by Chris Clark

Without the Wu Tang Clan, the rap game just wouldn't be the same. After the release of 36 Chambers and the triple-platinum impression it left on the hip-hop world, everything changed. New York inner-city project life was brought to the listening public, portraying to outsiders the times of a culture searching to ascend from gangs, drugs and poverty. Rap reached suburbia, and it will never leave.

Wu's "iron man," Ghostface Killah, has further developed this sound and kept it alive and well for more than a decade. Ghostface was the glue that brought the nine original members of the cross-borough collective together back in 1992. His lyrical wizardry and razor-sharp rhymes lit-up the mic in the group setting, but he also proved a worthy MC in four solo recordings, most notably his 1999 effort, Supreme Clientele. His sophomore album harvested great success, with VIBE magazine tauting it as one of the top 10 albums of all time. It became apparent then that his swift and intelligent delivery and conscious rhyming placed him among the cream of New York rappers.

As Fishscale awaits release on March 28, Ghostface is in the midst of a 32-date North American tour to support his fifth solo album. Produced by some of the finest in hip-hop (the late J. Dilla, Just Blaze, MF Doom, Pete Rock, Madlib and others), Fishscale is both an ode to the Stapleton Projects of Staten Island and a glimpse of the future for the 35-year-old Dennis Coles (aka Ghostface Killah).

Now drug-free, even kicking his longtime relationship with psychedelics, and signed to Jay Z's Def Jam label, Ghostface is clearer and sharper than ever.

As he explains in his press release, "Same music, different label. With each album I learn, so this album has the most knowledge of all of them."

On the Bill:

Ghostface Killah plays at 9 p.m., Wednesday, March 15, at the Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder, 303-443-3399.

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