In 2005 Ghostface Killah of Wu-Tang Clan & Trife da God of TMF released a collaborative album. Both performers are part of the group Theodore Unit founded by Tony Starks, who the year before released his only album, "718". The production is done by Animal House, Anthony Acid, Da Beatminerz, Dirty Dean, Emile Haynie, Jim Bond, J-Love, Look Out Ent., MoSS, MRR-ADM, Nottz, PHENOM, RZA & Supa Dave West. The guests are Raekwon & RZA of Wu-Tang Clan, Tommy Whispers and Kryme Life aka Cryme Life of TMF, Shawn Wigs, Solomon Childs & Sun God of Theodore Unit, Kool G Rap and Slick Rick, the only guests outside the Wu universe.
The first track on the record is "Cocaine Trafficking": boom bap rhythm provided by Anthony Acid, solid bass line, downtempo sparse drum, synth keyboard, piano keys loop, good samples from "A Song for You" by Solution. Hardcore energetic delivery by Ghost Face Killer on the first verse, long hook and final stanza by Trife da God, following the structure of their duets already proposed on the previous Theodore Unit record: Ghost verse, hook, Trife verse. Thematically, the title already explains what the performers are going to face. The title track follows, on a beat made by Look Out Ent.: soul samples, dry hard midtempo drum, fat dusty bass line in the background, plucked acoustic guitar, good samples. Long chorus, two hardcore verses with a silky flow by Trife da God, in one of his many solo cuts, great piece. Nottz produces "Struggle", Ghostface's solo choice: the sample taken from "Mother Misery's Favorite Child" by Freda Payne also forms the hook, then Tony Starks travels with a velvety, smoothness, clear, dope flow on an exquisite production conceived by Nottz: fantastic boom bap, deep bass line, dusty dirty drum uptempo, bright violins, descending horns, fantastic samples, regular rapping by Ghostdeini who creates one of the best pieces of his catalog, hidden gem in this collaborative record.
"Hustle Hard" is introduced by a long skit from the movie "Paid in Full". Second intro provided by TMF, Kryme LIfe & Trife on a production by Look Out Ent. Hook taken from a 50 Cent sample. Verse by Trife, regular, hardcore, slow, good flow. Boom bap rhythm, gentle strings, dry drum midtempo, solid bass line, solid beat, Trife drops a second verse and closes the track. His solo cut, "Event", follows, the boy drops two verses on a boom bap beat created by Emile Haynie. MoSS wants to create a Premier for "Gangsta Shit" and fails. Obsessive loop of a few seconds, boom bap, poor midtempo drum, solid bass line, samples a bit poor and chaotic. There's an homage from the producer to "Nutmeg" by Ghostface from "Supreme Clientele", but you might not even notice it. Roaring rockin' rhythm, slow steady delivery by Trife, two verses, his hook, then Tommy Whispers, also a member of TMF, delivers a third stanza and completes the work. Not a memorable joint. Solid sample from Ruth Copeland's "Play with Fire" for "Fire", produced by Jim Bond. Cheap boom bap, hard midtempo dry drum, chunky rough bass line, raw organ keys, good sample that stays in the background to fuel Trife & Ghost's bars on this track. Long final hook. This one is among the highlights of the whole record. Over a cheap boom bap production by Phenom, Trife da God delivers a solo cut, two battle verses, two hooks. Instrumental final break and hook again. Hardcore rap. Animal House delivers a competent beat for "Project Soap Operas", literally a TMF track with all three members of the band, passable tune.
"Out da Way" features a chipmunk soul dope sample, cheap boom bap by Anthony Acid, dry midtempo drum, rough bassline, electric guitar riff. The sample is from Foster Sylvers' "Misdemeanor" that The D.O.C. turned into a classic with his banger "It's Funky Enough". Hardcore delivery by Shawn Wigs with Ghostface. Hook by the duo, then Ghostdeini delivers a second verse with some back n forth with Wigs. Chorus by Wiggs who returns to deliver a third verse, still back n forth with Starks. "Drugz" is yet another solo piece by Trife spitting bars with a regular hardcore style over a cheap boom bap production by Dirty Dean: rough bassline, dry uptempo drum, looped horns, good beat. Two verses by the rapper, long hook. "Milk 'Em" is a version similar to the single released in 2005, shorter, with second and third hooks cut together with Myone's verse. MRR-ADM makes the beat of this piece: cheap boom bap, rocking, dirty, rusty rhythm, raw bass line, dirty, dusty drum, uptempo, electric guitar riff. Hard verse and long hook by Ghost, too many long hooks on this LP; then Trife in the second verse closes the joint with a breathless flow. J-Love is behind the keyboards for the next choice, "Late Night Arrival": splendid boom bap noir, perfect samples, fantastic underground midtempo dry drum, raw bass line, magnificent scattered dark samples, rhythm bordering on perfection. After a train that runs on rails in the dark, comes the rhythm, which breathes a few moments before the concentrated hardcore entrance of Wigs, then Trife hardcore, energetic, raw, good flow. Solomon Childs (not credited among the guests, as he had just left Theodore Unit) in the wake with an irregular, rough, quarrelsome style with the beat.
Tony Starks with the fourth verse of this cypher, drops thug bars with a velvety hardcore style to then leave room again for Wigs who returns and gives another stab to the beat, with a rough, raw, energetic style. Valuable cypher. The piece is then re-proposed for the Ghostface compilation "Hidden Darts" (2007). Track number fourteen is made with a beat by Anthony Acid: boom bap, drum sparse midtempo, decent samples, solid bass line, intro by Ghost & Trife, chorus by Trife and Solomon Childs (sometimes not credited here either), hardcore delivery by Trife. Second stanza by Ghostdeini with a slow, heavy flow. The third verse is delivered by Sun God, son of Ghostface and member of the group Theodore Unit, who spits with a good regular, fluid style, on a beat that doesn't reward anyone, not even Starks. Track then inserted in "Saints Row" with a different editing and other lyrics. "Game Time" is a track by Trife on production by Emile Haynie. Intro, chorus and thug verse by Trife da God that dominates the boom bap beat offered by the beatmaker. It seems like a solo cut when Tommy Whispers arrives, with Trife part of the trio TMF, often uncredited, who delivers with a regular style on the beat. After the hook, Trife goes back to bury the track with a third verse and yet another hook.
RZA is credited to "The Watch", a duet by Ghostface Killah & Chef Raekwon, and also the first of three bonus tracks on the record. Classic. At least that's what the tracklist says before you even hear it. The cut was recorded in 2001 and intended for the album "Bulletproof Wallets", from which it remains out due to problems with the samples. Intro sung without a beat, Ghostface opens the cut with a slow, chanted rapping, then enters the track like a knife through butter and delivers gangster bars with some of his most alienating flows. Sparse drum accompanied by hi-hat, fragrant bass, electric guitar riffs to support the emcee's delivery, in the middle of his verse The Abbot also places a vocal sample of Barry White's "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby", which fuels the extra breathless verse by Tony Starks. Raekwon follows in the wake of his friend for the second verse, with a direct and beautiful homage to "Goodfellas" (1993), and that's why we love these guys.
In the next line, Lou Diamonds ironically asks Starks if he doesn't feel arrived and finished, because on the radio you can only listen to DMX and Jay-Z. At the time of the recording and release of the song and even its inclusion, very deserved, in the compilation "Hidden Darts", the boys of the Wu-Tang Clan are still under the ten-year ban of Hot 100 and the main radios of New York, which decide not to broadcast their songs, whose ban is provoked by Ghostdeini himself in 1997. Ghost returns going smoothness, velvety, hardcore, almost in spoken word, reiterating to his friend that he himself together with U-God had put a hit in the charts during the aforementioned ban, referring to "Cherchez La Ghost" from his album "Supreme Clientele" (2000), released a few years earlier, thus stating that he's still at the top of the game despite the problems and difficulties. Brilliant breakbeat by RZA, with that magical Barry White sample, Rae & Ghost clarify themselves in the break and during the following outro Ghost takes advantage of it to relaunch his group Theodore Unit, which should be the next new brand sh*t in the game, but will never be.
The second bonus track features Ghostface Killah & Kool G Rap at the mic. Event track. The Beatminerz rhythm is unfortunately not classic. Intro and verse by Ghostdeini that tears the cut, his hook, G Rap destroys the rhythm with a sensational second verse. Too bad the beat is not up to the event, cut that could have been classic, it remains in history as the first collaboration between the two pillars of New York hip-hop and remains practically untraceable on the internet. The third and final bonus track is "The Sun", one of the songs originally planned for Ghostface's third solo CD "Bulletproof Wallets" (2001) and which failed to enter the final tracklist of the album due to unclear samples. The song is an ode to the sun. Wonderful ethereal heavenly production by RZA. Immense samples from "Does He Treat You Better" by Unique Bland, a piece from the mid-seventies. Perfect downtempo drum beat, gorgeous trumpet/sax loop, amazing crispy bass line. Dope velvety calm delivery by Ghostface that follows the flow of the beat. Simple chorus in spoken by GFK and Slick Rick. Second stanza reserved for Chef Raekwon that flows velvety silky with some of his most fluid flows. Hook, third verse by Slick Rick, with a wonderful sing-song style, it seems like the beat was created for him, magnificent. RZA (uncredited) comes down to lay down a couple of scientific bars, before the final hook. The rhythm breathes deservedly for twenty seconds at the end, one of the best ever pulled out in Bobby Steels' career. The cut is then included in "Hidden Darts".
Finally, there would be, "Tony's Money", fourth bonus track, often not included in the tracklist of the album because it is only part of the LP version. Supa Dave West produces the beat for this Ghostface Killer solo, which is also a diss to De La Soul, guilty of not paying him for his contribution to their album "The Grind Date" (2004). Then, after the hook, Tony Starks drops the verse that was supposed to be in the original version of De La Soul's song "He Comes". Originally intended for "The Pretty Toney Album" (2004), the song is therefore inserted here: boom bap by Supa Dave West, fantastic samples, heavy vibrating bass in the background excellent, stretched horns, soul samples, quick raw uptempo drums. Smooth hardcore delivery by Ghostdeini who destroys the beat, crazy. The album in both cases ("The Sun" in the original versions, "Tony's Money" in that LP) closes with a classic piece.
Final Thoughts
With the exception of a couple of tracks, the entire project was recorded between 2004 and 2005 and is scheduled to be Trife da God's solo first album. The Stapleton rapper made his debut in "Bulletproof Wallets" (2001), appeared in "The Pretty Toney Album" (2004) and was the protagonist of the Theodore Unit album "718" (2004), of which this debut album is born as a direct sequel. The original title is in fact "718: Stapleton to Somalia". The project should be released under an independent label with a major distribution deal, because Trife's name is hot at the moment and the boy is linked to Ghostface Killah, one of the most popular artists of the moment. Maybe too tied. The album quickly shifts from a solo effort to a collaboration with Tony Starks, whose name precedes Trife's on the cover, the songs change titles and several Ghost bonus tracks are added, then an entire additional live DVD from Ghostdeini, which takes the entire project from the independent label to his newly formed Starks Enterprise label. Finally, the album title changes from the original to "Put It on the Line", from that of a solo track by Trife.
Trife da God appears on 13 of the 19 tracks on his album, less than half of which are solo tracks, Ghostface boasts 11 appearances, the two artists collaborate on four tracks. Tommy Whispers is the main guest on the project with three appearances, followed by Raekwon (2), Wigz (2), Solomon Childs (2, both uncredited), Kryme Life, Sun God, Kool G Rap, RZA and Slick Rick. Coming in the wake of the Theodore Unit record, this collaborative effort sounds similar to "718" and is considered a second project from that group. Trife rips most of the tracks with a fantastic hardcore rapping style and supported by solid production, then Ghostface emerges on the second half, helping to send the product among the tightest records of the season, performing on a set of beats that declines slightly in the second half until the bonus tracks arrive.
The album is released on GFK's own label Starks Enterprises on a shoestring budget and with basically no promotion. "Milk 'Em" is the only single. According to Trife, the album has sold 100,000 physical copies independently. Solid, a bit uneven and lacking any real cohesion, but full of rare gems, this is the first legitimate LP to boast "The Watch" and "The Sun", and is worth buying for that alone. Recommended for Ghostface fans, 7/10.
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