Sprucing up the scratchy soul samples of his sophomore Supreme Clientele into a relatively pristine mainstream gloss, Ghostface Killah also, unfortunately, removed much of the flair from the most distinctive sound in the Wu-Tang camp.
And fans looking for the genuine pain and emotion of his standout, "Hollow Bones" (from Wu-Tang's The W), won't be rewarded, either.
Bulletproof Wallets is basically a party album, at least compared to the usual Wu-Tang gloom and doom, featuring smooth, romantic R&B tracks like the single "Never Be the Same Again" (with Carl Thomas & Raekwon) and "Love Session." One of the few highlights is the opener, "Maxine," an inner-city nightmare given heavy menace by Ghostface's tight rapping and an excellent one-note-horns production.
From there, Bulletproof Wallets heads south, with a few oddball interludes (usually nursery rhymes substituting weed references) and smooth or stale productions from Wu associates RZA (five songs total), Alchemist, Allah Mathematics, and Ghostface himself.
(Listeners should also beware of the back-cover track listing, which is completely wrong.).
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Intro | Ghostface Killah | Play | 01:20 | 3 MB | 9 MB |
| 2 | Maxine | Ghostface Killah | Play | 03:47 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 3 | FlowersClifford Smith, C. Woods | Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Raekwon, Superb | Play | 03:25 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 4 | Never Be the Same AgainD. McKenzie, C. Woods | Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Carl Thomas | Play | 04:26 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 5 | Teddy Skit | Ghostface Killah | Play | 01:04 | 2 MB | 6 MB |
| 6 | TheodoreT. Bailey | Ghostface Killah, Trife | Play | 03:09 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 7 | Ghost Showers | Ghostface Killah | Play | 04:11 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 8 | Strawberry | Ghostface Killah | Play | 03:06 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 9 | The Forest | Ghostface Killah | Play | 03:10 | 7 MB | 20 MB |
| 10 | The JuksT. Bailey | Ghostface Killah, Superb, Trife | Play | 04:08 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 11 | Walking Through the DarknessT. Washington | Ghostface Killah | Play | 03:21 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 12 | The HiltonC. Woods | Ghostface Killah, Raekwon | Play | 04:00 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 13 | Love Session | Ghostface Killah, Ruff Endz | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 14 | Street Chemistry | Ghostface Killah | Play | 01:55 | 4 MB | 13 MB |
| 15 | Ice (Interlude) | Ghostface Killah | Play | 01:00 | 2 MB | 6 MB |
| 16 | Jealousy (Skit) | Ghostface Killah | Play | 00:55 | 2 MB | 5 MB |
| 46 mins | 107 MB | |||||
| 46 mins | 302 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Alchemist | Producer |
| 2 | Julian Alexander | Art Direction |
| 3 | T. Bailey | Composer |
| 4 | Carlos Broady | Producer |
| 5 | John Carr | Art Direction |
| 6 | Mel Carter | Executive Supervision |
| 7 | Tony Dawsey | Mastering |
| 8 | Mitchell Diggs | Producer |
| 9 | Ghostface Killah | Arranger, Executive Producer, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 10 | Oli "Power" Grant | Producer |
| 11 | Kelly Green | Product Manager |
| 12 | Isaac Hayes | Guest Artist |
| 13 | Kenyatta | Executive Producer, Producer |
| 14 | Killa Sin | Guest Artist |
| 15 | Michael Lavine | Photography |
| 16 | Chris Liggio | Producer |
| 17 | D. McKenzie | Composer |
| 18 | David McPherson | Executive Producer |
| 19 | Method Man | Guest Artist, Performer, Primary Artist |
| 20 | Raekwon | Guest Artist, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 21 | Ruff Endz | Performer, Primary Artist |
| 22 | RZA | Arranger, Executive Producer, Guest Artist, Producer |
| 23 | Nancy Sacks | Graphic Design |
| 24 | Slick Rick | Guest Artist |
| 25 | Clifford Smith | Composer |
| 26 | Superb | Guest Artist, Performer, Primary Artist |
| 27 | Carl Thomas | Guest Artist, Performer, Primary Artist |
| 28 | Trife | Performer, Primary Artist |
| 29 | T. Washington | Composer |
| 30 | C. Woods | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |