Customer Reviews

Bulletproof Wallets

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Ghostface Killah's third solo album, the oddly titled Bulletproof Wallets, continues his winning streak. The album follows the classic Wu-Tang formula, with killer RZA beats and graphic lyrics. Ghost has fun on the album with the humorous "The Forest", which is built around fairy tale characters, but the album has a heavy weight to it. Songs like "Never Be The Same Again", "Walking Through The Darkness", "The Hilton" and others take on stronger meanings in this post 9/11 world. Ghostface Killah has been the most consistent of the Wu's with his solo albums and Bulletproof Wallets is another superb effort.

This album is pretty tight! Ghostface Killah reunites with his partner in crime,Raekwon to bring Wu fans: Bulletproof Wallets. Ghost brings in tight production with the help from RZA, the Alchemist, Mathematics, and others. Stand out songs include "Flowers", "The Forest", "Theodore", and "Maxine". Ghostface displays his talent with his off the wall lyrics, stunning beats, and his in-depth stories. Ghostface also brings radio flavor with his current hit,"Never Be The Same Again"; and he gives fans a sequel to his previous hit ("Cherchez Le Ghost") with another club banger, "Ghost Showers".

Weaknesses:
Let me say first that the songs listed on the booklet of this album are not in order with the songs on the actual cd. In fact Ghostface left off one of the tighest songs on the cd that he should have kept, "The Sun" featuring Rae, Slick Rick, and RZA. Not to mention that the cd is rather short, clocking in at only 46 minutes. Lastly, Ghostface enlsisted the help of Ruff Endz for the song "Love Session", however the song sounds just like "Faded Pictures" by Case & Joe However, despite these minor bumps, overall the cd is OFF DA CHAIN! So go and pick it up!

This is an average album. there are some decent songs and the production is okay. Probably for die hard ghost fans.
rating C+

Ghost returned to quick to drop this album I think (just 20 months off, which is unheard of for Wu releases) and the quality shows. Although it is still a solid album (4 stars) it's just a little behind his other 3 solo ones. Once again the track listing is all f**ked up (like on "Supreme Clientele") and you have to go to his website for the real one. Production is decent but could have been better and is handled mostly by RZA, Mathematics & ALChemist - with Six July, Undadawgs, and Chris Ligio each doing 1 song. Guests are all over the album as well (I am glad to see Rae on 4 or 5 songs) but you don't get as much of Ghost's goofy off-the-wall lyrics as we all love and want. He samples a few old beats like only he can. It does have 1 classic, 1 near classic, a few good ones and a few I can't decide if their good or ok. Still a good album to check out for his fans.

#2 - 9 (f/ raekwon -- god story line)
#3 - 8 (f/ raekwon, method man, lord superb)
#4 - 9.5 (great song about an ex -- f/ carl thomas & raekwon)
#6 - 8 (f/ trife da god & twiz)
#7 - 7 (f/ ??)
#8 - 7.5 (f/ killa sin)
#9 - 10 (CLASSIC -- uses old characters from cartoons & fairy tales to tell a story -- f/ raekwon)
#10 - 9 (f/ trife da god & lord superb)
#11 - 8 (upbeat song f/ Tekitha)
#12 (skit)
#13 - 7.5 or 8 (f/ raekwon)
#14 - 8.5 (24 bar freestyle)
#15 - 8.5 (slower song f/ Ruff Endz)
#16 - 7.5 or 8 (f/ trife da god & solomon childs)

Dennis Coles -- b. around 1972 -- Stapleton, Staten Island, NY
Check all my reviews

I`dont understand why so many people dislike this album. I think it`s better than ironman but not as good as the perfect supreme clientele. The best tracks are: Flowers, Theodore, The forrest, The juks, Walking through the darkness and The hilton. Make sure you listen to it about five times before you judge it.

Ghost has emerged as my favorite member of Wu Tang. However, it saddens me to report my disappointment with this latest project. I'm all for experimenting, but what's up with all this R&B (...)? That Carl Thomas song is wack and the best new product isn't even on the album. There's a hot song floating around with Ghost flowin over a Barry White track that's missing, and the album version of "Flowers" is weak compared to what I guess is a remix. Overall, the production is poor and although Ghost is always witty with his rhymes, I expected more. With little contributions from other Wu Tang members and Rae's subpar performance, this album will not be in rotation very long? Back to Ironman & Supreme Clientele!!

I can understand tha point of view of those who are disappointed in this album, on some levels I am too. However I love hip hop music. I can't dislike a song only because it is commercial, an I am for tha most part an underground head. I like tha production on this album. Ghost doesn't come off as lyrical as his previous releases, not by a long shot. However I think his flow showed a lot of growth an maturity. His lyrics are still hot off da rocka, no doubt. My favorite cuts are "The Forest," which is very original and tha wordplay/storytelling is typical Ghost. "Neva Be The Same Again," though is commercial I'm not a hater, tha beat is soothing an I feel what he's talkin bout. "Maxine," once again great lyrical storytelling by Ghost. "Ghost Showers," a follow-up of "Cherchez La Ghost," I love this song honestly. Tha beat is filthy an it's prety lyrical. Also "Love Session," which is my favorite song. Tha beat samples Case's "Faded Pictures," an Ghost murders it. I feel what he's sayin on it once again. I like this album, compared to a lot of other garbage albums out there, so pick it up.

I got some songs off of this CD before it came out, and I was impressed with what I heard. I bought the CD when it came out and was a little dissapointed. I already knew that three of the doper songs were not gonna be on the CD because samples didn't clear. This CD is more like 3.5 tho. The Forest and some other songs are pretty tight. I don't like the commerciality of Never Be The Same Again [...], and is nowhere near Ghost's original slow jam from "Ironman" All That I Got Is You. Instead this sounds like some [...] R&B song that gets played on the radio all the time. R&B on a Wu Tang album? What are they thinking. This album has a similar sound, original to itself like Supreme Clientele. It has that new Wu flavor which are slower beats that sound weird, not the grimy stuff most fans have come to love. Bottom line is, this CD would have been tighter if The Sun and The Watch and Good Times would have been on it. The Sun would have made this CD a solid 4 alone. Stupid commercial songs and stupid sample clearences ruined this CD. At least Cappadonna wasn't on the album. Of course, with each passing day Raekwon sounds more and more like a piece of no-rhyming trash. [...] RZA should find his roots and get the Wu back on track. Ghostface is good, but I'm not sure he can save the Wu by himself.

Bulletproof Wallets in my opinion is very good album. I have to agree with the last person who reviewed this album, it's not better than Supreme Clientele but I did enjoyed it. Also the songs are not in order on the cover, which confused me a little. But the actual song list is one the actual CD. Ghost and Rae has the gift for discription and detail when it comes to their lyrics. The standout cuts to me is "Maxine", "the Forest", and "The Hilton", classic Ghost and Rae stories. There are other cuts that are pretty good too.The messed up thing about this album is that I was expecting to here the song with Slick Rick and RZA (it's not on the album). The production is tight with the use of soulful samples instead of using the all now popular digital keyboards. With this album it gets you ready for the Raekwon and Ghost album, RAGU:Cuban Linx 2 and the new Wu-Tang album coming soon. To sum it up, if you like the W,and your favorite MC is Ghost you will love BulletProof Wallets!!

Unlike many others in Hip-Hop, Ghost should be forgiven for this, but yet again, his versitility and intensity is what makes up for this particular record. Ghost has always been the clansman to bring emotional rage with his rapstyle, this showcases one of his best, on cuts like "Maxine", and also his storytelling are still unparellel on "Never Be The Same Again" and also using cartoon characters to build an entertaining tale on the "Alchemist" produced "The Forest" (think "Ice Cube's" Gangsta's Fairytale with a twist). The album that made this album crash and burn was the production work, it seemed uneven and didn't really seem to fit in well. However even Ghost's worst efforts come off better than most rappers of this decade.