Fishscale

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Fishscale

Studio album by Ghostface Killah

Released

28 March 2006 (US)
3 April 2006 (UK)

Genre

Hip hop

Length

65:00

Label

Def Jam

Professional reviews

Ghostface Killah chronology

The Pretty Toney Album
(2004)

Fishscale
(2006)

More Fish
(2006)

This article is about an album entitled fishscale. Information on the scales of a fish can be found at fish scale.

Fishscale is the fifth solo album by Wu-Tang Clan member Ghostface Killah. It was released by Def Jam on March 28, 2006. The album follows a cocaine theme, the album title being a direct slang term for uncut product.

The single "Back Like That" reached #14 on the U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, while "Be Easy" reached #91 on the same chart.^[1] The album sold about 110,000 units in first week, debuting at #4 on the Billboard 200 and #2 on the Top Rap/R&B Albums chart, his highest chart positions since his 1996 debut, Ironman.^[2] It was largely overshadowed by the release of T.I.'s King, which came out in the same week.

1 Album information
2 Reception
3 Track listing
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Album information

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". The latter song, 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.

Upon release, the album received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics. The album contains many collaborations with Theodore Unit and the Wu-Tang Clan members, but only one Wu-Tang in-house beat (created by Ghostface himself), making it Ghostface's first album free of production from RZA (although he is sampled on "9 Milli Bros.").

J Dilla's productions are taken from his album Donuts, and MF DOOM's productions are taken from his Special Herbs series of albums.

[edit] Reception

Critics received the album extremely positively, and it earned an 88 on Metacritic.^[3]

Critics also praised the album's heavy reliance on soul samples, and Ghost's comfort in their context. Production credits include the late J Dilla, MF DOOM, and Pete Rock.

Fishscale produced renewed enthusiasm for other future Wu projects, including upcoming albums from Raekwon, Masta Killa, and Method Man. Interest in these projects had lulled, as many critics and fans considered recent efforts by other members of the Wu-Tang conglomerate as unspectacular.^{[citation needed]} Fishscale was voted by numerous hip hop magazines as the best album of 2006.

[edit] Track listing

#	Title	Length	Performer(s)	Producer(s)	Notes
1	"The Return of Clyde Smith"	1:04	Ghostface Killah		Contains sample from Jack McDuff “Ju Ju” (1976)
2	"Shakey Dog"	3:44	Ghostface Killah	Lewis Parker	Contains sample from Johnny Johnson & His Bandwagon "Love Is Blue (L'Armour Est Bleu)"
3	"Kilo"	4:00	Ghostface Killah, Raekwon	MoSS	Contains sample from Jimmy Van & Richard Hieronymus "I Weigh With Kilos" (1976)
4	"The Champ"	4:09	Ghostface Killah	Just Blaze	Appears in the WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2007 wrestling video game. A very similar remix appears in Def Jam: Icon.
5	"Major Operation" (Skit)	0:06	Ghostface Killah
6	"9 Milli Bros."	4:14	Ghostface Killah, Wu-Tang Clan, Cappadonna	MF DOOM	Contains sample from MF Doom “Fenugreek” (2002)
7	"Beauty Jackson"	1:32	Ghostface Killah	J Dilla, RUDi	Contains sample from The Three Degrees “Maybe” (1970) Instrumental from J Dilla's "Hi." on Donuts
8	"Heart Street Directions" (Skit)	0:54	Ghostface Killah
9	"Columbus Exchange" (Skit) / "Crack Spot"	2:21	Ghostface Killah	Crack Val	Contains sample from Freda Payne "Feed Me Your Love"
10	"R.A.G.U."	2:39	Ghostface Killah, Raekwon	Pete Rock	Contains sample from The Delfonics “The Look of Love” (1968)
11	"Bad Mouth Kid" (Skit)	1:10	Ghostface Killah
12	"Whip You With a Strap"	2:51	Ghostface Killah	J Dilla	Contains sample from Luther Ingram “To the Other Man” (1972) Instrumental from J Dilla's "One for Ghost" on Donuts
13	Back Like That	4:02	Ghostface Killah, Ne-Yo	Xtreme	Contains sample from Willie Hutch “Baby Come Home” (1976) and from Jay-Z "Song Cry"
14	"Be Easy "	3:19	Ghostface Killah, Trife Da God	Pete Rock	Contains sample from The Sylvers “Stay Away From Me” (1973)
15	"Clipse of Doom"	3:09	Ghostface Killah, Trife Da God	MF DOOM	Contains sample from Gino Vanelli "Apaloosa" Instrumental from MF DOOM's "Monosodium Glutamate" on Special Herbs, Vol. 2
16	"Jellyfish"	3:50	Ghostface Killah, Theodore Unit (Cappadonna, Shawn Wigs & Trife Da God)	MF DOOM	Contains excerpts from Dennis Coffey “Never Can Say Goodbye” (1972) Contains an interpolation of the composition by Marvin Gaye “Let’s Get It On” (1973) Contains an interpolation of the composition by Ray, Goodman & Brown “Special Lady” (1979) Instrumental from MF DOOM's "Sumac Berries" on Special Herbs, Vol. 1
17	"Dogs of War"	4:04	Ghostface Killah, Raekwon & Theodore Unit (Trife Da God, Cappadonna & Sun God)	Pete Rock	Contains an interpolation of the composition by Sly & the Family Stone “Family Affair” (1971)
18	"Barbershop"	1:56	Ghostface Killah	Studio Steve	Contains excerpts from The Manhattans “You’d Better Believe It” (1973)
19	"Ms. Sweetwater (Skit)"	0:14	Ghostface Killah
20	"Big Girl"	3:35	Ghostface Killah	Ghostface Killah	Contains sample from The Stylistics “You’re A Big Girl Now” (1971)
21	"Underwater"	2:03	Ghostface Killah	MF DOOM	Contains excerpts from Bobbi Humphrey “Just a Love Child” (1973) Instrumental from MF DOOM's "Orange Blossoms" on Special Herbs, Vols. 5 & 6
22	"The Ironman Takeover (Skit)"	0:05	Ghostface Killah
23	"Momma"	4:49	Ghostface Killah, Megan Rochell	Sean Cane & LV for The Hitmen	Contains sample from David Axelrod “Wandering Star” (1980)
24	"Three Bricks"	4:58	Ghostface Killah, The Notorious B.I.G. & Raekwon	Sean "Diddy" Combs for The Hitmen, Cool & Dre	Contains excerpts from The Notorious B.I.G. "Niggas Bleed"