GHOSTFACE KILLAH: 36 SEASONS

LABEL | TOMMY BOY
GENRE | REVENGE RAP REDUX
RELEASE DATE | 12.9.14

Ghostface has a pretty sweet comfort zone; in this current phase of his career (this album, plus last year’s 12 Reasons to Die and the forthcoming full-length collab with BADBADNOTGOOD), he’s rarely heard without a live band backing him up with, as Brooklyn soul-funk outfit The Revelations do here. There’s a loose revenge fantasy woven through the album’s 14 tracks, but you don’t need to be invested in the narrative to enjoy listening to Ghost and Pharaoh Monch lyrically hurdle bongo slaps and vinyl cuts on “Emergency Procedure,” or to marvel at his vividly detailed storytelling on the timely police brutality vignette “Double Cross.” There are more than a few bright moments (“Love Don’t Live Here No More” being another), but the frequent guest spots and the familiar themes and aesthetic to 12 Reasons leave 36 Seasons somewhat fatigued by its finish. Ghost has perfected this style, but he may need a new challenge soon.