IIn hip-hop, perhaps more than any other genre, the symbiosis between performer and audience is crucial. Bored audiences make for boring shows, and vice versa. While performing as an opening act for the veteran Wu-Tang Clan rapper, the entire room felt like a slightly unplugged bath, the excitement fading at first imperceptibly, then all at once. The excitement fades.
Ghostface, who arrived an hour late, had already tested the audience's patience with a series of languid opening acts by the Yap City staff. So when he finally appeared with fellow Woo members Cappadonna and even Iceman Bronx Man, the reaction was lukewarm, especially since his second song, “Special Delivery,” is the Diddy track on which he is featured. It was something. But when the signature opening chords of Criminology play, the crowd gets excited. He starts packing Wu-Tang heavy hitters (Ice Cream, Ice Water) and Phish from their 1996 album. iron man The way it bounces and sways with Cappadonna is especially popular.
He wanders between the familiar and the esoteric. Wu-Tang's sound is crowded – looping soul samples paired with blaring sirens and crackling snares of static build-up, all in what could be its own coded language. It's built on arcane slang – but his recent solo work, like this year's Kilo, Safe from Set the Tone (Guns & Roses), sounds crisper. In between sits Mighty Healthy, a wild stream of strutting consciousness.
The 29-song setlist begins to feel rushed and diluted, with valuable time lost as the DJ plays seemingly random tracks by The Stylistics, Damian Marley, Sister Nancy, and Tina Turner. . Meanwhile, the Iceman Bronxman's time in the spotlight, while well-intentioned, comes at the expense of Ghostface's 12-album solo catalog.
But the performance ends on a memorable note. Three fans stand in for other Wu-Tang members during “Protect Ya Neck,” and a pre-teen boy is invited on stage for “Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing ta F' Wit.” Overall, Ghostface's uneven curation gig falls short of expectations, but his legacy and Wu-Tang mystique provide enough gravitational pull to keep the show from completely floating away.
