His raps are vivid, imaginative and lyrically dexterous. Ghostface Killah brings clearly identifiable maxims of Hip Hop and outlandish taste to the style table.
From head to toe, Dennis Coles’ eminence as an illustrious man of considered yet playful fashion is apparent. Off the back of his love for lavish and brilliantly ridiculous accessories, his ability to exude an elevated level of street finesse with his simpler ensembles cements Wu Tang’s Ghostface Killah as a favourite, not just because he kicked legendary rhymes, but so too for his unmistakable style iconicity.
“Boom, yo, I got a crazy idea how to do Clarks now.”
It’s only right we start with one of the accents that self-named Toney Starks donned. The Wallabee. Hey, we’re sure even our younger readers have rocked a pair of these cozy rap staples.
“Kanye, shine a light on my Wallabees / You can have a good time with G.O.D” – Wu Banga
Reinvented by the Wally Champ himself, Killah brought his creativity to the Clarks number, customizing the footwear with spraypaints of different colours and even going on to launch Wu Wear special releases of the shoe. He’s credited as the first man to have two-toned and even three-toned Clarks as he visited Canal Street cobblers for a more unique look. And he didn’t mind his lady in Clarks neither as he made clear on Angels; “Wonderwoman bracelets, knee-high boots that was made by Clarks.”
“Check the gummy sole, underneath my shoe lies the tap / That attract bow-legged bitches with wide horse gaps” – Fish
With that said, Killah was still one to rock a pair of sturdy Tims, a Hip Hop mainstay.
“Illmatic brims, in and out of Benz’s / Switching up lenses like your number one dentist / They can’t understand how I keep my princess Rose is beefy / jewellery look chunky in the summer with the timbs or them dark blue and Creamies” – Thugman
Ghostface has a quirky affinity for prints, from his Sherlock Homes-esque patterned coat with complementry piping, to his love of checkered polos and pullovers. He’s also frequently dabbled in camo fatigues and bandana prints.
“I had my Jesus piece since ‘94 I don’t know what I / I don’t know what you’re talkin’ bout /And my eagle — Still got it all in the bag, B / All I did was play possum” New God Flow
Oh, Ghostface and his innumerable jewellery pieces. Whether he was rocking huge rope chains of Rakim fame or a cluster of his medium-sized pendants, Ghostdini was always shining. Of his many ostentatious pieces, there are two infamous items that the Supreme Clientele rapper rocked in the nineties and noughties; that unforgettable dinner-plate sized medallion and his classic Eagle arm cuff. Larger than life, conspicuous and downright amazing; only Killah could have pulled off these heavily gold accessories, as he did.
“My favorite colour in my hustle days was red tops / My gold eagle arm shitted out a red rock / Threw it off my project roof, saw red dots…” – Wu Banga
Killah is often one to don a bright block of colour. Favouring reds and purples in oversized long sleeves and sports team jerseys. Along with these looks from the Staten Island MC, came his infamous durags. Usually in clean white, but also bringing out other colourways to match his outfits, Mr Coles sure knew how to top off a fitted cap/skully-durag combo.
“Too bright / Ghost is comin’ / y’all fix the mirrors” – Wu Banga
Notable too for his hilarious partiality to robes as outerwear, from his silk embroidered motifs and Tony Starks/Iron Man imprinted designs to his white-trimmed, royal-blue fur piece; Killah pulled them off in a way only he could. Rather than looking entirely comical, he exuded a certain level of cool. A cool he easily transferred to that yellow velour number as well as his notorious all-white studded leather jacket.
While he’s not the only personality in music to have harnessed the obscurity of a mask, he might just be one of the first/best to have rocked it in the rap realm – *coughs* MF Doom, and err, Kanye. Ghost’s first mask was a simple stocking cap but a hockey mask became his trademark as The Ghostface Killah. What makes him a style icon subject is his mild versatility. Ghost had a knack for stepping out in staple pieces like saggin’ raw denim pants with a pristine white tee, all black ensembles with a dash of leather, bucket hats accents and the sort. Yet he was also able to pull off floor-length furs, dog-eared hats and shining, name-plated knuckledusters.
“My appearance, heavy on the wrist wit a mean truck / Razor blade, fresh bathed, lookin’ clean cut / Boots untied, gats in the ride / Dipped down in Gucci, wit my hat to the side” – Thrilla
Quite aware of his style influence, see “n**** in the place that bit my style” on 9 Milli Bros, it’s impressive that Ghost has managed to maintain his lavish flair. Taking to twitter a few years back to drop some knowledge, he announced, “A lot of y’all muthafuckas just throw on whatever whatever whatever and just think thats whats poppin and it’s not poppin man” before adding, “Yo when you step out the crib, just make sure you match. Don’t be coming outside on some like you Rainbow man or something like that G” . It’s no wonder that Ghostface’s influence still lingers on.
Credits:
Rapgenius.com
AVclub.com
Complex.com
Words by Laura Arowolo
Previously: Faye Dunaway.
