After the Wu-Tang Clan rose to the top of the hip-hop world in the mid 1990s, members of the iconic rap group went off on their own to pursue solo careers. Some artists had more success than others. For rappers like Method Man and Ol‘ Dirty Bastard, making use of their time spent with The Clan to promote solo projects proved to be a smooth transition. But for Ghostface Killah, making a name for himself took a little more work. His efforts have paid off big-time, though as the artist, who has shortened his title to simply Ghostface, is one of the major players in hip hop music today.

Coming out of Staten Island, New York, Dennis Coles, who goes by several stage names and nicknames other than Ghostface- including Tony Starks, Pretty Toney and Ironman- was just another struggling MC trying to convey his story through a microphone. A natural talent like Ghostface might have been lost in obscurity forever had he not joined up with the Wu-Tang Clan as one of it‘s original members. The Clan had a strategy unlike many other rap group projects which were assembling at the time. With a huge base of raw talent, the Wu-Tang members made no secret of their intentions to eventually break off piece-by-piece after their initial group album. The first Wu Tang Clan record would have to be good, though, and indeed it was, as Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) shot up the charts and made instant underground hip hop heroes out of the members of the group, which consisted of New York area rappers RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, U-God, Inspectah Deck, Masta Killa, Ol‘ Dirty Bastard, and of course Ghostface Killah.

With phase one of the mission complete, the various members of the Wu-Tang Clan attempted to get started on their solo careers. Ghostface worked with Raekwon on his first album outside of the group, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, and made some cameo film appearances before eventually putting together Ironman, his debut album, in 1996. A hit in the sales department as well as with hip-hop critics, Ironman reinserted Ghostface Killah as a force in the music industry. After his first album, Ghosstface worked with several other rappers, mostly former Wu-Tang members, before getting back into the game near the turn of the millennium with his second album, Supreme Clientelle.

Ghostface followed up Superme Clientele with Bulletproof Wallets, The Pretty Toney Album, Fishscale, More Fish and The Big Doe Rehab, with each album showcasing the unique style of the artist. Ghostaface‘s delivery is original, and the content of his flow is filled with obscure slang with reference piled upon reference. Ghostface has built a large and avid base of fans that can‘t wait for his next album to drop.