| Fishscale | ||||
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| Released | March 28, 2006 (2006-03-28) | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 64:48 | |||
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| Ghostface Killah chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Fishscale | ||||
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Fishscale is the fifth studio album by American rapper andWu-Tang Clan memberGhostface Killah, released March 28, 2006, onDef Jam in the United States. The album features guest appearances from every member of the Wu-Tang Clan, as well as Ghostface Killah'sTheodore Unit. It also features producers such asMF Doom,Pete Rock,J Dilla, andJust Blaze, among others. The album follows anorganized crime theme, and is named after a term for uncut cocaine.
Fishscale sold nearly 110,000 units in its first week of release, and debuted at number four on theBillboard 200, and number two on theTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, making it the highest charting Ghostface Killah album since his 1996 debut,Ironman.[1] The singles "Back Like That," and "Be Easy" entered the USHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, with the former peaking at the 14th position.[2] Upon its release,Fishscale received universal acclaim, with critics praising the album's cohesiveness, lyricism, and production. As of November 2009[update], the album had sold 332,000 copies.[3]
In January 2006, a sampler was released containing full versions of "Be Easy," "Back Like That," and "Kilo," as well as shortened versions of "Big Girl" and "Charlie Brown". It also included an alternate version of "The Champ". "Charlie Brown," which was produced byMF Doom, contained asample fromCaetano Veloso's "Alfomega" that did not ultimately receive clearance, and the song did not appear on the final album. Similarly, "The Champ" was not cleared and an altered version found its way on to the album.
J Dilla created his two productions for Ghostface,[citation needed] but also used them on his instrumental albumDonuts;MF Doom's productions are taken from hisSpecial Herbs series of albums.
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 88/100[4] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| The A.V. Club | A[6] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A−[7] |
| Los Angeles Times. | [8] |
| Mojo |  [9] |
| Pitchfork | 9.0/10[10] |
| Q | [11] |
| Rolling Stone | [12] |
| Spin | A−[13] |
| The Village Voice | A+[14] |
Upon its release,Fishscale received universal acclaim from music critics. AtMetacritic, which assigns anormalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received anaverage score of 88, based on 32 reviews.[4]Robert Christgau ofThe Village Voice called it a crack-trade "trend record that ranks with anyBiggie orWu CD". He found Ghostface Killah's stories to be as "vivid, brutal, and thought-out as anynoir" and felt that the music features "a powerfully souled and sampled Clan-type groove" and a "screeching intensity" similar toPublic Enemy's 1988 albumIt Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back.[14] Writing forEntertainment Weekly, Raymond Fiore said that "he may not be reinventing himself withFishscale, but as a must-hear street storyteller, Ghostface Killah's still at the top of his game."[7] Matt Barone fromXXL wrote that, "with a few forced collaborations being its only flaw,Fishscale is Ghost’s most addictive dosage postSupreme Clientele. Packed with vivid street tales, comic relief and straight spittin’, the album continues his standard of excellence."[15]
Steve Jones fromUSA Today wrote that "Ghostface takes a timeworn hip-hop theme — dealing cocaine, and creates a riveting listening experience. He doesn't so much deliver rhymes as narrate graphically detailed scenes, rife with violence, passion and a little humor."[16]AllMusic writer Andy Kellman wrote in his review "...Ghost responds by pouring all that he has, both lyrically and vocally, into every track on the album. The scenarios he recounts are as detailed and off-the-wall as ever, elaborate screenplays laid out with a vocal style that's ceaselessly fluid and never abrasive."[5] InQ, Ted Kessler wrote, "Rappers rarely improve with age, but Wu-Tang Clan veteran Ghostface is the exception… Whether Ghostface's explaining how to cookcrack on 'Kilo', how he likes his hair cut on 'Barbershop', or how he came to swim with 'SpongeBob in aBentley Coupe' on 'Underwater', he remains rap's finest storyteller."[11] In his review forThe A.V. Club,Nathan Rabin wrote:
"In contrast to his aggressive delivery onThe Pretty Toney Album, Ghostface is far more relaxed, confident, and eclectic here. One of rap's most cinematic and sophisticated storytellers, he fills his pulp narratives with so much novelistic detail that it's impossible to catch everything on the first listen. Thankfully, the kaleidoscopic, soul-drenched production by Doom, Pete Rock, Jay Dee, Just Blaze, and others make repeat listens seem tempting, even downright irresistible. Sure,Fishscale has its share of pointless skits. But that's what the fast-forward button is for, just as the play button seems to have been designed specifically to let people listen toFishscale over and over again."[6]
Fishscale was ranked as one of the best albums of the year.[citation needed] It also appeared on several lists for best albums of the decade, withStylus Magazine ranking it number eleven.[17]Uncut ranked it number 62 on their 150 Best Albums of the 2000s,[citation needed] whilePitchfork ranked it number 75 on their Top 200 Albums of the 2000s, stating "History will rememberFishscale as Ghostface'sMagical Mystery Tour: an artist convinced of his own genius empties every chamber on a batshit, pseudo-conceptual headtrip."[18] In 2009,Rhapsody ranked the album at number nine on its "Hip-Hop’s Best Albums of the Decade" list.[19] The album was also included in the book1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[20] In 2022, the album was ranked 131st onRolling Stone's list of the 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time.[21]
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[22]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Return of Clyde Smith" (skit) | 1:04 | ||
| 2. | "Shakey Dog" |
| Lewis Parker | 3:44 |
| 3. | "Kilo" (featuringRaekwon) |
| MoSS | 4:00 |
| 4. | "The Champ" |
| Just Blaze | 4:09 |
| 5. | "Major Operation" (skit) | 0:06 | ||
| 6. | "9 Milli Bros." (performed by theWu-Tang Clan) | MF Doom | 4:14 | |
| 7. | "Beauty Jackson" | J Dilla | 1:32 | |
| 8. | "Heart Street Directions" (skit) | 0:54 | ||
| 9. | "Columbus Exchange (skit) / Crack Spot" |
| Crack Val | 2:21 |
| 10. | "R.A.G.U." (featuring Raekwon) |
| Pete Rock | 2:39 |
| 11. | "Bad Mouth Kid" (skit) | 1:10 | ||
| 12. | "Whip You With a Strap" |
| J Dilla | 2:51 |
| 13. | "Back Like That" (featuringNe-Yo) |
| Xtreme | 4:02 |
| 14. | "Be Easy" (featuringTrife) |
| Pete Rock | 3:19 |
| 15. | "Clipse of Doom" (featuring Trife) |
| MF Doom | 3:09 |
| 16. | "Jellyfish" (featuringCappadonna,Shawn Wigs and Trife) |
| MF Doom | 3:50 |
| 17. | "Dogs of War" (featuring Raekwon, Cappadonna, Sun God and Trife) |
| Pete Rock | 4:04 |
| 18. | "Barbershop" |
| Studio Steve | 1:56 |
| 19. | "Ms. Sweetwater" (skit) | 0:14 | ||
| 20. | "Big Girl" |
| Ghostface Killah | 3:35 |
| 21. | "Underwater" |
| MF Doom | 2:03 |
| 22. | "The Ironman Takeover" (skit) | 0:05 | ||
| 23. | "Momma" (featuringMegan Rochell) |
| Sean C & LV | 4:49 |
| 24. | "Three Bricks" (bonus track) (featuringThe Notorious B.I.G. and Raekwon) |
| 4:58 | |
| 25. | "Be Easy (Remix)" (bonus track) (featuringIce Cube and Trife) |
| Pete Rock | 3:21 |
| 26. | "Back Like That (Remix)" (bonus track) (featuringKanye West and Ne-Yo) |
| Xtreme | 4:04 |
| Total length: | 64:48 | |||
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Weekly charts[edit]
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