Review Summary: Ghostface returns again, but armed with the weakest batch of beats and filler in his career.
Everything Tony Starks - AKA Ghostface Killah - touches turns to gold. Every single solo CD he has done is a classic or a near-classic. He is one of the greatest lyricists to ever touch the mic, and he is a diehard innovator who has fathered countless trends that still endure today. After 2006's classic albums "Fishscale" and "More Fish," Ghost is back already with the creatively titled and themed "Big Doe Rehab."
After an annoying - but well-constructed - intro obviously inspired by "Scarface," Ghost kicks off the CD with the street banger "Tony Sigel," which featured him spitting his darts alongside Beanie Sigel (who also released a CD recently). Although both of the MCs are inspired and spitting venom, "Rehab's" main flaw - one that has never afflicted Ghost before - becomes obvious: these Hitmen beats suck ass.
Unfortunately, the same Hitmen that made Jay-Z's "American Gangster" sound like a piece of *** produced roughly half of the tracks on "Rehab." They utilize boring, repetitive samples, cheap canned drums, and sound like those beats you can buy for five bucks a pop on Soundclick. Ghost - who usually picks amazing beats - frequently sounds as unispired and bored over the awful beats.
"Yolanda's House" is a classic story from Ghost - the beat, which is thankfully not handled by the Hitmen, is one of the only good ones on here. Ghost and Method Man are both in top form. "We Celebrate" - the first official single off "Rehab" - features a ***ty Hitmen beat, but is saved by Ghost, who manages to drop a few lyrical gems. The chorus is just awful, though.
"Walk Around" is an interesting number, but the *** beat and ridiculous amount of boastful adlibbing holds it back from classic status. "Yapp City" is like a ***ty version of "Walk Around," being nothing more than your average stick-em-up rap.
"White Linen Affair" is original - like "At the Cabana" - but is way too long to sit through. Skip!
"Supa GFK" is an instant classic produced by Ghost himself which features the bounciest and most entertaining beat on this entire CD as well as Ghost's best verses on this entire CD.
"Rehab" - though not a classic - has been generally good up to this point, but after "Supa GFK," it takes a deep, deep dive that it never recovers from. "Rec-Room Therapy," "The Prayer," "I'll Die for You," "Paisley Darts," and "Shakey Dog Starring Lolita" are all quite possibly the worst songs Ghost has ever recorded. Although the CD's outro ("!") and its bonus tracks ("Killa Lipstick," "Slow Down") are about as good as anything else on here, they can't make up for the unbelievable lack of quality of the CD's second half.
This is debatebly the first Ghostface CD that is not a classic or near-classic. It does have a few classic songs, but they can't begin to make up for the sheer ***tiness of the second half of the CD.
Best Songs*: "We Celebrate," "Walk Around" "Tony Sigel A.K.A. The Barrel Brothers"
Classic Songs: "Yolanda's House," "Supa GFK"
Worst Songs: "Rec-Room Therapy," "The Prayer," "I'll Die for You," "Paisley Darts," "Shakey Dog Starring Lolita," "Yapp City"
*Classic songs are listed under "Classic Songs"; "Best Songs" is the best besides the classics
Rating: 2.5/5: Average
