Ghostface Killah is critically acclaimed for his loud, fast-paced flow, and his stream-of-consciousness narratives containing cryptic slang and non-sequiturs.
Ghostface Killah was raised in the Stapleton housing projects in Staten Island, New York. In his autobiographical song "All That I Got Is You", Ghost tells the story of his childhood. He raps about how he grew up in a three bedroom apartment without his father, who left him at the age of six. Apparently, his mother had nine children.
His stage name was taken from one of the characters in the 1979 kung fu film Mystery of Chessboxing.
He was also a close friend of the three founding members of Wu-tang clan
Here I Go Again
Ghostface Killah Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He been a friend for years
Now your boy in blue, how he switched up gears
He said how I been?
I got a ear full of bad news
Your ? is corrupt and it's time to choose
We got some niggas running drugs that can't be touched
Unless you wanna handle the dirt, it'll mean so much
Ima clean up the block like you wouldn't believe
Call me Mr. Clean, aka Starkiano
Nine years later slid across the Verrazano
Clean sweep, apply pressure to the scum
This is my town, Stapleton is where I'm from
Third shot slapped in the head with a juice box
Grenade with no pin in his mouth, this is my block
And Bamboo fucking with this is absurd
Ima handle my beeswax, that's my word
Came up out the darkness, searching for light
I know home is where my heart is
And now nothing seems right
I tried to make peace and cut my loses
And carry on somehow
But I've come much to far friend
Too late to turn back now, here I go again
Here I go again
Yeah, yeah, welcome home Starks
Remember us? At the jams in the parks
All gold guzzlers, wallabee clarks
Young cold hustlers, obviously sharp
Voom with the purpose to bloom, so in tuned
Dialogue like the Disciples in the circle of goons
My ace boom, then you got sent to the tombs
And shit went left, had to pinch my flesh
And figure some other scheme to get cream, reign supreme
You know everything ain't what it seems
So I switched up size, had switch up lives
And now fuck up life and ? ? dies
A badge and a gun that's legal, it's more lethal
Than any local dealer that's evil leave you people's
The sequel
Me and you both could split a loaf
Just need you a little closer
You could squeeze that toast
And knock off targets, starting with the hardest
By next year my nigga, we be the largest
Felonies done with no charges
Came up out the darkness, searching for light
I know home is where my heart is
And now nothing seems right
I tried to make peace and cut my loses
And carry on somehow
But I've come much to far friend
Too late to turn back now, here I go again
Here I go again
In the beginning of the song, Ghostface Killah is talking about a friend, Raj, who has become a police officer and has informed him that the police department in their area is corrupt. Raj offers Ghostface Killah a chance to help clean up the streets that are being run by drug dealers who are untouchable.
Ghostface Killah accepts the challenge, takes it upon himself to clean up the streets because he believes that it is time for someone to do it. He refers to himself as “Mr. Clean” and begins to apply pressure to the drug dealers, starting with Bamboo. He suggests that he will handle the situation in his own way while reminding everyone that he is from Stapleton, and that is where he will always come back to.
As the song progresses, Ghostface Killah reminisces about his past experiences as a rapper with his friends, and how his life has completely changed from the time he was performing in the park with them. He reflects upon the things that he lost, the bad situations he has been in, and the schemes he had to pull to make a better life for himself. Despite everything that has happened, he is still determined to keep going, showing his resilience and persistence.
Line by Line Meaning
Yo, I've seen Raj
I have encountered Raj
He been a friend for years
He has been a friend for a long time
Now your boy in blue, how he switched up gears
Raj is now a police officer and has changed his behavior
He said how I been?
He asked about my well-being
I got a ear full of bad news
I received a lot of negative information
Your ? is corrupt and it's time to choose
The police department is corrupt and a decision must be made
We got some niggas running drugs that can't be touched
There are drug dealers that are impossible to arrest
Unless you wanna handle the dirt, it'll mean so much
Unless you are willing to take on the difficult task, it will be significant
I said I got this, measure deceive
I said I can handle it despite the challenges
Ima clean up the block like you wouldn't believe
I will improve the situation significantly
Call me Mr. Clean, aka Starkiano
I am now known as Mr. Clean or Starkiano
Nine years later slid across the Verrazano
Nine years later, I crossed the Verrazano bridge
Clean sweep, apply pressure to the scum
I completely eliminated the problem and put pressure on the criminals
This is my town, Stapleton is where I'm from
I am from Stapleton and it is my town
Third shot slapped in the head with a juice box
Someone was hit in the head with a juice box after being shot three times
Grenade with no pin in his mouth, this is my block
Someone had a grenade in their mouth without the pin, and it happened on my block
And Bamboo fucking with this is absurd
It is ridiculous for Bamboo to cause trouble
Ima handle my beeswax, that's my word
I will handle my business, that is a promise
Came up out the darkness, searching for light
I emerged from a difficult situation looking for a better future
I know home is where my heart is
I understand that home is where I belong
And now nothing seems right
Despite being home, things do not feel right
I tried to make peace and cut my losses
I attempted to resolve conflicts and minimize my losses
And carry on somehow
I must continue somehow
But I've come much too far friend
I have gone too far to turn back
Too late to turn back now, here I go again
It is now too late to change course, and I must continue forward
Yeah, yeah, welcome home Starks
Welcome home, Starks
Remember us? At the jams in the parks
Do you remember us from the music events in the parks?
All gold guzzlers, wallabee clarks
We wore gold jewelry and Wallabee shoes
Young cold hustlers, obviously sharp
We were young and successful hustlers, clearly intelligent
Voom with the purpose to bloom, so in tuned
We had a purpose and were focused
Dialogue like the Disciples in the circle of goons
Our communication was like the Disciples in a criminal circle
My ace boom, then you got sent to the tombs
My close friend went to jail
And shit went left, had to pinch my flesh
Things got worse, and it was painful
And figure some other scheme to get cream, reign supreme
We had to come up with another plan to become successful
You know everything ain't what it seems
Things are not always what they appear
So I switched up size, had switch up lives
I changed my tactics and my life
And now fuck up life and ? ? dies
I am living a better life now and avoiding danger
A badge and a gun that's legal, it's more lethal
Being a police officer with a badge and gun is more dangerous
Than any local dealer that's evil leave you people's
It poses a greater threat than any drug dealer
The sequel
This is the continuation of the story
Me and you both could split a loaf
We could share the success together
Just need you a little closer
We just need to be closer
You could squeeze that toast
You can handle your business
And knock off targets, starting with the hardest
We can eliminate our biggest challenges
By next year my nigga, we be the largest
By next year, we will be the most successful
Felonies done with no charges
We will commit crimes without getting caught
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: ANTHONY S. CRUZ, DENNIS D COLES, GINTAS JANUSONIS, JOSH D WERNER, WESLEY MINGUS, WILBUR GERRELL GADDIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
91Definite
Ghostface the only one that shines most out of the Wu so far now! He's my favorite storyteller rapper along with Slick Rick! Glad he's still making music!
Righteous & Masculine
I bet y’all didn’t know that was ghost face that picked meth up in the lex on that belly scene when he got shot
Righteous & Masculine
Meth and ghost my two favorites
Joseph Murphy
@***** Method Man ? Still does some great music, of his own style ! Maybe not a storyteller thought
JB7815
Incredible track by Ghost. Takes me back to the 90's. Great message, and a breath of fresh air in an era of really, really bad hip hop...
Big Hook - iLL Clicks
This song got so much soul. Makes you think back to a whole different era..
MeNtHO SON "The Goghst"
clasSICK materIaLL! Peace!
AWS
AZ and Ghost are like fine wine; they get better with age.
Israel Benitez
I think this album is better than Supreme and I didn't think rap albums could be better than Supreme
mistahmst
Great song, but gonna have to respectfully disagree. None of Ghost’s later stuff touching Iron Man, Supreme Clientele or even Fishscale. That’s no slight to him though, it’s not easy making music for 20+ years and trying to stay consistent and an album like Supreme Clientele is damn near impossible to top.