed out, Ghost has tons of wild, off-the-wall bars that will leave you both nodding and scratching your head on this album and throughout his catalog. But the subtlety he uses to deliver this pristine verse is the standout moment in an album filled to the brim with masterfully unorthodox verses.

Edd: Ron already mentioned it, but Ghost casually dropping Supercalifragalisticexpialidocious then effortlessly SAYING IT BACKWARD on “Buck 50” still blows my mind. Then he finishes off the verse talking about randomly eating grouper, because OF COURSE he does. Reading it does not do it justice, you have to hear it to respect its brilliance. We may joke about Ghost’s bizarre nonsequiturs and rando references but he’s truly an incredible linguist.

Is Supreme Clientele Ghostface’s best album? If not, what is?

Ron: I’ll just go ahead and give a definitive YES: Supreme Clientele is Ghostface’s best album. Ghost and RZA took what they did on Ironman and truly raised the bar, to the point that Supreme is not only running neck and neck with Stankonia as the best hip hop album of 2000, but one of the best albums of the 2000s and probably ever. And this was at a time when people the world over were saying that Wu-Tang was falling off and not what they used to be. I feel like Ghost may very well have taken that personally and essentially told the hip hop world to hold his beer. That’s not to say that Ghost hasn’t had some greatness since then. You can look at Fishscale and Twelve Reasons to Die as examples. But Supreme came at a time when it was desperately needed by Wu-Tang and by the fans, and Ghost delivered masterpiece in the process.

Edd: Yes, yes and yes. Look, I’ve heard arguments made for Ironman – an incredible project, no doubt – and even the Fishscale fans have named that project as the pinnacle of GFK’s career but neither have the front to back quality of Supreme Clientele. The fact that I placed songs like “Stay True” and “Child’s Play” at the bottom of my ranking, which it would probably be among the best songs of the year if they dropped in 2025, shows just how high the bar was set here. This album was such a special project and Ghost has never been able to bottle that lightning again.

Where would you rank Supreme Clientele among all solo Wu-Tang projects?

Ron: I’d rank Supreme Clientele number three all time behind Only Built 4 Cuban Linx and Liquid Swords. Ironman is still a classic, and at the time, it was hard to believe that Ghost would improve upon what he did on such a stellar debut. But that’s exactly what he did. With time, Supreme has come to be Ghostface’s wildest, most charismatic and most visionary album out of his own catalog, and possibly out of Wu-Tang’s. Ghost gives us moments of absurd humor, radiant wordplay that paints a stunning and hilarious picture of being at the top of the hip hop food chain at the time, and music and lyrics from one of hip hop’s most colorful characters of all time. You really can’t ask for much else beyond that.

Edd: Go ahead, scream blasphemy – I’d place Supreme Clientele above Ironman, Fishscale, and yes, even above the heralded Liquid Swords. The only Wu solo project that beats it is Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, and considering that’s one of the greatest rap albums of all time, there’s no shame being in that album’s massive shadow. As great as those previously mentioned albums are, none have the wild charisma and unbridled fury of Supreme Clientele. Listening to that album feels like Ghost behind the wheel of an out-of-control car – it may seem all over the place at first, until you settle in and realize that’s Ghost is totally in control. It’s rap’s ultimate thrill ride, a 5-star Wu Banga if I’ve ever heard one.

Who do you agree with, Ron or Edd? Let us know and share your favorite moments from this album below.