Thursday May 15th
Ghostface Killah (Wu Tang Clan)
The Tivoli Theatre Francis Street Dublin 8
Doors 8pm (Early Show)
Admission 25euro - +353 1 454 4472 Tivoli Box Office
www.ticket.ie www.ticketmaster.ie www.tivoli.ie

The name alone equates to something special, Ghostface Killah aka Tony Starks aka Iron Man all point towards a special type of talent, compare the names of Diddy, Lil Wayne, 50cent etc.. and you get where we are coming from. In 2008, The Wu-Tang Clan are years removed from their prime, both artistically and commercially, but one member of the Clan seems to forever be at his artistic best, continuously providing the rap game with the charisma and energy that only he can deliver. Ghostface Killah, who dropped not one, but two quality albums in 2006, returned just a year later after the release of More Fish to give us The Big Doe Rehab in December 2007. Throughout their 15 year career, 1 MC has in essence become the de facto Wu-Tang standard bearer, Ghostface is the type of guy who will stab you with a ninja star down a back alley and drop a verse for you as he watches you bleed to death, and whilst he does this, you'd go...'wow! what a dope verse, I wish I wasn't dying'.

12 years after his own debut Iron Man, the abstract gangster, elder statesman who along with Slick Rick is regarded as the best storyteller in the rap game. And when the 'King Of New York' title is bandied about...Ghostface is up there with Nas and Jay-Z. Artists like Diddy and 50 Cent would not be fit for this title. Ghostface's lyrics sound unedited and unrehearsed—he frequently changes his mind or corrects himself from one verse to the next—but the songs aren’t rushed or sloppy. He has an ear for prosaic details (what time it was when the police busted in, what show was on TV) that bring freshness to hip-hop’s often rote tales of drugs. Whether he is  going over a fast or slow beat, all styles complement his lyrics, which alternate between candid autobiographical vignettes and delightful non sequiturs. His voice is a gorgeous instrument, mellifluous even when he’s yelling, which he does an awful lot. Few hip-hop artists can squeeze as many words onto an album as GFK, the average rapper will do a 16 bar verse, GFK has been known to spit for 64 bars straight with no pause or rap affectionately over a classic soul jam.

GFK, the Wu Tang's most prolific rapper, executive producer of the classic first album 'Enter The Wu Tang' with The RZA and collaborator with Kanye West, Amy Winehouse, Beyonce, Jay-Z,  Mary J Blige, Prefuse 73, Mark Ronson, DangerDoom, Cassius, Busta Rhymes to name but a few is on another level commercially. His solo LP's have sold over 3 million units to date and he is still forging out a career that has eclipsed his fellow Wu Members for consistency and frequency. Staten Island born and bred, GFK was the first Wu-Tang member we heard spit a rhyme on Enter The 36 Chambers on 'Bring Da Ruckus'

'Ghostface, catch the blast of a hype verse
My glock bursts, leave in a hearse, I did worse
I come rough, tough like an elephant tusk
Ya head rush, fly like Egyptian musk'

His contribtion to the legendary 1995 release Only Built for Cuban Linx (Raekwons ground breaking solo debut) set him up nicely for his own release - already receiving accolades for his verses on anthems like 'Proteck Ya Neck', 'Ice Cream' 'Heaven n Hell' and 'Can It Be All So Simple'. Iron Man was released in 1996, went platinum and featured the cool Speed Racer video for Daytona500, other singles included Motherless Child and Camay. GFK's music is saturated in the soul music from the 1970s...Al Green, The Delfonics, Marvin Gaye, The Sylvers and Stylistics all inspire this lyrical behemoths productions. He controversially released his album on the same month as The Wu Tangs '8 Diagrams' to highlight his own pulling power, there was also a public beef with The RZA, with Ghostface questioning the production values on the new Wu Tang LP. Ghostface is not afraid to speak his mind. He has released 2 albums in the last 15 months and is about to drop his highly anticipated MF Doom collaboration this year "Swift & Changeable'... the world eagely waits. His featured vocal on the remix of the Amy Winehouse single 'Rehab' further propelled him into the mainstream psyche. Ghostface is a force in Hip Hop, able to shine above his peers and has always been a man of extremes. Through it all, he remains perhaps the most lovable rapper in the world: a wounded warrior with raps to match his speeding heartbeat. This is an artist who commands full marks from music reviewers the world over.