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(Rating: 5.0/5.0)
One of the best narrators to date; Ghostface Killah is known more for his gritty street stories than his love sonnets. However, you have to admit, he always managed to drop a little soul into the mix. Who can forget his 1996 collab with Mary J. Blige in "All That I Got is You", 2001’s "Never Be The Same Again" with Carl Thomas or 2006’s "Back Like That" featuring Ne-Yo. So the idea of Tony Stark returning under a new guise in 2009 as THE WIZARD OF POETRY, where he completely dedicates his eighth solo album to his love for R&B, isn’t so far fetched after all.

Ghostface Killah’s Ghostdini: Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City comes with a stream of duets from A-list partners including John Legend, Ron Browz, Raheem DeVaughn, Lloyd, Estelle, and a few others. The Wizard of Poetry does explore GFK’s mushier side - from endless devotion in "Do Over" with Raheem DeVaughn ("You're like a fingerprint, I'll never find a match like you,") to the type of girl he needs on "Not Your Average Girl" ("a girl who’s gonna bus dat steel if niggas come to kill me” yet “raised to cook and be on the couch chillin/ shorts on readin a book”). The album is full of pure soul with one my personal favorites being a collaboration with John Legend in "Let’s Stop Playing". Quite honestly, it’s hard to pull a negative out of this one. However; one close call comes in the very ordinary "I’ll Be That" with ex- Cheetah Girl Adrienne Bailon. This one has a very light feel - sounding like something we hear on the radio everyday, a sort of misstep in a very soulful body of work.

Don’t get it twisted though. He still gets raw with the pornographic "Stapleton Sex" (“Put my d*ck in yo mouth and play wit my nuts”) and with the humorously violent "Guest House" where Fabolous plays the cable guy whose sleeping with his queen. That’s about as tough as it gets though. This album is definitely geared more toward gaining female admiration. I can imagine this is what a grittier LL would sound like. This album is a perfect one for the fellas to ride out with their woman to -- flow, grit, execution, the famous voice and incredible stories, the perfect combination. Poetry serves as a detour from the hardcore icon we’re used to with the same vivid story telling we love.

# of songs on the album: 14

# of songs worth a listen: 12