This article is about the hip-hop album. For the scales of fish, see Fish scale.
Fishscale
Album
ArtistGhostface Killah
CoverFishscale-Ghostface.jpg
ReleasedMarch 28, 2006
GenreHip-hop
Length64:48
Label
ProducerSean Combs · Cool & Dre · Crack Val · Ghostface Killah · J Dilla · Just Blaze · MF Doom · MoSS · Lewis Parker · Pete Rock · Sean Cane & LV · Studio Steve · Xtreme
Prev year2005
Next year2006

Fishscale is the fifth studio album by American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member Ghostface Killah, released March 28, 2006, on Starks Enterprises and Def Jam in the United States. The album features guest appearances from every member of the Wu-Tang Clan, as well as Ghostface Killah's Theodore Unit. It also features producers such as MF Doom, Pete Rock, J Dilla, and Just Blaze, among others. The album follows an organized 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 the Billboard 200, and number two on the Top 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 US Hot 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, the album had sold 332,000 copies.[3]

Background

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 by MF Doom, contained a sample from Caetano 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 album Donuts; MF Doom's productions are taken from his Special Herbs series of albums.

Critical reception

Upon its release, Fishscale received universal acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 88, based on 32 reviews.[4] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice called it a crack-trade "trend record that ranks with any Biggie or Wu CD". He found Ghostface Killah's stories to be as "vivid, brutal, and thought-out as any noir" and felt that the music features "a powerfully souled and sampled Clan-type groove" and a "screeching intensity" similar to Public Enemy's 1988 album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back.[5] Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Raymond Fiore said that "he may not be reinventing himself with Fishscale, but as a must-hear street storyteller, Ghostface Killah's still at the top of his game."[6] Matt Barone from XXL wrote that, "with a few forced collaborations being its only flaw, Fishscale is Ghost’s most addictive dosage post Supreme Clientele. Packed with vivid street tales, comic relief and straight spittin’, the album continues his standard of excellence."[7]

Steve Jones from USA 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."[8] 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."[9] In Q, Ted Kessler wrote, "Rappers rarely improve with age, but Wu-Tang Clan veteran Ghostface is the exception… Whether Ghostface's explaining how to cook crack on 'Kilo', how he likes his hair cut on 'Barbershop', or how he came to swim with 'SpongeBob in a Bentley Coupe' on 'Underwater', he remains rap's finest storyteller."[10] In his review for The A.V. Club, Nathan Rabin wrote:

"In contrast to his aggressive delivery on The 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 to Fishscale over and over again."[11]

Accolades

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, with Stylus Magazine ranking it number eleven.[12] Uncut ranked it number 62 on their 150 Best Albums of the 2000s,[citation needed] while Pitchfork ranked it number 75 on their Top 200 Albums of the 2000s, stating "History will remember Fishscale as Ghostface's Magical Mystery Tour: an artist convinced of his own genius empties every chamber on a batshit, pseudo-conceptual headtrip."[13] In 2009, Rhapsody ranked the album at number nine on its "Hip-Hop’s Best Albums of the Decade" list.[14] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[15] In 2022, the album was ranked 131st on Rolling Stone's list of the 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time.[16]

Track listing

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[17]

Sample credits

Personnel

  • Ghostface Killah – performer, producer, executive producer
  • Raekwon – performer
  • Trife – performer
  • Sun God – performer
  • Cappadonna – performer
  • Shawn Wigs – performer
  • RZA – performer
  • GZA – performer
  • Method Man – performer
  • Inspectah Deck – performer
  • U-God – performer
  • Masta Killa – performer
  • Ol' Dirty Bastard – performer
  • The Notorious B.I.G. – performer
  • Ne-Yo – vocals
  • Megan Rochell – vocals
  • Candice Wilson – vocals
  • Jonathan Doyle – vocals
  • Rob Mathes – bass, guitar, horn arrangements
  • Tom Timko – alto sax
  • Jeff Kievit – trumpet
  • Birch Johnson – trombone
  • Ken Lewis – multi instruments, producer
  • MF Doom – producer
  • Pete Rock – producer
  • J Dilla – producer
  • Just Blaze – producer, engineer
  • MoSS – producer
  • Sean Cane & LV – producer
  • Cool & Dre – producer
  • Sean Combs – producer
  • Lewis Parker – producer
  • Crack Val – producer
  • Xtreme – producer
  • Studio Steve – producer
  • Mario "Big O" Caruso – producer, executive producer, management
  • Scutch Robinson – executive producer
  • Shawn Carter - executive producer
  • Christos Tsantilis – engineer, editing
  • David Brown – engineer, mixing assistant
  • Morgan Garcia – engineer
  • Stephen Glicken – engineer
  • Mike Tocci – engineer
  • Andrew Wright – engineer
  • Jason Goldstein – mixing
  • Gimel Keaton – mixing
  • Nikos Teneketzis – mixing
  • Joe Stewart – engineer, mixing
  • Tony Dawsey – mastering
  • Terese Joseph – A&R
  • Patrick "Plain Pat" Reynolds – A&R
  • Ashaunna Ayars – marketing
  • Tai Linzie – photography, art coordinator
  • F. Scott Schafer – photography
  • Alli Truch – creative director
  • Dawud West – design, logo
  • Lyani Powers – set design

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2006)Peak
position

Year-end charts

Chart (2006)Position
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[18]58

References

  1. ^ Hasty, Katie (April 5, 2006). "T.I. Rules As 'King' Of Album Chart". Billboard. Archived January 12, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
  2. ^ [ Artist chart history for Ghostface Killah (singles)], Billboard.com.
  3. ^ "Long Player: XXL Presents Def Jam's Entire Rap Discography". XXL. November 2009. Archived from the original on October 3, 2010. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
  4. ^ "Reviews for Fishscale by Ghostface Killah". Metacritic. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
  5. ^ Christgau, Robert (May 2, 2006). "Consumer Guide: Dear Mr. President". The Village Voice. Archived August 15, 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  6. ^ Fiore, Raymond (March 27, 2006). "Fishscale". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 25, 2006. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
  7. ^ Barone, Matt (March 3, 2006). "Ghostface: Fishscale". XXL. Archived March 24, 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
  8. ^ Jones, Steve (March 27, 2006). "Ghostface Killah slings uncut rap on 'Fishscale'". USA Today. Archived September 20, 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
  9. ^ Kellman, Andy. "Fishscale – Ghostface Killah". AllMusic. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
  10. ^ Kessler, Ted (June 2006). "Ghostface Killah: Fishscale". Q. ' (239): 115.
  11. ^ Rabin, Nathan (April 11, 2006). "Ghostface Killah: Fishscale". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  12. ^ "The Stylus Decade Top Albums". Stylus Magazine. Archived January 11, 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  13. ^ "The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 100–51". Pitchfork. September 30, 2009. Archived September 27, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  14. ^ Chennault, Sam (October 31, 2009). "Hip-Hop's Best Albums of the Decade". Rhapsody. Archived September 24, 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  15. ^ Robert Dimery & Michael Lydon (2014). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
  16. ^ Weingarten, Charles Aaron, Mankaprr Conteh, Jon Dolan, Will Dukes, Dewayne Gage, Joe Gross, Kory Grow, Christian Hoard, Jeff Ihaza, Julyssa Lopez, Mosi Reeves, Yoh Phillips, Noah Shachtman, Rob Sheffield, Simon Vozick-Levinson, Christopher R.; Aaron, Charles; Conteh, Mankaprr; Dolan, Jon; Dukes, Will; Gage, Dewayne; Gross, Joe; Grow, Kory; Hoard, Christian; Ihaza, Jeff; Lopez, Julyssa; Reeves, Mosi; Phillips, Yoh; Shachtman, Noah; Sheffield, Rob; Vozick-Levinson, Simon; Weingarten, Christopher R. (7 June 2022). "The 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Archived 8 June 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  17. ^ Fishscale (booklet). Def Jam. 2006.
  18. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Archived April 12, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 27, 2020.