Ironman

Lore & Background

Although a solo album, Ironman features many Wu-Tang collaborations and only four tracks feature Ghostface performing as the sole rapper. The two most prominently featured artists are Raekwon and Cappadonna, who both accompany Ghost and have their names on the album's cover. Raekwon appears on 12 of the 17 tracks, with 'The Faster Blade' featuring him performing solo. Cappadonna appears on five tracks. As opposed to earlier Wu-Tang solo projects, in which the performers involved were believed to be infallible, Ghostface is somewhat vulnerable on several of the album's songs. This is perhaps best illustrated on the single, 'All That I Got Is You', which is essentially a tribute to his mother. However, the rest of the album contains many street oriented, and organized crime topics, similar to Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..., in which Ghostface was heavily involved. Ironman contains more of Ghostface Killah's highly praised unique uptempo, stream-of-consciousness rhyming style, which he would go on to further utilize on his highly acclaimed second studio album Supreme Clientele. The album also features a substantial amount of story-telling rap, such as the song '260'. Producer RZA combines his dark keyboard tones and early-1970s soul samples, heavily used on Only Built for Cuban Linx... and Liquid Swords respectively, to engender a soulful and melodic, yet dark and harsh feel that later influenced many other Wu-Tang releases, such as Wu-Tang Forever and Uncontrolled Substance, as well as numerous other East Coast artists. In his book The Tao of Wu, producer RZA points out that Ghostface's voice sounds noticeably different on Ironman from previous Wu-Tang releases. This is because Ironman was released following a flood that destroyed the basement studio in which those recordings were made. RZA had set up individual microphone preamps and compressors for each member, which were destroyed in the flood. Thus, the vocals on Ironman had to be recorded in a different studio with different equipment and settings, which slightly altered their sound.

In Their Own Story

The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts selling 156,000 copies in its first week. The album went on to be certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of over a million copies in the United States. This remains Ghostface Killah's best selling album. In Canada, the album peaked at number four on the Canadian Albums Charts and was certified gold for denoting sales of over 40,000 copies.

Reader's Guide

All tracks on Ironman were produced by RZA, except where noted. The track listing includes 17 tracks with several notes: 'Assassination Day' features additional raps by Masta Killa. 'Winter Warz', 'Wu-Will Survive' (credited as 'Box In Hand') and 'After the Smoke Is Clear' feature uncredited raps by Raekwon. 'Box in Hand' and 'Daytona 500' feature uncredited singing by Force MDs. 'Black Jesus' and 'All That I Got Is You' feature uncredited vocals by Popa Wu. 'After the Smoke Is Clear' and 'Marvel' feature uncredited raps by RZA. The original 'Box in Hand' (featuring Method Man & Street) was replaced with 'Wu-Will Survive' last minute and can be found on other releases, such as Hidden Darts: Special Edition. In 2001, 'The Soul Controller' was removed from subsequent pressings of the album, due to sample rights not being cleared. 'Marvel' is a CD only bonus track. 'The Faster Blade' and 'Assassination Day' don't have Ghostface rapping. The album contains extensive sample credits, including samples from Al Green, Johnny Mathis, the Persuaders, los Angeles Negros, Z.Z. Hill, Manzel, the Jackson Five, Otis Redding, Teddy Pendergrass, Bob James, Michael Jackson, O.V. Wright, Blackbyrds, Jimmy Ruffin, and J.S. Bach, as well as dialogue excerpts from films such as The Education of Sonny Carson, J.D.'s Revenge, The Usual Suspects, Crying Freeman, Mystery of Chessboxing, and Carlito's Way.

Did You Know?

• Ironman debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 156,000 copies in its first week.
• The album was certified platinum by the RIAA for sales of over a million copies in the United States, and remains Ghostface Killah's best selling album.
• Ghostface's voice sounds noticeably different on Ironman because a flood destroyed the basement studio where previous recordings were made, forcing the vocals to be recorded with different equipment and settings.
• Only four tracks on the album feature Ghostface performing as the sole rapper; Raekwon appears on 12 of the 17 tracks.
• The track 'The Soul Controller' was removed from subsequent pressings in 2001 due to sample rights not being cleared.