Review Summary: A$AP Ghostface
Sour Soul is a collaboration between Canadian hip-hop/jazz group Badbadnotgood and former Wu-Tang Clan member Ghostface Killah. Badbadnotgood is trio comprised of drums, keys and bass. But despite a strong performance by Badbadnotgood, Ghostface Killah leaves something to be desired.
Badbadnotgood is an instrumental Canadian trio of drums, keys and bass. The group takes a blend of jazz and hip-hop to lay down some of the most musical beats the genre has seen in a long time. These live instrumentals give Sour Soul a very dynamic feel from start to finish and create an excellent canvas for Ghostface Killah to rhyme over. While Ghostface does most the rapping over these instrumentals there are strong guest features by Danny Brown, Elzhi, Tree and Doom. Standout tracks Six Degrees (feat. Danny Brown) and Ray Gun (feat. DOOM) feature strong performances by both Badbadnotgood and Ghostface Killah.
While Badbadnotgood is stellar throughout Ghostface Killah isn’t always at his best. Ghostface’s performance isn’t bad but it leaves something to be desired. The lyrics, word play and metaphors are average. It’s a shame that Ghostface Killah doesn’t hold up his end of the deal while Badbadnotgood is so stellar. The album is also on the short side, clocking in at 33 minutes with only 12 tracks (3 of which are instrumental). The lack of content found on the album both lyrically and song wise holds Sour Soul back.
With a very strong showing from Badbadnotgood, Sour Soul stands as a decent hip hop release, not a great one. The record isn’t bad, but just fails to reach its full potential. “Sour Soul” is mixed package. It’s an album with great instrumentals but with weak rhymes by Ghostface Killah, “Sour Soul” winds up being a good record that could have been great.
