Sour Soul
by Ghostface Killah
  • Record Label: Lex
  • Release Date: Feb 24, 2015
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 65 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 55 out of 65
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 65
  3. Negative: 5 out of 65
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  1. andrilitvynchuk
    Aug 12, 2023
    6
    Generally, I liked the track's production but I probably didn't like Ghostface Killah
  2. clem666
    Mar 15, 2021
    10
    Clearly an underrated album. BADBADNOTGOOD manage to produce varied electrifying tracks with some truly interesting tricks, formula and switches. On the other side Ghostface Killah offers us his traditional job: certainly great but surely not brand new and original. The fusion between the rapper and the jazz band is simply fantastic. All the guests are interesting and their presences areClearly an underrated album. BADBADNOTGOOD manage to produce varied electrifying tracks with some truly interesting tricks, formula and switches. On the other side Ghostface Killah offers us his traditional job: certainly great but surely not brand new and original. The fusion between the rapper and the jazz band is simply fantastic. All the guests are interesting and their presences are truly consistent with the overall atmosphere of 'Sour Soul'. MF Doom (Rest in peace lyrical genius) did an amzing job (as always). I just love how these rappers also let BBNG's instruments speak from themselves and don't rhyme on every bar.

    The instrumental version of 'Sour Soul' also is a gem as you can listen to it and feel different emotions than those of the original version. This album is focused, intriguing, striking, audacious and never-heard before. It is strong, long enough to remain breathtaking but not too long to be boring nor redundant. It gives me the energy I need every time I listen to it just like an inexhaustible source of pure water.    … Expand
  3. Ruff_Ambassador
    Jan 17, 2020
    9
    Very consistent very smooth and very calming with great features and great production.
  4. Lovdahl
    Jan 31, 2016
    8
    When this collaboration was announced, I thought: “What a perfect match.” Ghostface Killah, of course, is the preeminent storyteller of the Wu-Tang Clan, who then went off to record some of the previous decade’s most important hip hop albums; BADBADNOTGOOD (BBNG), on the other hand, are an improvisational post-bop trio who, along with their traditional jazz work, produce and cover hip hopWhen this collaboration was announced, I thought: “What a perfect match.” Ghostface Killah, of course, is the preeminent storyteller of the Wu-Tang Clan, who then went off to record some of the previous decade’s most important hip hop albums; BADBADNOTGOOD (BBNG), on the other hand, are an improvisational post-bop trio who, along with their traditional jazz work, produce and cover hip hop tracks. The spirit of “Sour Soul” lets Ghostface spit sociopolitical verses overtop an expertly-written jazz piece, and it’s as good as it sounds. Featured on this album are fun fellows like Detroit rapper Danny Brown, who has one of the best verses on the whole project, and MF DOOM, whose popularity among alt-hip hop cannot be questioned. “Sour Soul” is an effective pairing of two distant schools of music, and future artists should take note for their, and our, own sakes.… Expand
  5. TalentlessHack
    Dec 31, 2015
    8
    You want an album that you can vibe out to with great instrumentation and a great rapper, plus good feature artists? Ghostface Killah and BADBADNOTGOOD do just that.

    Highlights include "Gunshowers" ft. Elzhi and "Six Degrees" ft. Danny Brown where we are treated with smooth instrumentation and straight up spittin'. The album takes time to cooldown on instrumental tracks like "Stark's    You want an album that you can vibe out to with great instrumentation and a great rapper, plus good feature artists? Ghostface Killah and BADBADNOTGOOD do just that.

    Highlights include "Gunshowers" ft. Elzhi and "Six Degrees" ft. Danny Brown where we are treated with smooth instrumentation and straight up spittin'. The album takes time to cooldown on instrumental tracks like "Stark's Reality" and closes off strong with the beautiful two hit combo "Food" and "Experience".

    The only "flaw" to this album is that some songs are real slowburners, like "Mind Playing Tricks". "Street Knowledge" ft. Tree is another. The instant Tree comes on you'll feel like you have just smoked a dozen pure joints.

    Sour Soul is one great album to vibe out to and the chemistry between the artists here is amazing.

    Fav Tracks: Gunshowers, Six Degrees, Food, Mono, Stark's Reality
    Least Fav Track: Mind Playing Tricks    … Expand
  6. nirvanafreak
    Jul 26, 2015
    7
    I wasn't too keen on it when it first came out but after a few months something just clicked in my mind and this **** became great. oh **** i forgot meteoritic blur out **** like **** ******* ****** and ****. dammit
  7. TrippsGardenaHA
    May 30, 2015
    10
    It is absurd to hear the negative critisizm here on this page about the Sour soul project. Sour Soul, by far is the best album of the year to me in any category being that I am a HipHop / Rap fan first, and from the West Coast Gardena California Harbor Are to be exact. Beats are sick, clarity sick, Ghost always sick. And what Ghost has been doing with these guys and 12 reasons etc. isIt is absurd to hear the negative critisizm here on this page about the Sour soul project. Sour Soul, by far is the best album of the year to me in any category being that I am a HipHop / Rap fan first, and from the West Coast Gardena California Harbor Are to be exact. Beats are sick, clarity sick, Ghost always sick. And what Ghost has been doing with these guys and 12 reasons etc. is innovating and awesome. It gets no better for the HipHop world. Simply extraordinary. To hear he failed to stay on course or WHATEVER,,IS B******T!! Those critics need to go back to the books and recognize game and understand what the game lacks,, and thats originality,,,and GHOST hit it on the nail. GhostFace #1 in my books dawG..ONE!!… Expand
  8. ughnicewatch
    Mar 26, 2015
    7
    The most disappointing thing about this record is the undeniable knowledge that Starks is capable of so much more. Enjoyable beats, but callow lyrical content makes for a lack of replay value - perhaps he's saving his best bars for a collaborative LP with the super-lyrical MF DOOM.
  9. Neilluj
    Mar 11, 2015
    7
    Le jeune trio torontois BadBadNotGood n'a jamais eu la prétention d'avoir réinventé quoi que ce soit. Ils réussissent néanmoins à coller leur identité à plusieurs artistes bien en vu dans le large univers du Hip-Hop/RNB, Tyler The Creator et Frank Ocean pour ne nommer que ceux -là. C'est durant leurs nombreuses collaborations qu'ils ont été en mesure d'assurer leur pérennité artistique.Le jeune trio torontois BadBadNotGood n'a jamais eu la prétention d'avoir réinventé quoi que ce soit. Ils réussissent néanmoins à coller leur identité à plusieurs artistes bien en vu dans le large univers du Hip-Hop/RNB, Tyler The Creator et Frank Ocean pour ne nommer que ceux -là. C'est durant leurs nombreuses collaborations qu'ils ont été en mesure d'assurer leur pérennité artistique.

    Cette fois, c'est le membre du Wu-Tang Ghostface Killah qui fait appel aux services de BBNG. Les thématiques et la logique des textes restent sensiblement dans la même lignée que ses dernières productions. C'est donc sans réelle surprise que nous retrouvons des fragments de texte issu de la période forte du Wu Tang - Chest boards and sword, alphabetical darts-My clan is brave hart, try move live Paul Blarts (sur la pièce Sour Soul). Ghost actualise tout de même son discours, ce qui créer à mon sens, le plus bel équilibre de l'album - Simple minds get blown, shattered into pieces- My thesis is thick like the Book of Eli- We live we die, we put 'em in the sky- Free your mind as a slave like the Fourth of July (sur la pièce Gunshowers). Ghost Face à fait appel à Dany Brown, Elzhi et MF DOOM pour ajouter de l'impact à Sour Soul.

    Quant à BBNG, ils réussissent encore à faire briller les textes de Ghost à l'aide de sons assez variés d'une chanson à l'autre. Tandis que la pièce Six Degrees nous plonge dans l'univers oriental, en référence à leur apport au film the Man with the Iron Fist, la chanson Food nous plonge dans la nostalgie du genre Soul/Funk des années 70. À noter que c'est Frank Dukes qui est derrière la production. On distingue bien l'apport de BBNG quand il s'agit des lignes de basses hypnotisant mêlées aux passages de batterie qui desserve solidement les punchs de Ghost Face.

    En sommes, Sour Soul demeure une excellente combinaison entre une légende du Hip-Hop et un trio issu du monde du Jazz. Un style qui, si non maitrisé, peut rapidement devenir chaotique. Dans le cas de Sour Soul, l'exercice est assez bien réussi.    … Expand
  10. Nicholadd
    Mar 2, 2015
    10
    Although Critically under-acclaimed. This is definitely one of the more interesting hip-hop releases of the year thus far, with instrumental highlights. The only inconsistency is Ghostfaces flow and the lack of material.
  11. ben_zo77
    Feb 28, 2015
    8
    I loved the chemistry between Ghostface Killah's vocals and BadBadNotGood's music. I still ended up being overall disappointed with Sour Soul, though. I feel like this album could have been even greater if the concepts had been expanded. Ghostface Killah, as great a rapper as he is, fails at moments to live up to BadBadNotGood's fantastic production. The album was just a little offI loved the chemistry between Ghostface Killah's vocals and BadBadNotGood's music. I still ended up being overall disappointed with Sour Soul, though. I feel like this album could have been even greater if the concepts had been expanded. Ghostface Killah, as great a rapper as he is, fails at moments to live up to BadBadNotGood's fantastic production. The album was just a little off overall, especially so on "Tone's Rap". While Ghostface rapped well technically on this song, he fails to deliver lyrically in the context of the album. I do hope to see more music from this collab in the future. ~ 7.6/10
    Best songs: "Six Degrees", "Food" & the instrumental "Experience"    … Collapse
  12. goldmanm
    Feb 26, 2015
    8
    It's not really an album of substance, but it's a worthwhile album nonetheless. Badbadnotgood are the perfect sonic background for Ghostface, and though the lyrics never really break into substantially interesting territory, he's still got a wonderful sense for flow, especially on the slower jam "Tone's Rap."

Awards & Rankings

89
#89 Most Discussed Album of 2015

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. PopMatters
    Mar 24, 2015
    60
    This might not be a classic, but for fans, it’s still filled with its own pleasures.
    Read full review
  2. Tiny Mix Tapes
    Mar 20, 2015
    80
    Call it experimental muzak, call it cultured post-bop fueled by the internet. Either way, it’s interesting to hear Ghostface sink so smoothly into their rhythms.
    Read full review
  3. Austin Chronicle
    Mar 18, 2015
    78
    Sour Soul eschews the Tony Starks comic book concept narrative of the past two efforts in favor of some good old-fashioned coke rap and braggadocio.
    Read full review
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