Czarface & Ghostface Killah - Czarface Meets Ghostface

Czarface is a comic book that happens to make records. Inspectah Deck, Esoteric and producer 7L built the project around a masked supervillain of their own invention, and by 2019 the running gag had become one of the most reliable franchises in underground rap. For this installment they called in Ghostface Killah, which means two Wu-Tang Clan members trading verses over the same beats for the first time in years.

The Czar-Keys, the production team of 7L and Jeremy Page, keep everything grimy and cinematic. Horns stab, drums crack, and samples of old wrestling broadcasts and cartoon dialogue turn up between tracks. "Mongolian Beef" was the first single and it is exactly as blunt as the title promises. "Iron Claw" brings Kendra Morris in on the hook and gives the record its most melodic moment. "Powers and Stuff" got the video treatment. "Czarrcade '84" is a ninety-second arcade interlude that no other rap group would have bothered to make.

Ghostface is the reason this one lands harder than the average Czarface entry. His delivery is still all elbows and non sequiturs, and set against Deck's precision and Esoteric's punchline density the three voices never blur together. Lamour Supreme handled the cover art, as usual.

Pressed on standard black vinyl for Silver Age. A short, dense, very funny record from three rappers who clearly enjoy each other's company.