Buy Now
| Buy on |
|
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
Apr 16, 2013In an era where it increasingly seems like rap albums are being rendered obsolete by mixtapes, this tightly focused, wildly entertaining collaboration between two master craftsmen is a testament to how powerful the form can still be.
-
Apr 30, 2013While most of these songs probably can't stand out alone, the project on the whole is a great addition to an already great catalog of one of hip hop's finest artists.
-
Apr 30, 2013By teaming up with the visionary mastermind Adrian Younge he’s created an inventive and thrilling album that will go down as one of his best.
-
Apr 17, 2013At a time when many of his rap peers are even more desperately changing their sound to stay relevant, Ghostface Killah is cementing his relevancy by diving even deeper into what always made him such a unique artist.
-
Apr 16, 2013While outstanding songs ("The Catastrophe") stand on their own, this is a song cycle that demands to be absorbed whole.
-
Apr 16, 2013Ghostface and Younge’s filmic vision comes together with great aplomb, and yields one of the bloodiest, most ambitious, and straight-up funnest hip-hop albums of 2013.
-
May 15, 2013The most arresting of Twelve Reasons to Die's many pleasures is how out of time the album feels: Its pointed narrative distance from straight-faced gangster rap is very 2013, but the simple virtuosity of the small moments smacks of eras in both rap and soul that passed long before Ghost ever stepped to a mic.
-
Q MagazineMay 13, 2013What could easily have sounded contrived instead works wonderfully. [Jun 2013, p.96]
-
The WireApr 24, 2013Twelve Reasons deals in broad strokes rather than the collection of synapse-sparking details we've come to expect from this consummate trickster. But even in two dimensions, Ghostface is a phantom force to be reckoned with. [May 2013, p.57]
-
Apr 17, 2013Ultimately, 12 Reasons to Die is a pitch-perfect pairing of Adrian Younge’s soulful production and Ghostface’s invigorated rhymes.
-
Apr 15, 2013Experimental is a tag few artists at his age would attempt, and yet Ghost does it with immeasurable confidence.
-
Apr 15, 2013It's short and limited, but it's well crafted and strong, and a worthy alternative to RZA's Man with the Iron Fists soundtrack done with some wild, Wallabee Kingpin spin.
-
Apr 15, 2013Ghostface's usual penchant for free-associative wordplay is a bit hemmed in by the structure, but he gets plenty of help to ensure the storytelling remains compelling.
-
Apr 18, 2013As a pure entertainment piece, Twelve Reasons To Die appeals directly to the brain’s pleasure center.
-
Under The RadarJun 13, 2013Ghostface is in great form here but the album's killer vibe, courtesy of Younge, steals the show. [Jun-Jul 2013, p.99]
-
Apr 22, 2013Twelve Reasons to Die is a straightforward concept album, and it’s very well done.
-
Apr 18, 2013Twelve Reasons is generous comfort food for Ghost's fanbase, a group slowly being whittled away by time and creeping indifference.
-
UncutMay 24, 2013Ghost's raps are more Staten Island than Sicily. [Jul 2013, p.76]
-
Apr 29, 2013Twelve Reasons to Die doesn't quite carry the hefty weight of earlier works, but when those rank among the pinnacle of the genre, it’s not to be expected.
-
Apr 29, 2013Ghostface calls upon most of the remaining Clan members, switches the formula occasionally and hey presto, yet another minor Wu-Tang classic 20 years on from their debut.
-
Apr 23, 2013As a total project, Twelve Reasons to Die may be just about the most Wu-Tang thing that’s ever happened, despite the nagging suspicion that Adrian Younge is playing finders keepers with the spotlight.
-
Apr 22, 2013Though Younge’s production may be the star here, Twelve Reasons To Die is the work of a rap game veteran who in the autumn of his career still has plenty to offer.
-
Apr 18, 2013Younge's production, combining breaks with live instruments, is familiar Blaxploitation soundtrack-style stuff--a touch dull but not intrusive, it doesn’t detract from Ghost's riveting presence.
-
Apr 17, 2013[It's] mostly a very good album, but the concept betrays the end listening experience, leaving the unshakable feeling that it could've been a six-track EP, not an over-padded full album.
-
MojoMay 20, 2013If not quite an Ironman or Supreme Clientele, this is Ghostface's most unified, coherent work in years. [Jun 2013, p.94]
-
Apr 15, 2013Had GFK’s focus been on par with his corresponding hero’s repulsor beam, this record would’ve been more than a solid collection that fails in trying to make high-art with a half-hearted storyline.
-
May 23, 201312 Reasons doesn’t find Coles in poor form, but he’s nowhere near his Fishscale peak, in terms of lyrical depth or the intensity of his delivery.
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 37 out of 39
-
Mixed: 1 out of 39
-
Negative: 1 out of 39
-
Apr 29, 2013
-
Apr 26, 2013
-
Apr 17, 2016