Following his Shao Lin brethren, the once mysterious clan member Ghostface Killah (a.k.a. Tony Starks) finally opens his own chamber with Ironman. Like his raw-vocaled counterpart Chef Raekwon, Ghostface bangs out sarcastic, street-camouflaged wildness. And leaves it up to the twisted mind of the RZA to cook up beats that take you back to the chills you got when listening to Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Over the title track's threatening bass line, jingly beat, and 1930s gangster-style trumpet, Ghostface, Raekwon, and Cappadonna f#ck up your head with rhymes like "One gallon of wildon' Park Hill profilin' / I'll cut your face a buck fifty sure / Why you smilin'?" On "Two Sixty" -- which sounds like part two of Raekwon's "Spot Rusherz" -- Rae and Ghost trade ideas for a robbery scheme. Don't think, though, that Ironman is just 60 minutes of beef. Starks kept everyone in mind with songs like "Camay" (a Teddy Pendergrass-sampling joint for the ladies) and "Box In Hand," which takes it back to the park jams with the hook: "If you're walking down the street with your box in your hand / And you're playing the music of the Wu-Tang Clan...." In "All That I Got Is You," featuring a low-key Mary J. Blige, Ghostface gives his mom a salute that damn near breaks you down in tears. Snoop hit hard with the Dramatics; fittingly, Ghostface and Raekwon answer back with Philly soul legends the Delfonics on "Wu-Delfonics." "After the smoke is clear," they croon, "Delfonics and Wu-Tang still here." The Wu, of course, maintain raw rhyme tradition with Raekwon's rap, "My sun moves like a token truck / Speak in codes / Throw a fiend in a sleeper / Got beef with the globe." Considering the success of the five previous Wu-Tang projects, it might seem hard for the sixth to still make noise, but Ghostface screams. Ironman is proof of his matured lyrics and delivery and the Wu's strong family stand. If Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... had you open, prepare for another gaping wound. - Vibe (12/96). Revisit Ghost's classic debut...
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