Supreme Clientele

Background and recording

After the release of Wu-Tang Clan's second album Wu-Tang Forever (1997), group leader RZA assigned the members to work primarily with affiliates on their up-coming solo projects, while he "called dibbs" on Ghostface Killah. RZA also instructed the members to keep Wu-Tang guest appearances to a minimum, as he saw their earlier solo albums as "giving away Wu-Tang to labels who had only signed one member". Although RZA would work occasionally with other group members and affiliates during this time, Supreme Clientele would be the Wu-Tang related project he was most involved in since Wu-Tang Forever.

Recording for the album began in 1998, and took place at several studios in New York and Florida. These sessions, however, would be interrupted due to Ghostface Killah serving a prison sentence at Riker's Island for a 1995 charge he got at the Palladium nightclub in New York. Although Ghostface was in prison for six months, he still had a weapons charge that was pending when he and RZA got back to finishing the remainder of the album.

Lyrics

In late 1997, Ghostface Killah and producer RZA took a several month long trip to Africa, where a large portion of Supreme Clientele's lyrics would be written. While in Africa, the culture had an effect on Ghostface's lyrics. Unlike his acclaimed lyricism on his debut album Ironman, and Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..., Ghostface Killah rarely makes references to crime and materialism on Supreme Clientele. He explained "Fuck all this Tommy Hilfiger, Polo, all that shit. They don't give a fuck about none of that in Africa. Everything is the same. But over here, everybody wanna be better than the next one. Nah, it's not like that over there. They might be fucked-up money wise, but trust me, them muthafuckas is happy. They got each other".

One of the earliest lyrics Ghostface wrote while in Africa was "Nutmeg", a song with a rhythmic, off-beat cadence. Regarding the song's form, he stated "That's a wild song. That shit's one of the illest styles I ever came up with, because I had no music to write to".

Production

In the mid-1990s, Producer RZA had a flood in his basement studio, which resulted in the loss of recording equipment and several hundred beats, many of which were unfinished. As a result, he would have to use new equipment, and completely start over for production contributions. In a later interview, he stated "The jewel of the whole shit is that I lost mad shit in that flood. I got it again. It took me about two years, but I got now at least 200–300 beats. I studied the music, I studied the books and I said 'fuck that. Hip-hop is gonna be able to be played in Carnegie Hall. Not with a DAT, but with a 10-piece orchestra, and have a turntable in it, and Bobby Digital right there in the middle'. "

Although a number of producers, such as JuJu from The Beatnuts, Hassan of the U.M.C.'s, The Hitmen and several Wu-Tang affiliates are credited for production, RZA and Ghostface Killah did the majority of the production and mixing for Supreme Clientele, as they "re-compiled" and "re-worked" the album's beats. RZA explained "Usually a producer comes in, makes a beat, mixes it, and gives the direction for it. But not with this album. That's why you get that special sound. I just needle and threaded the beats all together." This approach would result in critical praise for its fluidity and cohesiveness.

Controversy

Supreme Clientele contains an insult toward then-up-and-coming rapper 50 Cent. In the "Clyde Smith" skit, Wu-tang member Raekwon, with the use of voice distortion, plays the role of a man named Clyde Smith. Clyde Smith addresses 50 Cent and his 1999 song "How to Rob", in which 50 Cent rhymed about how he would rob many popular recording artists, including several members from Wu-Tang Clan. The skit drew a response from 50 Cent, who later replied in an underground mixtape, and later in the song "Too Hot".

In 2004, Lord Superb, formerly of Raekwon's American Cream Team and a collaborator of Ghostface's, made claims that he had "ghostwritten" the entire album of Supreme Clientele. Tony Yayo of G-Unit would later bring the topic back to the surface in 2006. However, in an interview with Rhapsody Music, Ghostface responded with "Yeah, I was in Europe when I heard Tony Yayo say that. That's just nonsense. I still put mad shit out. 'Perb (Superb) is Rae's (Raekwon) man. He been in the studio a few times while we're doing shit. He ain't write shit. All 'Perb contributed was a couple of lines that you could put in the air. When we write, we all do that. "Say this one right here" or "Put this one right here". We all catch lines with each other 'cause you in the studio. You got niggas around you that write. Even if he did write a verse, he could never make an album of mine. He couldn't make an album, you feel me? I made Supreme Clientele what it is. Those are my stories, based around what they're based upon. It's me. I can't see what songs 'Perb wrote. He ain't write "Mighty Healthy" or "One" or "Apollo Kids" or "Cherchez LaGhost" or "Saturday Nite" or "Malcolm".

Reception

Upon its release, Supreme Clientele received critical acclaim, with several critics lauding it as a return to form for the Wu-Tang Clan collective following middling reception to other solo releases from Wu-Tang members. Vibe critic The Blackspot wrote that, in spite of "speculation of Wu's demise", Ghostface Killah "saves the day with the naysayer-silencing Supreme Clientele. Championing the cause of Wu dominance, Supreme Clientele exemplifies Ghost's lyrical dexterity." M.F. DiBella of AllMusic wrote that Ghostface Killah had avoided the sophomore slump experienced by other Wu-Tang Clan members' second solo releases with Supreme Clientele, which "proves Ghost's worthiness of the Ironman moniker by deftly overcoming trendiness to produce an authentic sound in hip-hop's age of bland parity" and "is a step toward the Wu-Tang Clan's ascent from the ashes of their fallen kingdom." The Source hailed it as being "as entertaining as his debut Ironman" and an "A+ record in Wu fashion ... a Wu album in the Wu-est sense."

Chicago Sun-Times critic Kyra Kyles wrote that with Supreme Clientele, Ghostface Killah "finally shines on his own", while the Alternative Press wrote that the album "shows and proves a minutely detailed, if largely abstract, document of a unique black artist's emotional life." Steve Jones of USA Today described Supreme Clientele as a "brooding mix of lyrically dense and sonically diverse tracks." Mike Pace of PopMatters felt that "the hype surrounding Ghostface's latest Supreme Clientele is well deserved, seeing as that the majority of the tracks deliver like the Mailman Karl Malone doesn't on Sunday", and that despite the presence of some overlong skits, "the album is chockfull of spit-polished Wu-isms and catchy-as-hell beats." In contrast, Craig Seymour from Entertainment Weekly wrote negatively of its skits and long length. Nick Catucci, in a retrospective review for The New Rolling Stone Album Guide, stated that Supreme Clientele showcases Ghostace Killah as "a slightly more self-conscious storyteller swinging from skyscraper-size hooks."

Track listing

Accolades