Ghostface Killah

• Tony Starks
• Wally Champ
• Pretty Tone
• Ghost Deini
• Black Jesus
• Starkey Love
• Iron Man

"I'm not going nowhere for a minute. I see myself rhyming until I'm 70. I’m not saying I'm gonna be putting out records and all that, but this is a gift from God."

When the Wu-Tang Clan formed like Voltron in the early 90’s, super-producer/rapper RZA was the head, but Ghostface wasted no time in establishing himself as the lyrical body of the hip-hop collective. With his emotionally-charged flow and inimitable delivery, Ghost became a Wu-Tang favorite, but it was his solo career that eventually made Ghost a hip-hop stake-holder.

Like his Wu-Tang brethren, RZA, Method Man, GZA, and ODB, Ghost relied on Wu-Tang’s 1993 classic 36 Chambers: Enter the Wu-Tang as a launching pad for his solo career. Although Tony Starks, an identity derived from Marvel Comic’s super hero Iron Man, sharpened his shrapnel-edged lyricism on 36 Chambers, he perfected his craft on Raekwon collaboration, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. The album was certified a hip-hop classic and Ghostface was lauded for his role on the project.

After Cuban Linx had set the stage for Ghostface's solo career, he released his debut album, Iron Man, on RZA’s Razor Sharp Records in late 1996. In the vein of Wu-Tang’s music legacy, the album was produced exclusively by RZA. Iron Man achieved marginal commercial breakthrough, reaching #2 on the Billboard 200.

Ghostface’s almost indecipherable rhyme structure distinguished him from the rest of the clan, and garnered him a cult-like following. Ghost kept himself busy by working with other Wu members until it was time to record his sophomore album, Supreme Clientele, in early 2000. Supreme Clientele churned out the club favorite "Cher Chez la Ghost." A year later, Ghost released the r&b-tinged Bulletproof Wallets. Fans frowned at the album, and cried out that the iron man had gone soft.

A label shuffle saw Ghost relocating from Epic to Def Jam for his fourth entry, 2004's The Pretty Toney Album. His 2nd Def Jam album, FishScale, boasts production by J Dilla, MF Doom, Pete Rock, Just Blaze, and others. Noticeably missing for the first time is Wu-Tang’s production guru, RZA.