“I think a lot of artists got lazy and a lot of these new artists don't know their history…It seems like it's not from the heart and it's from the brain.”

Outside of being the Wizard of Poetry and speaking to the needs of the opposite sex, Ghostface Killah is a pioneer to the game and has etched his mark in the history of the art form.

With his beginnings in the Wu Tang Clan to his 1996 debut, Ironman, Starks has been through the golden era of Hip-Hop and is still standing to tell the story and deliver something for the new age of rap.

Speaking with RealTalkNY, Starks opened newcomers up on what it takes to continue to preserve the state of the music and how vital it is to be aware of where everything came from.  Everything has an origin and the past must always be acknowledged in order to take things into the future.

“If you don't know your history, then you don't know where you're going.  Once you don't know the Kool G Raps and the Big Daddy Kanes and Chubb Rocks and Brand Nubians and De La Soul and Slick Rick, then you don't really know sh*t.  The game has changed and it has evolved into something else, which was going to happen.”

The rapper elaborated on how music, not just Hip-Hop, is ever-changing.  Spanning back to the old school era of music, it made a transition towards Disco and then to the 80s R&B and so on.  Nothing ever stays the same for too long, so it was eminent that Hip-Hop would see its own transition.

Those that are truly passionate about music can easily sense what was manufactured and what is pure in its essence.  The same deduction is made to see who is in the game strictly for the money and who is in it to exercise their freedom of speech.

“We in the point where you still got real people that took music seriously still living in the mix in the days and times where all this bullsh*t is taking place.  So we can go ahead and tell the difference.  Now these young kids are on a different level, but you have to remember that they are teenagers and this is what they do so they have fun with it.”

Perception is the overlying issue that exists in the genre.  What a 40-year-old sees as simple, an 18-year-old might deem the same thing to be the best they ever heard.

GFK also puts the responsibility into the grassroots of the Hip-Hop.  As the DJ used to be THE factor back in the day, the DJ of today is unwilling to push what they feel should be and conform to what is accepted and receptive to the public.

“You gon' talk about we need to hip-hop back, but yet you the muthaf*cka that spinning the sh*t 100 times a day. And then when we ask why you spinning it, because ‘Yo, that's what the people's calling for.' They wouldn't be calling for sh*t if you wasn't playing it.”

The evolution or devolution of Hip-Hop is a topic that continues to stay in question with no chance of an answer.  At the end of the day, something needs to give because the tug of war can only go until the rope snaps and everything comes crashing down.

The case originally took shape in 2005 when he claimed that RZA owed him from early music the pioneer made with his Wu Tang family.Unhappy with the situation, Ghost spoke out to MTV saying:

Don't play with a grown man's pockets. Don't ever let a ni**a feel like you stealing from him…because we was the ni**as that would've did anything for you, jump in front of a bullet for you."

His old Wu Tang fam, U-God, also served RZA with court papers alleging that he owed him $170,000 in royalties. That case is ongoing.

Ghostface's new album, Ghostdini: The Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City, was released exclusively to Imeem for free streaming before it's September 29 release. You can listen to the full album here.

Ghostdini: The Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City

In celebration of the album, ITunes will be running a “Complete My Album" campaign. ITunes will promote the album by steadily releasing album cuts until its September 29th release. The first single "Baby" featuring Raheem Devaughn was released on August 18th. "Forever" was released on September 1st. On September 8th, the John Legend duet "Let's Stop Play'n" will be released, followed by Ghost and Fab's "Guest House" on September 15th.

Despite the stellar production and features on the album, the MC felt the need to mention his feelings on being snubbed by one of the biggest producers in Hip-Hop. According to him, his labelmate and now Executive Vice President of Island Def Jam, The Dream, stiffed him on a track. He claims The Dream promised him a track but blew him off at the last minute. Feeling some type of way about being looked over, Ghost told DJ Whoo Kid on his radio show:

“No Dream, nah, Dream fronted on me. Yeah, Radio Killer f*kin fronted. Yeah, it's Def Jam but you know certain ni**as get cocky, these little ni**as. It is what it is though. I ain't gonna complain about it but don't give me your fu%&in' number and tell me you gonna do something and renege on me. That's these lil' ni**as. It's different eras. These different eras mean a lot. This is the bullsh*t era."

Even though he has ill feelings toward the Dream, Ghostface knows that the show must go on. He's currently on a 24 date tour schedule to promote The Wizard Of Poetry. Ghost is also highly featured on Raekwon's latest project Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Part 2 which dropped Tuesday. It looks like Wu-Tang is back and definitely something Hip-Hop needs right about now.

The tour dates are listed here:

10/2 Albany, NY- Northern Lights
10/3 Philly, PA- Trocadero
10/4 Carrboro, NY- Cats Cradle
10/5 Charleston, SC- Music Farm
10/7 Ft. Lauderdale, FL- Revolution
10/9 Oxford, MS- Lyric
10/10 Baton Rouge, LA- Spanish Moon
10/11 Austin, TX- Emos
10/13 Tucson, AZ- The Rock
10/14 Tempe, AZ- The Clubhouse
10/15 San Diego, CA- Canes
10/16 Los Angeles, CA Key Club
10/17 Santa Barbara, CA- Velvet Jones
10/19 Reno, NV- Club Underground
10/20 San Fran, CA- Slims
10/21 Arcata, CA- Arcata Theatre
10/22 Portland, OR- Berbati's Pan
10/23 Eugene, OR- WOW Hall
10/24 Seattle, WA- Showbox
10/25 Bellingham, WA- Nightlight
10/28 Salt Lake City, UT- Urban Lounge
10/29 Aspen, CO- Belly Up
10/30 Denver, CO- Bluebird
10/31 Boulder, CO- Fox