Deconstructing Ghostface Killah’s “12 Reasons to Die II”
A track-by-track dissection of the cinematic Wu-Tang sequel, as explained by producer Adrian Younge
In 2013, the Wu-Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah was continuing a ridiculously long streak of quality solo releases when he released his 10th LP, 12 Reasons to Die. Arguably one of the best in his catalog, it was a collaborative concept album with a relatively unknown new producer named Adrian Younge, that attempted to write a cinematic, comic book origin of the rap superhero. Tapping into what made early Wu-Tang releases great, Younge was able to create a sound that was reminiscent of early RZA, but also borrowing from the spaghetti western film scores of Italian composer Ennio Morricone (who is currently scoring Quentin Tarantino’s Hateful 8) by using vintage instruments and synths. Younge would later go on to produce Jay Z’s “Picasso Baby” and “Heaven” for the Magna Carta Holy Grail LP, as well as a Souls of Mischief album, and would be the sole sample source for DJ Premier and Royce Da 5'9's stellar PRhyme LP in 2014.
The story of 12 Reasons to Die tells the tale of a character in 1960's Italy named Tony Starks, a gangster who goes to war with his former employer — a crime family called the Delucas — after falling in love with and being betrayed by the Don’s daughter. After he is murdered by the family, his ashes are melted into 12 vinyl records, represented by the album’s 12 songs that tell the story. When the records are played, he is resurrected as the Ghostface Killah and takes revenge on the Delucas.
A concept created by Younge and Ghostface, the album was incredibly well received, grabbing near perfect ratings from each AllMusic, The A.V. Club, Sputnikmusic, and my own HipHopSite.com. Naturally, with the success of the album, the two began work on a sequel, 12 Reasons to Die 2, which was released on July 10th, 2015. Narrated by RZA, the next chapter in the saga explores how Ghostface and longtime collaborator Raekwon formed their Only Built For Cuban Linx… partnership, in a similar fantastic origin tale. “I wanted to have a fictional story based on some sort of reality,” says Younge, who dressed the album in grim, disturbing imagery to evoke the look of vintage horror film posters.
Cuepoint spoke to Adrian Younge about the new volume, who graciously broke down each song, explaining the story in detail.
“Powerful One”
“I wanted to create a theme that was akin to Ghostface’s Ironman theme. Something that gave you that feel, but was more dark, psychedelic and sinister. ‘The Powerful One’ theme really talks about the story and the issues that Raekwon’s character Lester Kane will be facing in a very loose way.”
“Return of the Savage” (feat. Raekwon & RZA)
“‘Return of the Savage’ was done with kind of a Quentin Tarantino perspective. You're about to watch the movie, but the first scene after the intro theme is from the middle of the film. That song actually explains the scene in which Raekwon awakens the apparition known as Ghostface Killah. We’re going through all of that right at that point and then RZA comes in and encapsulates the story in a short synopsis. After that, the story actually begins. Musically, that song is supposed to be the kind of song that Ennio Morricone and RZA would have made in the late 60s.”
“King of New York” (feat. Raekwon)
“‘King of New York’ basically talks about the fact that Raekwon is the same kind of person that Tony Starks was in Italy. They are these alpha male gangsters running the streets. Instead of being in Italy, it’s 1974 and we’re in New York, so I wanted people to be able to understand what it is like to be Raekwon at that time. Ghostface Killah is talking about this dude who is like Black Caesar, just running the streets. Musically, it’s kind of another take on what Morricone and RZA would do.”
“Rise Up” (feat. Scarub)
“Scarub is one of my all time favorite emcees, I love that dude. He’s also a really, really good friend. I wanted to bring him on this album because he doesn’t really get a lot of looks that he should get, for the caliber of emcee that he is. The song ‘Rise Up’ is kind of like a beat that I would hear Mobb Deep on. I wanted Scarub to go in and tell a story about the battle that is trying to ensue with Lester Kane/Raekwon. Things are starting to root on this song, as Raekwon is having issues with the Delucas, the same kind of thing that Tony Starks went through in Italy.”
“Daily News (Interlude)”
“It’s a continuation of ‘Rise Up,’ talking about what is going on with Lester Kane. It’s a precursor to the next song, kind of connecting the same content from the first one. Musically, it just sounded like some rare Library Breaks shit.”
“Get the Money” (feat. Vince Staples)
“Vince Staples is a really dope young emcee. I really like him, I met with him and liked his sensibilities and wanted to have him on this album to bridge the young and the old. To me, this track is just like classic Ghostface. I wanted the drums to be different, different kind of breaks, a little more upbeat. This is where they find the 12 vinyl discs. Lester Kane is robbing the safe houses to find the 12 records to bring Ghostface Killah back to life.”
“Death’s Invitation Interlude” (feat. RZA) / “Death’s Invitation” (feat Scarub, Lyrics Born, Chino XL)
“I love Lyrics Born and Chino XL, they are the shit to me. I’m like ‘Why aren’t they on any Wu-Tang type shit?’ So I was like, ‘I gotta make this happen,’ but I had to do it in a way that creates a template for lyrical gymnastics. That song was a very difficult song for them to do because of the weird rhythm. In a strange way, it’s like jazz because everything is kind of off. It’s hard for an emcee to find a pocket to rap to. If you notice, all of them rap differently. But the thing is, they are all kind of coming into their own on that thing. I wanted to have a model of just illness on one song, so people would say ‘That is some west coast shit right there.’
“The emcees are each members of Lester Kane’s gang. After Kane was ambushed by the Delucas, he starts losing all of his men and his people are dying. So the emcees are essentially depicting the scene, narrating all of this chaos that is going on. Eventually Lester is at his lowest point, which is what really prompts him to resurrect Ghostface Killah.
“There’s a character named Logan Deluca reintroduced here, who was apart of the first album. She was the girl that originally betrayed Tony Starks.”
“Let the Record Spin Interlude” (feat. RZA) / “Let the Record Spin” (feat. Raekwon)
“‘Let the Record Spin’ is literally Raekwon resurrecting Ghostface Killah. Lester Kane’s wife and kid died during a lot of the chaos. The Delucas are taking over his turf, so Kane needs help and summons the apparition of Ghostface Killah to get rid of them. The deal is, if Ghostface helps Kane defeat the Delucas, then he gets to take over Raekwon’s body. Since Ghostface’s doesn’t get resurrected until this moment, earlier in the album he is just playing narrator with RZA.”
“Blackout” (feat. Raekwon)
“So ‘Blackout’ is basically Raekwon and Ghostface Killah getting together to kill all of these dudes, decapitating their heads and all of that stuff. I wanted it to sound like Wu-Tang sampling some old Chinese films, but as if Lalo Schifrin and Ennio Morricone came in to create the track with RZA.”
“Resurrection Morning” (feat. Raekwon & Bilal)
“I just did a Bilal album and he’s a big Wu-Tang fan, so I wanted to make sure he was on the album as well. Basically, the song is about the morning after they did the deed. They killed the Delucas, they got revenge. Now it’s time for Raekwon to kill himself so that Ghostface can take over his body and be human again.
“Life’s a Rebirth” (feat. RZA)
“‘Life’s a Rebirth’ is a twist in the story. Here we meet Logan again. Unbeknownst to Ghostface, she had the kid of Tony Starks. So at that point, there’s a little 5 year old kid, along with the mother that betrayed him, with Raekwon in the room. Raekwon’s ready to kill himself, but instead of Ghostface taking over his body, he takes over the body of his son. Then the son kills the mother, to get revenge on the last Deluca that really betrayed him. Ghostface essentially becomes Tony Starks again — in his own flesh — the flesh of his child. It kind of sets the story for the third volume, if we choose to do a third volume.”
Photos courtesy of Linear Labs.
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