Simple minds get blown, shattered into pieces
My thesis is thick like the Book of Eli.
We live we die, we put 'em in the sky
Free your mind as a slave like the Fourth of July.
This a sandstorm created from original thought
I bust boundaries son, you just do what you're taught.
My vocab is powerful, spit shit subliminal
slang therapist, my whole style is criminal.
Bugged like Bob Digital, fly visual
Mind body and soul, I'm a strong individual
Come through in the final hour, with gun showers
Stand the fuck up like Flav to fight the power.
I'm an activist, socialist, deadly ass poetrist
Supreme Clientele, I'm a goddamn vocalist.
My thoughts are so heavy I could change a generation
The x-factor, we puttin' ho's through inflation.

- Ghostface Killah, "Gunshowers"

Umm, that's just unfair, to be honest. Someone let me know of a better verse that introduces who a rapper is to his audience. I feel like pointing out every rhyme screaming HOW DID HE DO THAT? Ok I have to do one: My vocab is powerful, spit shit subliminal, slang therapist my whole style is criminal (!!???). Spit shit subliminal? Slang therapist? Who thinks of that? From here on out, I'm just pointing to this verse when I mention Ghostface as one of the best rappers alive.

Pop quiz: How many members of Wu-Tang Clan can you name?

My try: Ol' Dirty Bastard (RIP), Method Man, GZA, RZA, Inspectah Deck, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah...there's definitely some more (checking interwebs), damn missed U-God, Cappadonna, and Masta Killa. At least I didn't forget Ghostface.

I do this little quiz because 21 years after Wu-Tang's classic debut, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), I think Ghostface is the best rapper of the crew. He's still making great albums and doing it recently at a ridiculously prolific pace, to the tune of three albums in three years and two, 2014s' 36 Seasons and 2015s' Sour Soul, within three months of each other! I'm very surprised neither album was acclaimed because I've really enjoyed both albums front to back.

The making of Sour Soul is actually a great story. The album was made with BadBadNotGood, a trio of kids in their early 20s who met at jazz school in Toronto in 2010. They started doing covers of rap songs, uploading them to Soundcloud, and their covers got noticed by Tyler the Creator which ultimately opened the doors to them working with other rappers like Ghostface Killah and being Frank Ocean's backing band on his last tour! So Sour Soul has some very interesting jazz elements and production to it while Ghostface (and other guest likes MF Doom and Danny Brown) spews his talents all over the tracks. I love Sour Soul in part because I grew up on jazz-based rap like A Tribe Called Quest and any song produced by DJ Premiere. The album was also a unique concept, and I've never heard a song quite like "Gunshowers" or "Sour Soul."

36 Seasons is more of a gritty Ghostface street rap album (although "Double Cross" could have fit perfectly into Sour Soul). It's a concept album following Tony Starks trying to find a new life in spite of the street's call. There are a number of songs featuring AZ (originally introduced to the world of rap by Nas), an underrated rapper in his own right who holds his own with Ghostface, including the upbeat and instantly likable "Here I Go Again." Fans of ALL music should like this track.

* DISCLAIMER * This is only a 5 Faves from Ghostface's last two albums. A Best Of is in the cards.