Last September we learned of Ghostface Killah’s forthcoming high-concept follow-up to his gritty, soul-sampling 2010 Apollo Kids LP. Twelve Reasons to Die was originally supposed to come out in November, but since the RZA is executive-producing, we’re guessing the Wu-Tang Clan beat god didn’t want to crowd his other project. The new Tony Starks album will now arrive on April 16 via Soul Temple Records and is set to tell “brutal tale of gangsters, betrayal and one vengeful soul hunting the 12 most powerful crime lords in the world,” according to the project’s Bandcamp home. The production will come entirely composed by Adrian Younge with instrumental assistance from Venice Dawn, the group assembled to play Younge’s score for 2009’s Blaxploitation spoof Black Dynamite
As previously reported, the set will be accompanied by a comic book that follows the lyrical plot line. Last but hardly least, we have the first taste of 12 Reasons below, in what seems to be the album’s opener, “The Rise of the Ghostface Killah.” The track glows with all of the shimmering chopped-up soul swagger of any vintage Wu banger, while Ghostface plays it close to the chest, favoring a workmanlike narration over his more emotive style. It seems a logical continuation of RZA’s excellent Clan-packed soundtrack for The Man With the Iron Fists — let’s just hope these guys avoid the silver screen this time.
