More Fish

Last updated
More Fish
More Fish album.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedDecember 12, 2006
Recorded2006
Genre Hip hop
Length58:26
Label Def Jam
Producer
Ghostface Killah chronology
Fishscale
(2006)
More Fish
(2006)
The Big Doe Rehab
(2007)

More Fish is the sixth studio album by rapper Ghostface Killah, released on December 12, 2006 through the Def Jam label. The album's name derives from Ghostface's earlier 2006 release, Fishscale . The track "Good", featuring Ghostface's fellow Theodore Unit member Trife Da God and Mr. Maygreen, and produced by Kool-Aid & Peanut, was the first single. It contains one track, "Josephine," which was originally featured on Hi-Tek's Hi-Teknology 2: The Chip , but all other tracks are made of previously unreleased material.

Contents

The album features several appearances from the members of Theodore Unit (Cappadonna, Shawn Wigs, Trife Da God and Ghostface's teenage son, Sun God), as well as from Redman, Sheek Louch, Killa Sin, Kanye West and singers Amy Winehouse, Eamon, Ne-Yo and Mr. Maygreen. Production comes from Jim Bond, Hi-Tek, Kool-Aid & Peanut, Madlib, MF Doom, Mark Ronson, Lewis Parker, Xtreme, Fantom of the Beats, and Ghostface himself.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 77/100 [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The A.V. Club B+ [3]
Entertainment Weekly A− [4]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Pitchfork 7.3/10 [6]
PopMatters 7/10 [7]
Robert Christgau A− [8]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Stylus B+ [10]
XXL Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [11]

More Fish received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 77, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 21 reviews. Andy Kellman of AllMusic said, "Loosely speaking, More Fish is to Fishscale what Theodore Unit's 718 was to The Pretty Toney Album, albeit with more focus on Ghostface. While the title of this disc seems synonymous with Have Some Leftovers, it's not at all stale, if not nearly as spectacular as its precursor." [2] Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club said, "More Fish's lively assortment of odds and ends contains a few Fishscale-worthy gems, like the continental sophistication of the Mark Ronson-produced "You Know I'm No Good" and the MF Doom-produced "Alex," where Ghostface spins a head-spinning narrative so complex and detailed that it takes several listens to just to process everything. Fishscale was named after a particularly expensive and pure form of cocaine. More Fish's sonic fix is of a lesser quality, but it still packs a potent punch." [3] A. L. Friedman of PopMatters said, "Like any compilation, More Fish doesn’t make much of a statement, except maybe that Ghostface is prolific, and that similar collections may have been left on the cutting room floor from his earlier work. And that’s just frustrating. But all told, there’s enough to make this little Def Jam tax write-off worthy of a listen for anyone that liked Fishscale, not just Ghostface completists." [7]

Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork Media said, "Tucked away beneath the label's fourth-quarter heavy-hitters, More Fish is, appropriately, a fraction of the event Fishscale was. And while new material from one of the most consistent rappers of all time is always welcome, the new album's stealth release doubles as an admission of Ghost's limited commercial potential. The redundant title alone-- here ya go, More Fish!-- goes lengths to lower expectations." [6] Simon Vozick-Levinson of Entertainment Weekly said, "The Wu-Tang Clan’s most reliable warrior extends his string of triumphs with More Fish, the sequel to his March release, Fishscale. Six discs into his solo career, Ghostface Killah handily delivers everything that his fans expect: nostalgic soul samples, richly detailed scenes of street life, and an abundance of inventive wordplay (”A shark’s teeth ain’t sharp enough/I’m like Mount St. Helen when the god erupt”)." [4] Amanda Diva of XXL said, "Sometimes leftovers can be just as good as the original meal. Such is the case with Ghostface’s latest offering, More Fish. At first glance, this follow-up to last year’s Fishscale seems like nothing more than a Theodore Unit compilation, as names like Trife Da God and Sun God (Ghost’s son), as well as Wu-Tang affiliates Cappadonna and Killa Sin, flood the guest list. Despite the extra weight, Ghost still manages to pull off a surprisingly focused project." [11]

Commercial performance

More Fish debuted at number 71 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling about 36,000 copies in its first week. [12]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Ghost Is Back"5:04
2."Miguel Sanchez" (featuring Trife da God and Sun God) Fantom of the Beat 2:51
3."Guns N' Razors" (featuring Trife da God, Cappadonna and Killa Sin) MF Doom 3:15
4."Outta Town Shit" Lewis Parker 3:45
5."Good" (featuring Trife da God and Mr. Maygreen)
3:41
6."Street Opera" (featuring Sun God)
Fantom of the Beat3:53
7."Block Rock"Lutz Rahn Madlib 2:33
8."Miss Info Celebrity Drama" (skit) Lonnie Thomas  0:44
9."Pokerface" (featuring Shawn Wigs)
K. Slack2:45
10."Greedy Bitches" (featuring Redman and Shawn Wigs) Anthony Acid 3:38
11."Josephine" (featuring Trife da God and the Willie Cottrell Band)
  • Coles
  • Bailey
  • Tony Cottrell
  • Willie Cottrell
Hi-Tek 4:09
12."Grew Up Hard" (with Trife da God featuring Solomon Childs)
Anthony Acid4:47
13."Blue Armor" (featuring Sheek Louch)
Fantom of the Beat3:08
14."You Know I'm No Good" (with Amy Winehouse) Mark Ronson 4:23
15."Alex (Stolen Script)"
  • Coles
  • Dumile
MF Doom2:48
16."Gotta Hold On" (with Shawn Wigs featuring Eamon)Anthony Acid3:01
17."Back Like That" (Remix; featuring Kanye West and Ne-Yo)Xtreme4:01
Total length:58:26
Sample credits

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2006)Peak
position
US Billboard 200 [13] 71
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [14] 13
US Top Rap Albums (Billboard) [15] 6

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References

  1. "Reviews for More Fish by Ghostface Killah". Metacritic. Retrieved 2015-05-25.
  2. 1 2 Andy Kellman (2006-12-19). "More Fish - Ghostface Killah | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-05-25.
  3. 1 2 Rabin, Nathan (2007-01-02). "Review: Ghostface Killah: More Fish". Avclub.com. Retrieved 2015-05-25.
  4. 1 2 Vozick, Simon (2006-12-11). "More Fish". EW.com. Retrieved 2015-05-25.
  5. Bizarre, but brilliant. [Mar 2007, p.100]
  6. 1 2 "Ghostface Killah: More Fish: Pitchfork Record Review". Archived from the original on April 1, 2007. Retrieved 2015-05-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. 1 2 "Ghostface Killah: More Fish". PopMatters. Archived from the original on January 7, 2007. Retrieved 2015-05-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. Christgau, Robert (13 February 2023). "Ghostface Killah: More Fish [Def Jam, 2006]". AllMusic . Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  9. "Rolling Stone : More Fish : Review". Rolling Stone. 2006-12-12. Archived from the original on December 16, 2006. Retrieved 2015-05-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  10. "Ghostface Killah - More Fish - Review". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 2015-05-25.
  11. 1 2 "Ghostface More Fish - XXL". Xxlmag.com. 2007-01-30. Retrieved 2015-05-25.
  12. "Young Jeezy, Hicks Enter Atop The Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 2015-05-25.
  13. "Ghostface Killah Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  14. "Ghostface Killah Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  15. "Ghostface Killah Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2014.