Thirty years ago today, on October 29, 1996, Ghostface Killah released his debut solo album, Ironman, through Razor Sharp, Wu-Tang Records and Epic Street. It’s one of the strongest entries in the legendary first wave of Wu-Tang solo albums, and a lot of heads will tell you it’s the best of them all.
What It Was
RZA produced almost the whole record, with True Master handling “Fish.” The cover says Ghostface Killah, but the album was really a three-man show. Raekwon appears on 12 of the 17 tracks and Cappadonna on five, and both are named on the front. Only four songs feature Ghost as the only rapper, per Wikipedia’s album history. Coming one year after Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, where Ghost was all over the place, Ironman felt like part two of that same movie.
The Records That Hit
“All That I Got Is You” is the one that still gets people emotional. Ghost walks you through growing up poor in Staten Island, and the song plays as a tribute to his mother. It’s one of the most honest records of the ’90s. “Daytona 500” brought the high-speed energy with Raekwon and Cappadonna, and deep cuts like “Iron Maiden,” “260,” “The Faster Blade” and “Winter Warz” are Wu fan favorites to this day.
There’s even a wild backstory to the sound. A flood destroyed the studio during the making of the album, and that changed how Ghost’s vocals came out compared to earlier Wu recordings.
The Numbers
Ironman moved 156,000 copies in its first week and debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. It went platinum in the U.S., gold in Canada and silver in the UK, and it’s still Ghostface’s best-selling album. Critics loved it too: Pitchfork gave it a 9.4 and Robert Christgau gave it an A.
The Legacy
Ironman made year-end lists from Face and NME, and RZA’s soulful, cinematic production here pointed straight toward Wu-Tang Forever. More than that, it introduced the world to Tony Starks as a solo star, the vivid, emotional, off-the-wall storyteller who would go on to make Supreme Clientele and Fishscale. Thirty years later, Ghost is still one of the most respected voices in the game.
We’ve been celebrating classics all week, like Heavy D & the Boyz’ Living Large. So we have to ask: is Ironman the best Wu-Tang solo debut, or does Cuban Linx or Liquid Swords take it?
Source: Wikipedia: Ironman (Ghostface Killah album)
