Ghostface Killah new interview

[Elano]

HipHopDX: On “All That I Got Is You,” there is a lot of personal stuff about your upbringing. But, can you shed light on some of that?
Ghostface Killah: Word. When I reached a certain age, around 12 or 13, we were struggling. Around 13 years old, whatever, we were strugglin’. Pops wasn’t there. I got two brothers with me in there with muscular dystrophy that’s in the wheelchair. I was the oldest. As time went on, there was times I had to pick them up out of the wheelchair, take them to the bathroom, pick them up out of the bathroom, put them back in the chair. You know, the house was flooded with mad family. Like I said [in the lyrics of the song], "fifteen of us in a three bedroom apartment." You know what I’m saying?                         

DX: Was there anything in particular that helped you stay motivated through that?
Ghostface Killah: It was just that God sends signs your way. It’s like, you know one person and this leads on to this and this leads on to that. As the years went by, I had went through...[Pause] I went to jail at 15. I went to jail at around like 15. I was in upstate New York for robbing and stealing because, like I said, we didn’t really have nothing. But, I started fuckin’ with my friends that was gettin’ high, smoking woolies and all that other shit. Like [Raekwon] [click to read] said [on "C.R.E.A.M."], “smoking woolies at 16.” For us, that’s what it was and shit. Um, after I did that, you know, ‘87 started kickin’ in. Now, we was stealing, selling drugs and gettin’ fly. You know what I mean? Just shit like that. Then, I hooked up with RZA and them, through a few friends and all that other shit and he was here with Rae and them. Then, RZA moved down to my projects and that’s where we started. He used to come through selling hype sweat suits, like velour suits and all that other shit. He always had a little glow about him and shit. He knew how to rhyme and for some reason, I knew that he was going to be that nigga one day. I knew it! I knew how to rhyme and shit and me and him became close and shit. We became close and you know, I gave him the Wu-Tang name and introduced him to the Wu-Tang and Shaolin movies. One thing led to another, you know what I mean? I was getting money out-of-state and all that other shit and getting that equipment and all that other shit. He was home making the beats and doing this and that and the third. You know, I came back, settled down, went and snatched up Rae and them. That’s when U-God, [Inspectah] Deck [and Jesus, his cousin [came in]. Then , we had the squad. We just put this shit together, B. Then, one thing led to another and it was on.

DX: Growing up, did you dream of being anything other than an emcee? What other aspirations did you have?
Ghostface Killah: Um...coming up, yeah, I dreamt. I seen this! I seen this! I seen this! It took me awhile to get it. But, I seen this back in the '80s. It’s like, I seen it and dreamt it, but going through the struggle to get there, I didn’t know. I didn’t keep it on my mind every day like that but, I knew that when Genius [click to read] got on, then RZA was on, it was like “Okay, he’s on Tommy Boy [Records].” You know, how you be like, “Okay, yo, we’re going to do this and we’re going to do that.” That’s how it was. Then, he left Tommy Boy or they dropped him or whatever. Now, it’s like “What we gonna do now?” Now, our hopes are shattered. We’re just out here on the block, tryin’ to put our shit on. That’s the type of shit a nigga went through. Once we went independent, we started walking our own dog. After awhile, we settled down like, “What the fuck we gonna do?” He was like a scientist with his shit. I give him his points for that shit because he didn’t stop.

DX: Through that, you’ve been through New York Rap’s greatest days and you’ve been through the lows. You’ve also been pretty vocal about New York Hip Hop when you felt it wasn’t doing right. Do you think New York Rap is looking better today or do you still feel there is a lack of creativity and productivity in New York?
Ghostface Killah: It is, still, hell yeah. It’s still a lack of all that shit, of course.

DX: How do you see that changing?
Ghostface Killah: It all starts within the individual. But, I don’t think there’s ever going to be a time when we’re all going to be...like New York is going to be New York in Hip Hop and that’s it. I think that right now, it’s over. It’s over! That’s what I personally think. Don’t get me wrong, there’s motherfuckers out there that still know how to get busy. I think it’s over [thinking] we’re going to just run it and that’s it and nobody else is going to have a chance. I think it’s going to be diverse. I think we’re going to have [different types of music]. If I make my music, I’m making it for the ones that love the music I make and for myself. You’re going to have a variety of shit, it’s just who stands out the most with their shit. You can’t bring time back. Time is already gone. Everybody want to bring ‘88 back. You can’t bring ‘88 back. That was the ‘80s. At no other point in life, have you ever heard of a period of time coming back or the good ol’ days coming back. Nah. It’s not that because as time goes on, every day shit gets rougher and rougher and things change. It evolves. It’s like Disco came in after all that Soul shit. From Disco, derived other shit. Rap is probably like one of the last things that played a part, that nurtured from all that other shit. So, things never really go back. Now, if the old people want to go ‘head and make some Soul music, they’re going to make it. But, it’s not going to be on top again, like how it was in the '60s or the '70s. Now, you got still Disco, you got House, you got fuckin’ Opera and Country. It’s going to be different. It ain’t gonna be Soul no more. That’s what I’m saying. Inside of Rap, it’s the same shit. So, don’t look to bring all that other shit back. But, if we’re going to make music close to it, then we’re just going to be able to do it. But, at the same time, all that other shit is still going to be there. 

DX: I think it’s interesting that throughout your career, you always talk about feeding the babies in some way-about teaching the youth about the world. What’s the most powerful message you think the youth today needs to hear?
Ghostface Killah: The most powerful message is the easy message. Just put God in your life, man. I know it sounds simple and plain but that’s how it is. Right now, the world is like...we’re disrespecting God to the fullest, like if He don’t even exist. What I mean by that is, we’re doing shit...I mean...C’mon, you got males liking another male, females liking other females. With killing at it’s craziest murder rate, we’re doing a bunch of foul shit [like] raping, putting diseases out there, putting the swine flu out there and AIDS out there. We’re disrespecting God so much like if He don’t even exist. People don’t even go to church no more. As little kids back in the days, if you was little, you had to go to church with your family. You knew a sense of God. These people just hear God and ignore Him. They don’t feel bad for nothing that they do out there. They don’t say, “Oh, I’m sorry for robbing that dude,” or “I’m sorry for this.” Nothing. This is why the world is where it’s at right now. There’s no respect! Not even in your household. The children don’t even respect they parents. The parents don’t respect themselves. They might not even respect their kids because they’re doing shit in front of their kids and their kids is picking up on it. So, it’s like a chain reaction. But, that’s the most powerful statement because if they had somebody who they respected like God, they would feel ashamed to do a lot of shit. See, me? I’m a spiritual brother. So, I humbled myself to a lot of ways so I can’t even steal a book of matches from you. I could be at 7-Eleven, you might give me $20 extra change and I gotta give it back to you. I’m at a stage now, where I know that somebody is watching me. Whether it’s the angels, my good angel and my bad angel, taking notes or God himself, somebody is watching me and I’ma be held accountable for this shit after I pass away. On Judgement Day, I’ma get judged for all the shit that I did. So, I’m aware now. But, a lot of people are not aware now so that’s how come I say, “If you had a personal relationship with the higher being, this world with be more because you wouldn’t be doing nothin’ foul.” If you ain’t doin’ nothing foul, you’re doing something righteous. The more that people do something righteous, the more we’ll have a righteous world. That’s why I say “Put God in your life.” Fuck the big speech and all that other shit. There’s nothing to really talk about. That’s what it all boils down to because He’s the creator and maker of all this. Without Him, none of this would be possible. Me talking to you on a phone would not be possible. The phone wouldn’t be possible. Clothes wouldn’t be possible. Your food! Your Water! Even your body, your fuckin’ body parts that’s still functioning, wouldn’t be possible. You feel me? Life itself. So, that’s how come it all boils down to that one word: It’s God, yo.

DX: Is this something that you always had in your mind or is it something that came later in life?
Ghostface Killah: I always had shit in my mind! I always had things in my mind, but as you get older, you get more mature and especially when you’re dealing with your spirituality, it grabs you. For those who try to change their life and really know, like, “Yo, I can’t front on God.” You could think that you’ve got a bone in your closet...You killed this man and nobody’s gonna know about it? Nah, yo! You might get away with it right now, but you’re gonna be held accountable for that body when it’s time to get judged. Don’t think that because somebody died, [if] your mother died or father died, [that] they in heaven. They’re not in heaven! They’re in a holding place. You can’t be in heaven until you get judged and you get judged when this world is over. See what I’m sayin’? They’re not in heaven. The ones that’s in heaven is the babies that’s never sinned before, that’s never fucked before. They never did nothin’. If you sinned before, even if you sinned one time, you gonna have to get judged. So, you not goin’ straight to heaven.

DX: Now, you’ve also talked in public about learning from the youth and applying what you learn to the knowledge you already have to come up with something fresh every time. What type of new things are you learning every day, be it from your kids or just younger up and coming emcees in the game?
Ghostface Killah: Yeah, you always learn from the children. You watch the seeds and what they do and stuff like that. But, um, I don’t got nothing on my mind like I learned this or that. Nah, I haven’t been around no kids to pick up on something. But, you know, you always pick up and learn something, and you don’t even know like your mind didn’t even recognize what the fuck just happened.

DX: While we’re speaking about kids, I know you have kids. How did having kids change you? How did it change the way you approach different facets of life?
Ghostface Killah: Certain things I say on my records, I don’t want to say certain shit. Kids teach you responsibility, man. You’re not that person no more who just live...I mean, I don’t stay with my kids. I don’t live with their mother. I take care of my children. But, that’s my responsibility now. You can’t walk away from that. You have to go ahead and talk to ‘em, make sure that they’re taken care of so they don’t have to rob and steal like how I had to when I was young [and] to prevent them from going to jail. You just have to teach them the rights and the wrongs and stay in they ass.

DX: I spoke with you in 2007 and you told me something that I found really interesting. You said “After I start throwing these little dirty darts, I’m gonna have to start throwing mature darts speaking on men and women. It can be positive or a fucked up situation, but you have to address certain issues.” Is that something we are going to be seeing with The Wizard of Poetry?
Ghostface Killah: Yeah, this Poetry album is older. It’s mature. So, it’s adult situations on it and stuff like that, some shit that a nigga can go through. On this album right here, I focus a lot on women. I just threw my dart at women and other types of situations, too. So, I didn’t go ahead and get to that but as my albums go on, I’ll get to the phase where you gotta talk about “Nigga, you fucked up,” talking about the men. Or, it could be “I miss my kids” or it could be “Yo, we gotta get our morals together,” speaking on men. But, then you got women, too, that’s fucked up and might fuck a different dude every month and that’s not good. Yeah, [that will come] as time goes on, but, this album is a mature album. This is the album that sets it off for all that shit.

DX: In that same interview, you also said “You gotta have people to grow with you.” For a long time, people had a feeling like rappers couldn’t do it past a certain age. But, now we are seeing emcees go on for much longer and maintain success for much longer as the culture grows with them. Do you think the people, the genre and the fans are ready for that type of maturation now more than ever?
Ghostface Killah: We’re going to have to take a turn somewhere, whether they’re ready for it or not. It’s going to have to evolve into something. Like [KRS-One] said in ‘87, “Fifty years down the line, you could start this/ because we’ll be the old school artists.” I’ve been here for about 14-15 years probably. KRS was here in ‘86-‘87. Twenty years down the line, he’s still putting it down. So, that’s just what it is right now. By the time you hit 50, there’s other things to talk about, B. You can’t talk that crack shit. You gotta talk about shit that people relate to. I don’t give a fuck if you’re broke. If you’re broke, [rhyme like] “Nigga, I don’t got it! Don’t ask me for no fuckin’ money, nigga, I don’t go it!” You gotta be talking about real shit like that. Say you fuck around and you on health care or Social Security: “Yo, yo, yo, Social Security ain’t payin’ me too much!” It’s that shit that motherfuckers can relate to. I don’t give a fuck if you old and you have a cane, nigga. You gotta talk about your cane! You know what I mean? We do these things. Like, “Me and my bitch got glass canes with iced out...” or “I got false teeth with frames on ‘em.” You know what I mean? If you a 60 year-old nigga, you gotta spit a 60 year-old dart! I want to still be rhyming when I’m 60. I might not want to do shows, I don’t know, but I still believe I’ma be throwin’ old man darts because I’m a fly nigga in my head. I believe that yo, you could do whatever the fuck you want. It’s nothin’ to write rhymes. It ain’t like I’m out there with a shovel, slavin’ every fuckin’ morning. This is something you do with a pen and a fuckin’ paper, B. This is music. So, in my old man darts, even if I’m going senile, I’ma have to write that shit. If my dick can’t get up, I might have to go ahead and start throwing that shit like “Yo, I done reached that age when my dick can’t get up!” You know what I’m saying? Just make it sound fly to where motherfuckers is like “Oh shit!” That’s what it is. That’s how you’re going to keep your fans with you. Don’t front on ‘em. 

DX: It’s like, we’ve heard everything in the mind of a 20 year old and even 30 year olds. How important is it to get that different perspective...
Ghostface Killah: Yeah, things evolve. So, when they be talkin’ that retire shit or “I’ma stop rhyming?” Yeah, alright, man. Tell them niggas to fuck off, B. They need to stop it. You have to come back because you love Hip Hop. So, what you gon’ do? It’s nothin’. You hear some fly shit, rhymes gonna come in your head. Lines are gonna start comin’ at you. It’s not gonna stop, yo.

DX: The Wu-Tang legacy is already cemented. People know that. But, you’re saying you don’t plan on stopping. You just talked about rhyming til you can no longer do it in the future. Where do you want your legacy to be when it’s all over?
Ghostface Killah: Respect is the most important thing that you could ask for in life. I just want people to respect me and respect what I’ve done, man. That’s it, yo. I’m not asking you to put me as your best emcee or your best that. If any of that ever came to be, that’s just gravy, the cherry that’s on top. At the end of the day, you want to go sleep knowing that you was well respected and mother fuckers loved you, B.