With his fourth studio album, Ghostface drops the “Killah” from his name, and delivers arguably one of his best albums to date, or at least a strong contender to knock Supreme Clientele or Ironman off the throne. While Ghost hasn’t had any problems delivering consistent solo albums over the last few years, he did almost ruin his streak with the slightly better-than-average Bulletproof Wallets, which marked the end of his relationship with Sony. But with a new deal with Def Jam in place, Ghost gets back into shape with the release of The Pretty Toney Album.

     It’s evident that this time around, Ghostface has sharpened his swords, delivering the fans exactly what they want – a raw hip-hop album. From the gate, the album jumps off with “Biscuits” (feat. Trife), a perfect opener that flexes soulful, chopped horns and percussions as the duo sets the precedent for the album. Following with the brief RZA produced “Kunta Fly Shit”, it’s obvious that Ghost has given up going way against the grain, in both his lyrics and production. Like most of the album, the usual riddle rhymes of his past are hardly touched upon, and while this beat is one of the more abstract selections (Ironman steeze), he wisely wastes no time, only spitting 16 bars before quickly moving into “Beat The Clock”, where he is challenged to spit three verses in 2.5 minutes. And spit he does, as Pretty Toney shows true emcee swagger and style, taunting the beat with classic braggadocio. By the time the ridiculous NO I.D. produced and Lox assisted “Metal Lungies” hits, heads will already be sold on this LP. 

     However, the consistency does not stop there, and continues throughout the remainder of the album. As part of his new twist on an old approach to making hip-hop records, Ghost pays homage to his favorite soul classics by rhyming over them – yes, the whole song entirely. While he traditionally freaks “Last Night Changed It All” on “Last Night” by simply having the deejay cut the break in over and over, on “Save Me Dear” and “Holla”, he adds his own flavor by rapping over soul classics from Gamble & Huff and The Delfonics, respectively, all original crooning in tact. While some music lovers would call this blasphemy, only Ghost can get away with it, and he makes it sound hype. 

     Towards the end, the album does misstep in a few places. While the lead single “Tush” (feat. Missy Elliott) is excusable, as it fits in with the soulful sounds of the rest of the LP, the “Oh Boy” sounding “Tooken Back” and the obligatory self-titled theme song “Ghostface” are two commercial attempts that fail miserably. Yet just when you think the album is about to lose steam, Ghost hits you with armor plated bangers such as “Be This Way” and the Jadakiss assisted “Run”, (live on Task Force Tuesday). 

     While early on it seemed like Method Man, Raekwon, and RZA were the most consistent or gifted members of the Wu-Tang Clan, Ghost has carved his own niche, and more importantly his own sound; one that doesn’t shamelessly sacrifice itself for commercial radio play, as so many of the other members have done, and in doing so has risen above many of his peers. So even though Ghost has toned down the Shaolin slang and dropped the Killah from his name, that’s about the only thing that has changed, as on Pretty Toney, he remains consistent as ever. And that’s word to banana nutriment.