Saturday Stax: Ghostface Killah Meets The Stylistics
Every once in a while as a hip hop and soul music nerd, you find a match made in heaven. CL Smooth rapping over Pete Rock's jazzy beats - or MOP wilding out over monstrous J Dilla kick drum - and in this case Ghostface Killah saying "to hell with making a beat, I'm just going to rap over a 1971 soul classic!"
If you've ever been in a room listening to hip hop music with me, undoubtedly you've seen me open up a huge smile and pace a room the minute Ghostface's voice appears over a 70s sample. From his flip of Dr. Buzzards Original Savanah Band in "Cherchez La Ghost" to joining in with Raekwon to reinvent the sounds of Gladys Knight and Labi Siffre on "Can It All be so Simple", that old soulful sound pairs perfectly with Ghostface's introspection, perception, and emotive raps.Â
Enter the Stylistics, one of the most sampled groups in the history of hip hop. I've spent many an hour chopping up their harmonies, orchestration, and drum breaks.Â
The Stylistics were one of the leading Philly soul groups produced by the legendary Thom Bell. During the early '70s, the band had 12 straight Top Ten hits, including "You Are Everything," "Betcha by Golly, Wow," "I'm Stone in Love With You," "Break Up to Make Up," and "You Make Me Feel Brand New." Of all their peers, the Stylistics were one of the smoothest and sweetest soul groups of their era. All of their hits were ballads, graced by the soaring falsetto of Russell Thompkins, Jr. and the lush yet graceful productions of Bell, which helped make the Stylistics one of the most successful soul groups of the first half of the '70s.
The Stylistics formed in 1968, when members of the Philadelphia soul groups the Monarchs and the Percussions joined forces after their respective band dissolved. Thompkins, James Smith, and Airrion Love hailed from the Monarchs; James Dunn and Herbie Murrell were from the Percussions. In 1970, the group recorded "You're a Big Girl Now," a song their road manager Marty Bryant co-wrote withRobert Douglas, a member of their backing band Slim and the Boys, and the single became a regional hit for Sebring Records. The larger Avco Records soon signed the Stylistics, and single eventually climbed to number seven in early 1971. (all music)
Once they were on Avco, the Stylistics began working with producer/songwriter Thom Bell, who had previously worked with the Delfonics. the Stylistics became Bell's pet project and with lyricist Linda Creed, he crafted a series of hit singles that relied as much on the intricately arranged and lush production as they did on Thompkins' falsetto. Amazingly, every single that Bell produced for the Stylistics was a Top Ten R&B hit.
Enter Ghostface Killah - my favorite rapper from the legendary Wu-Tang Clan. Hailing from Staten Island, Pretty Tony, as he is otherwise known, brought a certain level of sincerity and introspection to the hard core group. His voice pitched slightly higher than his counterparts, brought a cool, bright balance to the collective.Â
When I was first introduced to Ghostface's solo work, I related immediately to his love of comics. He took on the moniker Tony Starks, and released a series of "Iron Man" albums. Ghost had an ear for picking out the grimiest of beats to the brightest and most playful beats for his songs. His wavering between rapping about the drug scene to pouring his heart out in overly emotional dialogues make him one of my favorite MCs of all time.Â
Conceptually, I love what he did on "Big Girl" from the 2006 "Fishscale" album. To me "Fishscale" would be classified as a modern hip hop classic. With incredible production from J Dilla, Pete Rock, Just Blaze, MF Doom, and Cool & Dre - Ghostface found incredible balance to explore a whole range of topics and sounds.Â
Floating toward the end of the album, after Ghostface takes you through a journey of crack deals, gunshots, and an arsenal of Bravado, we're treated to an unexpected gem in "Big Girl". Instead of taking the typical approach in hip hop to sample, chop and layer drums over the track, Ghost just straight up raps over the other song. There is only one slight manipulation to the Stylistics ballad, which is that it is sped up just a tad to keep pace with Ghostface's ode to the ladies of the streets.
Pretty Tony sees a few rich women high off of cocaine and has a flashback to when he was hustling in the crack/ cocaine game. He laments for the state of affairs in the hood for all of the ladies that he knows. Many of the women have resorted to cooking crack for him and wasting their lives away supporting a habit that is holding them back from reaching their full potential. While encouraging them to be a secretary, business woman, lawyer, doctor, accountant, or computer wizard, he realizes the reality of where society has placed all of them. Perhaps it's too big a hole to dig out of?
Despite the bleak outlook that many would have observing the crack house, Ghostface trumpets a verse filled with optimism and sincerity. He admits to his own faults, as he too, has a taste for the poison, but has kept his head on straight enough to be "laced with jewels". He allows the people around him to get high because that's their own decision and it's making them money in a community where they have very few opportunities to be a financial success. Acknowledging the tension between being able to stay afloat during hard times and the eventual death spiritually and socially, Ghost can only ask that his addicted acquaintances "snap out of it."
