“Killin Em with Love” - Review Of Ghostface Killah’s Ghostdini: The Wizard of Poetry In Emerald City.

Ghostface Killah, a legendary member of the world famous “Wu Tang Clan” has had his feet planted firmly in the Shaolin slums doing his solo thing for over a decade now. He has supplied the streets with hip hop classic albums such as Ironman, Supreme Clientele and Fishscale. Ghostface has no problem with painting vivid pictures in the minds of his listeners by recounting his escapades with honesty and razor sharp detail. We should have all been seeing an album like this coming from Ghostface one day. His latest project, Ghostdini: The Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City is an R&B seasoned album that special Ghostface twist to it.

To be quite honest I was shocked when I first heard the record. I hadn’t heard any reviews for the project so I was expecting the usual raw Tony Starks swagger that I’m use to getting on every Ghost album that I have ever purchased. This was not that record. If you are looking for that same ole Ghostface style then this is not the album for you. Every song, (and I do mean EVERY single song is about women and relationships). The whole album is R&B hip hop. I put the record in for the first time and was actually very disappointed. Ghostface has had R&B singles that have been amazing don’t get me wrong, songs like, “All that I got is you”, “Big girl”, and “Back like that”, have all been slower more R&B feeling songs. But, these were the only songs like that on the whole album and the rest of the tracks on the album were all head banging Ghostface style anthems. This album has no songs like that at all.

Artists have been known to do projects like this all the time. Usually when artists have reached great success, they tend to do projects that are different from their usual style. With success comes the luxury of being able to do projects without having to worry about selling records since the artist may have already proved themselves in the past by selling millions of records. These projects are usually hit or miss records. Either the people love it or hate it. Kanye West’s last album, “808s & Heartbreak”, and Lil Wayne’s, “Rebirth” all rock album, are examples of such projects. The new Ghostface album features heavyweight R&B hitters such as Estelle, Raheem DeVaughn, John Legend, and Ne-Yo. The rhymes on the album are still intense and razor-sharp like Ghost always provides, it’s just the things he is rhyming about on every song that might steer people away from this album, women and relationships. This is not the album to sit up with your friends and rock out to in usual Ghostface fashion. I tried to do that and was looked at by my homeboys like I put in a Maxwell CD. This is an album for you if you’re on that softer tip. If you want the dope rhymes about girls and sex and relationship ups and downs, then this album you will love from beginning to end. It is also a great album if you are with your girl, or a group of girls. The ladies will love this project for sure.

All in all, Ghostdini: The Wizard of Poetry is a project that has taken Tony Starks to that next level. Ghostface is constantly improving his craft and exploring the different chambers of hip hop. This is Ghostfaces’s most eclectic project yet and will be getting many mixed feelings and reviews. Some will love it, and some will hate it wish a passion. Depending on what you’re expecting will justify how you feel about the project. I hated it at first, but then it grew on me a little, but I still can’t sit and listen to it for too long. R&B hip hop just isn’t my thin, especially coming from one of my favorite long time favorite Shaolin shadowboxing mc’s like Ghostface Killah.

Free Time, Me Time, Good Time!

Do your friends often tell you that they are board? I hear that very often from people these days. It got me to thinking about what could be causing so much boredom. I started to realize that the majority of the people saying that they were board were people that had to spend time alone as well. Then the pattern became clear that people get dissatisfied with free time easier when they are alone compared to when they are with other people. Spending free time alone and enjoying it is very important and can also be very fun. Just because you are not hanging out with other people should not mean that you have to be board or unhappy.

A big problem with the world today is that people depend on others too much to make them happy. I am a strong believer that if you can’t make yourself happy, than you should not depend on other people to make you happy either. There are many things you can do by yourself that can be fun and good for you at the same time. One very important way to spend your free time is to rest. Some people think that when they have free time that they should always use it by having to do something to do like going out with friends or cleaning, and etc. Resting is a very comforting and important feature of life that may people do not get to enjoy enough of because they do not think of it as something to do. We all need sleep and rest to survive so how can doing it when you do not have to be a bad thing? Some of us live very hectic and fast pace lives anyway, so if there is a chance to get some extra rest it could only be a good thing.

I’ve also noticed the lack of people that have hobbies. Having hobbies are such a crucial and importantly overlooked area in many people’s lives. Hobbies can be a very good way to spend free time alone because most hobbies do not require you to be with other people. There are thousands of different things you can do for hobbies such as playing an instrument, reading, arts and crafts, building things, listening to music, cooking, and etc. When selecting hobbies you should do things that make you happy and you alone. Do not do things just because they make other people happy. Impressing others does not matter when you are trying to make yourself happy while you are alone. Hobbies are usually things that spark your interest. Things that you think about doing that will give you a sense of satisfaction. The better you spend your time alone the better, because being self sufficient is something that many people lack and is a wonderful attribute to have.

Another good way to spend your free time alone is by just sitting around and thinking. People do not understand the importance of just doing absolutely nothing but sitting and letting your brain just roam freely. Some people will call this daydreaming, and that is alright too. Sometimes life can get so busy and confusing with work, school, family life, and other things that you need to sit down and organize your thoughts. I like to think of it like hitting the reset button on your brain and giving it time to get back on track. This could be the time you troubleshoot things in your life like problems and things that are not quite right that need some special attention maybe. People forget to do many things because they do not take time to think enough.

I am not saying that people should spend all their free time alone. I am not trying to turn people into anti-social homebodies or anything. It is just that I think more people need to make themselves happier while being alone. The good thing about this is that if you can make yourself happy, then it will be much easier to make someone else happy if that is what you choose to do at any given time. For example, have you ever been with someone who didn’t really have any hobbies or special interests? They do not bring anything to the table when it is time to do things. If these people had things that they did alone then maybe they could have suggested that and you guys would have had something to do. People that do cool things alone do cooler things with other people. And even the things that you do alone that you might think are boring or stupid, just may be the coolest thing in the world to someone else.

Being board an unhappy all the time because you have to be alone is very immature and unnecessary. Kids get board because they do not have the brainpower to realize all the many options they may have to make themselves happy while alone. Actually there are some kids who do better with their free time alone than adults because some parents train their kids to play by themselves often. As we get older some of us lose that ability to be happy alone. It is time that everyone try to make a better effort to achieve this so there can be more happy people in the world that are not depending on others for entertainment. If you can’t make yourself happy, then why should you always expect others people to make you happy? And above all it gives you a chance to get closer and get to know the person who matters the most…Yourself.