ghostface-12reasons

 

Ghostface Killah is always good for putting out some music. The only problem is that his last albums either wasn’t up to snuff or were ignored. However, liking up with Adrian Younge is part of Ghostface’s efforts to keep making greatness. With that comes 12 Reasons To Die, his concept album. Following a gangster that is murdered and resurrected to raise hell on his enemies, listeners find Ghostface doing what he does best: make great music.

 

On this particular project, Ghostface turns down his highly abstract lyricism to tell a story of hood lore. “Rise Of The Black Suits” brings light to the main character’s rise into prominence. But, the DeLucas wasn’t trying to have that, which leads to tracks like “I Declare War” and “Enemies All Around Me”. Eventually, he is set up to be killed on “An Unexpected Call (The Set Up)” just to be resurrected on “Rise of the Ghostface Killah”. By the time the album makes it to the title track, listeners know why there are “12 Reasons to Die”.

 

What is even more compelling than the story is the production provided by Adrian Younge. The clever breakdown on “The Sure Shot (Part 1 and 2)” allows the drum rhythm to morph into something more sinister once the drums drag out and slow down. Meanwhile, the production on songs like “Blood On The Cobblestones” gets freaked by scratches, a drum break, and great sampling. Adrian made sure that the songs had ample production filled with breaks, live instrumentation, and nicely laced vocal samples. This is even more evident on tracks like “Center of Attention” and the resurrection based “The Rise of the Ghostface Killah”. Thus, it is easy to hear that Adrian Younge brought his “A” game in production.

 

In the end, 12 Reasons to Die is a crafty possession for any fan of Ghostface Killah and Adrian Younge. Instead of the regular stream of conscious flow, Ghostface tells a consistent tome about a drug dealer getting revenge for his double cross. Seemingly, Adrian Younge comes with a soundtrack that only adds to the story and constructs musical environments. Many were excited to hear that they both were responsible. Nevertheless, Ghostface and Adrian did what they set out to do: create a completely cohesive unit of music that could easily serve as a movie within itself.