Ironman Ghostface Killah

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Release Date

October 29, 1996

Duration

01:04:42

Genre

Rap

Styles

East Coast Rap, Hardcore Rap, Alternative Rap, Pop-Rap

Recording Location

Mystic Studios, Staten Island, NY

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Discography Timeline

See Full Discography

Ironman (1996)

Supreme Clientele (2000)

Bulletproof Wallets (2001)

The Pretty Toney Album (2004)

Fishscale (2006)

More Fish (2006)

The Big Doe Rehab (2007)

Ghostdini Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City (2009)

Wu Massacre (2010)

Apollo Kids (2010)

Adrian Younge Presents Twelve Reasons to Die (2013)

12 Reasons to Die: The Brown Tape (2013)

36 Seasons (2014)

Sour Soul (2015)

Adrian Younge Presents Twelve Reasons to Die II (2015)

Czarface Meets Ghostface (2019)

Ghostface Killahs (2019)

Killah Christmas (2024)

Set the Tone (Guns & Roses) (2024)

Supreme Clientele 2 (2025)

Ironman Review by AllMusic

Ironman Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Every Wu-Tang Clan solo project has a different flavor, and Ghostface Killah's Ironman is no exception. Though it boasts cameos from nearly every other Wu-Tang member -- notably Raekwon and Cappadonna -- Ironman is unlike any other record in RZA's catalog of productions, particularly because it's significantly lighter in tone. There are still touches of the Wu's signature urban claustrophobia throughout the record, but the music is largely built on samples of early-'70s soul, from Al Green to the Delfonics, who make a guest appearance on "After the Smoke Is Clear." Consequently, the mood of the album can switch tones at the drop of the hat, moving from hard funk like "Daytona 500" to seductive soul with the Mary J. Blige duet "All That I Got Is You." Ironman bogs down slightly in the middle, yet the record is filled with inventive production and rhymes, and ranks as another solid entry in the Wu-Tang legacy.

Ironman User Reviews

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Justin Garrison May 21, 2023

This is not really a solo album if we are being honest. RZA, Raekwon, and Cappadonna all have as much to do with this album as Ghost does. Ghost is at his low point here. Often audibly drunk, struggling with diabetes behind the scenes, this album finds Ironman ironically at his most vulnerable. There is great stuff here, having said all that. Rae, Cappa, and RZA particularly are at the their respective peaks here, but Ghost himself is not. He'll reach much higher with his next album, Supreme Clientele.

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Gabriel Godinez August 18, 2015

One of the best MC's out there's debut with numerous features including with Cappadonna and partner in crime Raekwon isn't as smoked out and dark as liquid swords or tical but meets in the middle because the way of Ghost's delivery on grimey rhymes about partying, selling drugs, banging bitches or going for sentimentality and remorse here and there but never the most of the album. Combining the lyrics with some old school dark stax record's samples compressed of horns to early funk drum beats perfect for hip-hop or in this case even trip hop more so then the likes of Portishead and Cibo Matto because this album clearly meets in the middle between the dark stuff and the smoked out sounds complimentary to RZA's production style.

Even if the lyrics compiment the music to some of the drugged out sounds real openers to this are Assination Day with a weird intro to a happy organ that sounds like it's from an episode of Good Times. To a sleak Guitar out of a cop movie of the 70's with vocals from underrated Inspectah Deck and always unnerving RZA. You can say this for the majority of the songs which has every Wu-Tang member and also some from the camp. If there is a complaint it comes from tracks that where Ghost doesn't even appear and they do exist on a solo album believe me like the faster blade but these are not bad. They highlight the other featured rappers much like a lot of the Wu solo albums. Fact is Tical was mostly solo but with a short length its becoming it had some guests and thats about it.

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Ironman Track List

Iron Maiden

Dennis Coles / Robert Diggs / Darryl Hill / Dee Oliver / Carl William Smith / Corey Woods

Ghostface Killah