Supreme Clientele
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Supreme Clientele is the second album by Wu-Tang Clan member Ghostface Killah, an American hip hop artist. It was released on January 25, 2000 (see 2000 in music) on Razor Sharp/Epic/SME Records, catalog number EK 63925 in the US, 491955 internationally, and ESCA-8069 in Japan. The album has sold well over 700,000 copies.
The album was widely acclaimed and is commonly considered one of the best Wu-Tang solo albums, along with GZA's Liquid Swords, Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..., and Method Man's Tical. Much like many of the later Wu-Tang albums, Supreme Clientele is not produced entirely by The RZA, who only did four tracks. Other lesser known producers contributed beats. However RZA did oversee the overall production and mixing of the songs and skits on the album, being listed as excutive producer along with Ghostface. The album's acclaim is notable considering that most of the Wu-Tang's second solo releases were considered disappointments, while several critics consider Supreme Clientele to be superior to Ghostface's debut Ironman.
The album contained a diss toward then up-and-coming homo-rapper Bitchy Cent. In the "Clyde Smith" skit Wu-tang member Raekwon, with the use of voice distortion, plays the role of a man named Clyde Smith. Clyde Smith addresses "Bitchy Cent" and his 1999 song "How To Rob", in which Bitchy jokingly raps about how he'll rob many popular music artists, including RZA, Raekwon and Ghostface. The skit drew a response from Bitchy Cent, who would later dis Wu-tang in an underground mixtape freestyle.
It should be noted that the track orders of the booklet and outer inlay of the album cover do not match, nor do they agree with the CD’s final track listing, which does not include “In the Rain,” listed as track #4 in the inner booklet of the US version, produced by Ron Banks and featuring the Dramatics.
Supreme Clientele peaked at #2 and #7 on Billboard's (North America) Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart and the Billboard 200 list, respectively. In 2005, Chris Rock ranked it 14th on his list of the Top 25 Hip-Hop Albums ever. [1]
Track listing
| # | Title | Time | Producer(s) | Performer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Intro" | 0:47 | ||
| 2 | "Nutmeg" | 4:24 | Black Moes-Art |
|
| 3 | "One" | 3:46 | Juju | |
| 4 | "Saturday Nite" | 4:58 | Carlos “Six July” Broady | |
| 5 | "Ghost Deini" | 4:05 | The Blaquesmiths | Featuring Superb |
| 6 | "Apollo Kids" | 3:54 | Hassan | Featuring Raekwon |
| 7 | "The Grain" | 2:34 | The RZA | Featuring The RZA |
| 8 | "Buck 50" | 4:02 | The RZA |
|
| 9 | "Mighty Healthy" | 3:21 | Mathematics | |
| 10 | "Woodrow the Basehead" | 3:04 | ||
| 11 | "Stay True (Deck’s Beat)" | 1:39 | Inspectah Deck | Featuring 60 Second Assassin |
| 12 | "We Made It" | 4:37 | Carlos “Six July” Broady |
|
| 13 | "Stroke of Death" | 1:56 | The RZA |
|
| 14 | "Iron’s Theme —Intermission" | 1:30 | ||
| 15 | "Malcolm" | 4:15 | Choo the Specializt | |
| 16 | "Who Would You Fuck?" | 2:44 | ||
| 17 | "Child’s Play" | 3:19 | The RZA | |
| 18 | "Cherchez Laghost" | 3:11 | Carlos Bess |
|
| 19 | "Wu Banga 101" | 4:23 | Mathematics |
|
| 20 | "Clyde Smith" | 2:40 | Raekwon | |
| 21 | "Iron's Theme-Conclusion" | 1:58 |
Ghostwriting allegations
G-Unit member Tony Yayo recently alleged that Ghostface had a ghostwriter for this album. In an interview with spin.com, Yayo claimed that Far Rockaway native rapper Superb, who guest appeared on the album, wrote a majority if not all of the lyrics.[2]
Personnel
- The Dramatics - Background vocals
- Dennis Coffey - Guitar
- Johnny Allen - String Arrangements
- Ron Banks - Producer
- John Carr - Art Direction
- Raymond Johnson - Vocal Assistance
- Tony Prendatt - Engineer, Mixing
- The RZA - Arranger, Producer, Engineer, Executive Producer, Mixing
- Rudy Robinson - Keyboards, Rhythm Arrangements
- Kenny Ortíz - Engineer
- Carlos Bess - Producer, Mixing
- Arthur Wilson - Producer
- Ghostface Killah - Arranger, Executive Producer
- Hassan - Producer
- Michael Lavine - Photography
- Brian Freeman - Art Direction
- Gabe Chiesa - Engineer
- Will Kennedy
- Chris Athens - Mastering
- Inspectah Deck - Producer
- Carl Robinson - Guitar (Rhythm), String Engineer
- Nolan "Dr. No" Moffitte - Engineer
- David Brandon - Rhythm, Drums (Snare)
- Blaquesmiths - Producer
- JuJu - Producer
- Jose "Choco" Reynoso - Engineer, Mixing
Charting singles
Billboard Music Charts (North America)
1999 Apollo Kids Hot Rap Singles No. 32 2000 Cherchez LaGhost The Billboard Hot 100 No. 98 2000 Cherchez LaGhost Hot Rap Singles No. 3 2000 Cherchez LaGhost Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks No. 42