Choice Is Yours Vol. 19
Ghostface Killah – Supreme Clientele (2000)
Vs.
The Cure – Boys Don’t Cry* (1980)
The Game is simple… if only one could exist which would it be? What’s more important… personal relevance, cultural significance, or simply being the better album all other things aside? Choice is yours…
*I’m using this instead of their proper debut of Three Imaginary Boys since I feel more people are familiar with the U.S. release of what is basically the same album.
- My Pal the Crook
March 24th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Easy. The Cure. If you asked Iron Man and Boys Don’t Cry well then my friend, I’d be in a pickle.
March 24th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Ironman>supreme clientele
March 24th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Damn this is pretty damn hard. Almost a tie….
Supreme Clientele used to be my favorite Wu solo project. Nigga Please is slowly taking that crown away. I really like The Cure but BDC/TIB is really my favorite Cure release. I probably wouldn’t listen to many other full Cure albums.
So I guess The Cure but just because Ghost has a bunch of quality releases that I am really into whereas BDC/TIB is the only full Cure album I truly love at this point in my life.
March 24th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
The Cure.
March 24th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
supreme clientele. where the hell do these comparisons even come from? lol
March 24th, 2009 at 6:06 pm
I always get the sense whenever I do a Rock vs. Hip Hop “Choice Is Yours” that half of the responses are from people who are only familiar with one of the albums and/or only solely listen to either Hip Hop or Rock and are basing their decision on that.
March 24th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
Cant front Supreme Clientele is the shit and to be honest i didnt hear the cure album let me find it listen to it and than i will tell
and again stop comparing rock with hip hop not kool maayne shit gets confusing
March 24th, 2009 at 6:57 pm
how is that not cool or confusing? It’s music, I’m not the one limited by the range of what I listen to. A good album is a good album.
March 24th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
Though I don’t think either of these are the best efforts from said artists (I personally prefer Ironman over SC and Pornography or Seventeen Seconds over BDC) I’m going with BDC. I’d probably still go with BDC if it were pitted against Ironman, though it would be a bit more difficult.
March 24th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
The Cure, all the way
March 24th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
For me it’s got to be Supreme Clientele.
Simply because I like it more than Iron Man and I dig Disintegration more so than Boy’s Don’t Cry.
Killing an Arab is still one of The Cure’s best songs though in my opinion.
March 24th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
Both Dennis Coles and Robert Smith are highly creative song writers who trademark most of their songs with their personal emotions, with that being said, “Boys Don’t Cry” is one I choose in this case. Amazing lyrics, a production style of Cure records that is pretty much non-existent these days. Fucking solid all the way through. In my opinion The Cure has never fallen off and still is consistent in delivering what they think their fans want.
Supreme Clientele was great in it’s own right as well, but as Chenyip stated, it ain’t got nothin’ on “Ironman” -which I think would be a better match up in this edition of CIY
March 24th, 2009 at 10:26 pm
Never heard either album but Ghostface cuz he’s a frucking G! word to mami!
March 24th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
This wasn’t easy. I’m going to have to go with the Cure with this one. BDC just goes way too far back and had more influential repercussions emotionally and artistically.
March 24th, 2009 at 10:52 pm
BDC all the way. Track for track superior than Supreme Clientele.
@Crook’s first comment: I think you’re right. That’s why I shaddup if I’m not thorough on one of the albums.
But which “Saturday Night” track on these is better?!
March 25th, 2009 at 3:04 am
@Oh Mars I will give The Cure props for having the better Saturday Night track…
HOWEVER, my vote goes for Supreme Clientele. There isn’t a single song on BDC that could replace “Ghost Deini.” I won’t attempt to defend this vehemently like I did with Blueprint vs Operation: Doomsday, because it’s definitely just a matter of simple opinion. I think BDC is a great album, but I simply like Supreme Clientele more.
Also, where would Ray & Denis be without “Mighty Healthy”? ;)
March 25th, 2009 at 8:05 am
I don’t have a problem with people picking the cure.
But what the fuck, Supreme Clientele is so much better than Iron Man.
MIGHTY FUCKING HEALTHY!
March 25th, 2009 at 9:34 am
Yeah I’m really surprised at the maount of people acting like “Ironman” is the better album. “Ironman” is a great album, but it’s still very much just a great Wu album. “Supreme Clientele” is really the first time we really hear the Ghostface, we now know as Ghostface.
March 25th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
@ MPTC: I disagree. Why is Ironman less of a “Ghostface” effort than Supreme Clientele? Because the majority of production was still the RZA? Because it featured Rae?
Stylistically Ironman and Supreme Clientele are worlds apart (both in production and rhymes). But so is Ghost on 36 and Ghost on Ironman. And for that matter, Ghost on Only Built.
It’s pretty obvious that Ghost can and has and will re-invent himself lyrically. Unlike a lot of rappers, he’s capable of finding another gear and changing it all up. And this is why I think a lot of people think very highly of him (and rightfully so).
As a complete album though where production, lyrics, fluidity, tempo and over-all reception are considered, Ironman in my mind is his strongest work to date. That album really changed the game of rap.
Also, i think people are getting CIY twisted. This isn’t meant to be a comparison of genres. It’s meant to be a crucible of two time-tested albums that have become archetypes in their respective genres and generations and now you have to pick only one.
March 25th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
I’m going to disagree with you on Ironman. I don’t think Ironman changed anything in Hip Hop and actually until Supreme Clientele came out a lot of heads I knew (keep in mind heads I knew are all white indie kids) never even knew much the album past “All that I Want is You”. It is a lot of things… a great album and one of the grimiest slices of Hip Hop ever made, but it isn’t OB4CLs. It is however Cappadonna at his strongest, but that isn’t saying much.
But thanks for pointing out that CIYs is not “whats better, Hip Hop or Rock!!??”. People shouldn’t feel uncomfortable comparing great Hip Hop to great Rock.
March 25th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Ghost.
March 26th, 2009 at 10:35 am
Not to flog a dead horse, but I think Ironman changed rap in a couple of ways. One, it brought back duo’s in hip hop. While that was the hot shit for the greater part of the early 90′s (Eric B, Show and AG, Nice and Smooth, Pete Rock and CL, etc), there was clearly a decline post 95. Then 36 Chambers changed everything up and thus began the trend of big, multi-talented, solo-prone mega groups (Wu, Boot Camp, Hiero, Hit Squad, etc.). Then Ghost and Rae came along and really earmarked the paradigm of ‘solo’ projects with OB4CL and Ironman. Think of all the solo artists/projects that have come out since then that extensively feature cameo’s or duos.
Also, need i mention his influence on rap fashion at the time? I fully credit Ghost for single handedly bringing back Wallabes. While it’s nothing ground breaking (and you could argue fashion moves in cycles) It just shows you how influential he was during that time. No one was rocking Wallabes before then. Let alone multi-colored wallabes. They were old man shoes. He alone, re-invented that brand and bolstered Clark’s sales/presence.
Ironman also introduced rap in my mind, to Emo-Rap. Never ever before had a rapper worn their emotions on their sleeves so much.
Plus Wildflower has to be one of the best “chick” rap songs EVER.