Streets ahead

CD Choice: Hip-Hop

GHOSTFACE KILLAH
The Big Doe Rehab Def Jam ****

Ghostface definitely deserves a few days off. The Big Doe Rehab makes it three premier league solo albums from the rapper in the space of 18 months. Add in his participation in Wu-Tang Clan's sterling 8 Diagrams and you're looking at a very prolific MC.

But those who have suffered through hip-hop albums long on fillers and short on thrillers know only too well that quantity is no assurance of quality when rappers start to growl. Given how many of the hip-hop brethren have sold their souls with brand extensions and contractual obligations, rappers sometimes have questionable motives for their productivity.

With Ghostface, such doubts don't arise. Last year's Fishscale was a sign that the Staten Island MC had found a hugely engaging and distinctive groove. As The Big Doe Rehab rolls, Ghostface takes familiar positions and stances. The tracks take their hooks from various funky, dusty corners. Rare Earth (We Celebrate) and Soul Generation (White Linen Affair) supply the samples, and there are a few nods to the strung-out swell of prime-time Marvin Gaye as well.

Meanwhile, Ghost and his cohorts trade wordplay and street codes as if they're seasoned masters. As usual, it's roughneck tales of hustling, nervy deals gone wrong, and trouble from the forces of law and order that dominate Ghostface's narrative. With producers LV and Sean C from Diddy's Hitmen putting down rocksteady soundscapes, there's plenty of room for Ghost's idiosyncratic flow to work its magic (Norah Jones and polar bears share a couple of lines on White Linen Affair).

But this MC's real strengths lie in documenting the everyday grind. Walk Around and Yolanda's House are the keepers. Both find Ghostface contemplating what goes down when things go wrong. He's at his best here, the exasperated, experienced voice wondering just why he finds himself again in the middle of another fine mess. www.ghostface.com

Download tracks: Walk Around, White Linen Affair, Yolanda's House