Line for line: Ghostface Killah - Woodrow skit

posted on Sep 10, 2005 Ghostface Killah - Woodrow Skit (Link Expired)

pens and gear like shakespeare
Ghostface may be rap's greatest dramatist with his emotional delivery and compelling narratives.

I know it’s weird to do a lyrical breakdown on a skit. But what Wu-Tang does so well is tell stories, and the skits on Wu-Tang albums can sometimes be the purest form of those stories. They really get into the skits. I’m not exactly sure if they’re improvised or pre-planned or what, but they’re always a key element of any Wu-Tang album. And they feel so true to life and so grounded in the slang and world of Shaolin that it often takes a few listens to get to the heart of what exactly is going on.

This skit off Supreme Clientele is an excellent example. When I first heard it, I wasn’t sure what was going on or why it was on the album. The best I could figure is that they thought a crackhead was funny and the line “Y’all are supposed to be big willies, but you’re acting a little silly” was hilarious. But when I really listened to it and started breaking it down, it became an incredibly powerful scene with a lot of sadness to it, showing the complexities and drama that surrounds someone when they get big dealing crack. Both Woodrow and Ghostface come off as being full characters, and there’s a charge in the way that Ghostface delivers his lines that says that to him, this was much more than just a skit. This was a painful memory. Again, I’m not really sure of the creative process behind Wu-Tang skits, but there is unquestionably some intense acting going on in them.

In twenty years, when Ken Burns does his hip-hop documentary and college classes start really delving deep into the medium, we’re going to look back at Wu-Tang skits and see them for the brilliant tableaus that they are. But as for now, nobody has really bothered to get into them too much. Well, with an eye to the future, I present…

WOODROW

Hide notes

Scene: Tony Starks’ Crackhouse, Stapleton Projects, Staten Island
Time: December 24th, sometime in the mid 90’s

  1. WOODROW: Hey, Brother Stark!
    Brother Stark: Tony Starks, Ghostface’s alter ego.
  2. GHOSTFACE: What up, ‘Dro?
  3. WOODROW: A-yo, what up, my motherfuckin’ nigga?
  4. GHOSTFACE: Ha, my nigga, what’s that, it’s my mother—ahhhhhhhhhh…
  5. WOODROW: Whoooooo!
    When Woodrow goes “Whoooo”, it takes me back a little to Ghostface talking about his Wallys on the skit before “Glaciers of Ice” on Raekwon’s “Only Built For Cuban Links” (“Whoooo! All you dye is this shit here…”) I wonder if Woodrow is copying Ghostface, or if Ghostface picked up that from Woodrow… it’s implied that they’ve known each other for a long time, and that Ghostface loves him “like fam” [line 23]. Or it could just be Woodrow going “Whooo.” Implied here in the scene is Woodrow possibly hugging Ghostface, leading to the bodyguards drawing in close [line 7].
  6. GHOSTFACE: What up, kid?
  7. WOODROW: A-yo, man, why y’all niggas playing me? ‘Cause Woodrow ain’t never hurt no-motherfuckin-body…
  8. GHOSTFACE: [SMACKS LIPS] Ahhh, stop fakin’…
  9. WOODROW: Get these big niggas off me, man…
  10. GHOSTFACE: Ah, ‘Dro, you wild, ‘Dro. What up, G?
  11. WOODROW: A-yo, let me get two. Let me get two.
    Woodrow is asking for two rocks of crack, and handing over nine dollars. He’s one dollar short (Ghostface sells crack for $5 a rock).
  12. GHOSTFACE: [SMACKS LIPS] C’mon, ‘Dro. You know I can’t fuck with you like that, ‘Dro, y’know dunn?
    Now, here’s an interesting section, which is at the heart of this skit. Ghostface knows Woodrow and loves him, but as a matter of business, refuses to budge at all about his crack sales. This is not about any disrespect to Woodrow, but about how you have to do business when you’re selling crack – you have to be heartless and stick firmly to certain rules. To quote Biggie Smalls’ “Ten Crack Commandments”, “Number six: that god damn credit, dead it/ You think a crackhead payin’ you back, shit forget it”. Woodrow, obviously down on his luck, can’t understand why his old friend won’t help him out and let him slide, being only one dollar short. The rest of the skit is about Woodrow trying to get Ghostface to budge, and Ghostface painfully refusing.
  13. WOODROW: I’m saying, man, I know y’all motherfuckers say cash rules everything around you, but crack rules everything around me, motherfucker!
    The reference to “Cash Rules Everything Around Me” places this skit as happening sometime after the Wu-Tang blew up, meaning that Ghostface was still maintaining his crack sales while being a burgeoning rap star.
  14. GHOSTFACE: Stop that, ‘Dro! Damn!
  15. WOODROW: Know what I’m sayin’? Now, like I said, I got nine dollars for yo’ ass, know what I’m sayin’… you know, I come through—
  16. GHOSTFACE: ‘Dro ‘Dro ‘Dro, you got the most G in the world, ‘Dro, slow down, pard… Slow down. C’mon… C’mon, Dro-Dro!
    “…You got the most G in the world” probably refers to game. “I got more game than a crackhead from Hempstead” – Phife of ATCQ on “God Lives Through.” Crackheads get their hustle on just as much as the hustlers that feed their addiction, and this is one of the key conflicts in this little scene. The tension is so great that there are long moments of complete deadlock between the two interdependent hustler spirits. Woodrow is clearly not in control of himself. Ghost is trying to get him to calm down and chill out.
  17. [BODYGUARDS chuckle]
  18. WOODROW: I’m sayin’! It ain’t no motherfuckin’ game, nigga, I come through with the TV’s… I come through with the VC—
    Woodrow is saying that he steals TV’s and VCR’s regularly to pay for crack, and that should more than cover the one dollar that he’s short right now.
  19. GHOSTFACE: Christmas tomorrow, man! Christmas tomorrow!
    This line breaks my heart. This places this scene at a very specific time… Christmas Eve, a time of family and generosity and “peace on earth, goodwill towards men”. But that doesn’t apply to the crack game. Even though it’s Christmas the next day, even though he can afford it, even though he loves ‘Dro, even though he’s only one measly dollar short, Ghost can NOT betray his principles and give crack away. It just can’t happen. Ghost is “Tight… like that” [line 45].
  20. WOODROW: And I’m gonna come through for y’all motherfuckers all over here! Stapleton, y’all niggas know how I do! And I’m from uptown, I don’t even motherfuckin’ supposed to be around here, but I come around here, and I spread my motherfuckin’ love. Now I’m saying, give me two cracks, let me go on the roof, take my two—
  21. GHOSTFACE: Alright yo. Damn, man… C’mon, but you know… you’re like fam, god…
  22. WOODROW:—and get on my shit!
  23. GHOSTFACE: Alright, duke, C’mon ‘Dro, you like fam, man, I love you, man. I love you, man… C’mon ‘Dro!
    Ghost repeatedly tells Woodrow he loves him here… It is the way that Ghost has to distance himself from someone he loves that makes this scene hit so hard.
  24. WOODROW: C’mon, man, the first is around the motherfuckin’ corner, just like you love the first, and when I see yo’ ass, in front of that motherfuckin’ check cashing, nigga, you don’t kiss me! Nigga, you get your motherfuckin’ money, and keep steppin’. So let me get my motherfuckin’ crack, go get high and do my motherfuckin’ thing, and I’m motherfuckin’ leavin’, motherfucker.
    The first is around the motherfuckin’ corner: Woodrow is reminding Ghostface that the first of the month, when the Welfare checks come in, is just a week and a day away. He’ll clearly have another dollar by then. Ghostface can meet him in front of the check cashing place, get his dollar, and just move on. He doesn’t even have to say hello or kiss him. All he has to do is give him two rocks for nine dollars, and this whole uncomfortable scenario is over.
  25. GHOSTFACE: God… damn, ‘Dro! [NERVOUS LAUGHTER]
    There’s an amazingly uncomfortable pause here. Ghostface almost seems tempted to cave in, just to spare Woodrow’s feelings.
  26. WOODROW: Come on, man, Come on! Brother Stark!
  27. GHOSTFACE: [PAUSE] Damn.
  28. WOODROW: Look, see I always gotta go through this shit, man… y’all niggas are supposed to be Big Willies, you actin’ a little silly, motherfucker!
  29. GHOSTFACE: That ain’t got nothin’…that ain’t even got nothin’ to do with it, ‘Dro, c’mon, ‘Dro.
  30. WOODROW: C’mon, man! C’mon, man!
  31. GHOSTFACE: [LAUGHING] A yo, ‘Dro, slow the fuck down. C’mon pard. You know I love you, though, God. What’s wrong with you, man?
    Another tragic side to being a crack dealer is seeing how the stuff that you’ve sold crackheads affects them. When Ghost asks “what’s wrong with you” in this line, it must hurt him a little, because he knows exactly what’s wrong with Woodrow – he is addicted to the crack Ghost has sold him, and now that addiction totally “rules everything around him” [line 13].
  32. WOODROW: A yo, tell these motherfuckas to back up! These niggas all in my motherfuckin’ face—
  33. GHOSTFACE: Nah, those are—Those are my niggas, right there! Overseein’—
  34. WOODROW: [TURNS TO BODYGUARD] You think I don’t carry a motherfuckin’ pistol, nigga?
  35. BODYGUARD: Ease up, ease up.
  36. WOODROW: [PULLING OUT A PISTOL] ‘Cause I’m a crackhead?
    Now things get really serious. Woodrow has pulled out a pistol in front of two large and presumably armed bodyguards. He could easily get murdered for that. Ghost is clearly worried, not as much for his own life as for Woodrow’s.
  37. GHOSTFACE: Yo ‘Dro, stop that, man. Stop that, man. See now, c’mon, baby…
  38. WOODROW: Nigga, I got a motherfuckin’ nickel plated .380, I go down to my old lady house, man, I tell her, “Suzie, throw it out the window! Suzie!”
  39. GHOSTFACE: [NERVOUS LAUGH] Ay-yo, you wild.
  40. WOODROW: Don’t play with me, mother—[SUDDENLY, AS IF HE HEARD SOMETHING] “Sue!”
    Woodrow is now babbling… he’s clearly not all there. But that sudden “Sue” in line 40 shows how unpredictable and dangerous he might be, especially brandishing a gun.
  41. GHOSTFACE: You wild, ‘Dro. Stop it, braw…
  42. WOODROW: Back the fuck up, motherfuckers!
  43. GHOSTFACE: [TO BODYGUARDS, WHO ARE ABOUT TO DRAW THEIR GUNS] Nah it’s all… it’s all good. This is my, this is my nigga right here, this is ‘Dro.
    Ghost calls his bodyguards off. He’s trying to save Woodrow’s life, and keep calm.
  44. WOODROW: Now… Brother Stark. All I want is two, man. That’s all I want.
    Another heartbreaking line. Woodrow is a broken man. All he wants out of life right now is two rocks of crack.
  45. GHOSTFACE: Listen, man. I can’t even do it like that… I can’t even do it, no, on the real, ‘Dro, I’m tight, God. I can’t do it like that. You know… c’mon, man. You like fam, God.
    Ghost’s insistence that he’s “tight” doesn’t refer to his being in need of money, it refers to how he plays the crack game, and how he has to adhere tightly to certain principles.
  46. WOODROW: Look, see I’m gonna have to go see the motherfuckin’ Rastas, then! I see I’m gonna have to go see the motherfuckin’ Rastas! They let a motherfucker get it for seven!
    Woodrow here gives up. He’s put up their friendship, their connection, their bond, and none of it was worth one measly dollar to Ghostface. He’s going to go to a rival group of Rastas to get his crack, and he tries to make Ghostface feel bad about that.
  47. GHOSTFACE: Son, they just.. You wonder why… you wonder why them niggas keep lookin’ at yo’ ass, huh? Fuck with them niggas like that!
    I’m not sure if this is Ghostface or one of his bodyguards who says this line, but it implies that the Rastas might anally rape Woodrow if he gets high in their crackhouse. Clearly, it’s not as safe a place as Ghostface’s.
  48. WOODROW: [PAUSE] Fuck them, fuck you, and fuck this motherfuckin’ crack house! I’m out, motherfuckers! Fuck y’all motherfuckers!
  49. GHOSTFACE: Yo ‘Dro, don’t disrespect my gate… don’t disrespect it. Don’t disrespect my gate like that.
  50. WOODROW: I don’t give a f—y’all won’t let me get two for nine dollars. One motherfuckin’ dollar?
  51. GHOSTFACE: A yo ‘Dro… get the fuck out the house. Get the fuck out the gate, man. I’m about to knock you the fuck out.
    Ghostface here hardens himself against Woodrow… yes, they had a friendship, but it doesn’t mean more to Ghost than making his crack sales, and it doesn’t give Woodrow the license to disrespect his crackhouse and crack operation. And so Ghost has no other choice but to end their friendship, which Ghost “loves”, over one dollar.
  52. WOODROW: [LEAVING] Always want a motherfucker… get off me!

Final analysis: Lots of hip-hop songs are written about the high price of selling crack, but few get to the emotional heights that this skit gets to. Beyond the danger, beyond the violence, beyond the police, being a ruthless drug dealer will force you to become a ruthless person and to give up part of your heart just to stick to a principle. Even on Christmas. It’s tragic, but “oh yeah, it’s real, motherfuckers”, as Ghost shouts at the beginning of “Stay True.” So much of hip-hop is establishing your character and making it feel as authentic as possible, Here Ghostface gives us a resonant glimpse into Tony Starks’ character, showing us (and not just telling us) how he respects the game so much he’ll turn his back on a loved one to stay true. Powerful stuff.

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Comments for "Line for line: Ghostface Killah - Woodrow skit"

  1. So much is contained in so little.

    peace
    — tony linchi    Sep 21, 11:36 AM   
  2. tony – thank you for this. I had never really broken this skit down to anywhere near the level that you have here… but as a three minute skit, with an apparently excellent instrumental under it i had always wondered what i should be hearing in it and why so much effort was obviously expended on something that initially seemed to me only an amusing/depressing lark… though i felt the general outline of a broken friendship, and an identity destroyed by crack i had never really realized how far ghostface went in acknowledging his culpability here, how he is in fact hamstringed into the maintaining the facade of his hardness in the presence of his bodyguards. all i can say is thank you… good call on that ken burns shit too… that vulture (or someone like him) will be attempting to write some distorted history of hip-hop in twenty years and by then it will be too late… keep writing…
    — James    Sep 26, 09:02 PM   
  3. ghost said ‘that’s why they keep LICKING at you’ as in ‘licking shots’ (shooting at someone). also, i don’t think dro pulled out his pistol, he just said he could always go to susie’s house to get a pistol if he needed one.
    — spirit    Sep 27, 10:33 PM   
  4. Good catch on licking shots – we must have missed that on editing the piece. As for brandishing a weapon, the analysis doesn’t say he pulled out a pistol.

    “Woodrow is now babbling… he’s clearly not all there. But that sudden “Sue? in line 40 shows how unpredictable and dangerous he might be, especially brandishing a gun.”

    The point is that Woodrow is a loose cannon and so if he did actually have a gun there’d be potential reason to worry even though they’re not enemies.
    — Rafi    Sep 27, 10:47 PM   
  5. “Woodrow has pulled out a pistol in front of two large and presumably armed bodyguards.”

    It does say he pulled out a pistol, but regardless, that’s Rob’s interpretation.

    I don’t buy “licking at” because why would a drug dealer shoot at a customer? Unless that customer was not paying (which is always a possibility, but not what Woodrow is saying). Woodrow is saying the Rastas sell it for cheaper, but Ghost is saying there is a downside. This downside cannot reasonably include being shot at. “They got a couple rocks for $7 but they also shoot at you” makes no sense at all.
    — David    Sep 28, 03:36 AM   
  6. In response to David:

    The whole time, Woodrow has been pestering Ghost and being pushy with him. So, to me, the unspoken continuation of Ghost saying ”... you wonder why them niggas keep lickin’ at yo’ ass …” is “when you keep acting a fool with folks you have no leverage with.”

    The Rastas don’t shoot at him because they’re trying to kill him; They shoot at him to fuck with him (a pushy crackhead) and for amusement similar to how Wild West villains fuck with hapless victims by making them “dance” by shooting at their feet.

    It makes little sense that the Rastas, Jamaicans more than likely steeped in homophobia, would anally rape a male crackhead for lust, punishment, or as the downside to discount crack.

    Anyway, all that aside, good job on this article, and Oh Word.
    — mosaic    Sep 28, 06:10 PM   
  7. nice analysis.. i dunno if it can be funny to me anymore hah.
    — mike    Sep 29, 01:38 AM   
  8. i think the larger point is that ghost is a fucking asshole. one dollar?!
    — b    Sep 29, 04:15 PM   

  9. I didn’t think I could love “Supreme Clientele” more than I already did, but this…this is just fantastic. I never thought of this skit this way. Now you gotta do the skit before “Child’s Play”!


    — Ian    Jan 6, 02:16 PM   

  10. Yo, I never knew Supreme Client was as deep as this man. Especially that this is some quality shit that dropped after the millenium. Peace to Ghost for giving us that, and peace to the guy who wrote the explaination.


    — Flynn    Jan 25, 05:30 AM   

  11. u should make more songs wit jadakiss nas and The Game.


    — Raul From Union cITY nJ    Feb 21, 11:48 PM   

  12. yo on sum real shyt im glad SPIRIt cleard that shyt up about “LICKIN” shots cuz the person that rote this was getin me a lil upset by the mis-interpratation… but its good that he rote the articel and broke it down enuff to open up peoples minds …. Peace …Ghost ..fav rapper of all time //


    — Vice VersAH    Mar 26, 08:06 PM   

  13. I don’t think he actually pulls out his pistol, a crackhead wouldn’t have a pistol, he was just threatening. Shit would’ve gotten a lot more serious a lot quicker.


    — remy lebeau    Apr 20, 12:57 AM   

  14. yeah, he’s yelling at Susie to throw it out the window


    — remy lebeau    Apr 20, 12:59 AM   

  15. first off..the crack head never had a pistol….he was fretening…and second lick shots…means shooting at….remember ghost has a friendship with the crakchead..and pitty’s him…in the crack game there is no pitty..so when drow comes with that attempt at the rasta’s to get cheap crack…they shoot at him as a way of showing him his place…


    — jeuw    Aug 10, 05:07 PM   

  16. Crack head would have sold his pistol for crack, no go…


    — DUNC4N    Aug 11, 04:47 PM   

  17. I appreciate the attempt to deconstruct this powerful piece, but you’re off in a few places.

    1.The reference to “Cash Rules Everything Around Me” places this skit as happening sometime after the Wu-Tang blew up, meaning that Ghostface was still maintaining his crack sales while being a burgeoning rap star.

    NOT NECESSARILY.
    IT’S THEIR BIGGEST, MOST MEMORABLE HIT. THE ONLY ONE OF WHICH SPAWNED A HORDE OF PEOPLE LATCHING ON TO ITS TITLE, AND USING IT AS SLANG. IF A DISCUSSION CENTERS ON MONEY WITH ANY WU MEMBER, REFERINCING THE WORD CREAM IN ORDER TO INGRATIATE ONESELF TO THAT WU MEMBER WOULD BE LOGICAL FOR SOME.

    31.GHOSTFACE: [LAUGHING] A yo, ‘Dro, slow the fuck down. C’mon pard.

    IT’s PA OR PAH, NOT PARD. THATS COMMON NY SLANG USED IN THE 80S AND 90S.

    36.WOODROW: [PULLING OUT A PISTOL] Ghost is clearly worried, not as much for his own life as for Woodrow’s.

    WRONG.
    GHOST IS FAR FROM WORRIED. ITS CLEAR THAT GHOST HAS BEEN TALKING TO HIM IN A SMUG, UNCTUOUS TONE SINCE THE START. HE’S ALMOST SOUNDS AMUSED THAT ‘DRO IS SHOWING SOME HEART. DRO HAS BEEN NOTHING MORE THAN ENTERTAINMENT FOR GHOST THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE SKIT. DRO DID NOT HAVE A PISTOL ON HIM B/C HE ASKED SUE TO THROW ONE OUT OF THE WINDOW.

    IT’S OBVIOUS THAT DRO IS ON PROBATION WHEN HE SAYS “I AIN’T EVEN SUPPOSED TO BE AROUND HERE.” PROBATIONERS CAN NOT BE IN THE COMPANY OF KNOWN FELONS OR IN AREAS WHERE DRUG ACTIVITY OCCURS. WITH THAT SAID, I DOUBT DRO WOULD RISK CARRYING A PISTOL. IT WOULD JEOPARDIZE HIS FREEDOM AND SUBSEQUENTLY ABILITY TO SEEK AND FIND CRACK.

    45. Ghost’s insistence that he’s “tight” doesn’t refer to his being in need of money, it refers to how he plays the crack game, and how he has to adhere tightly to certain principles.

    ALMOST.
    IN SAYING THAT HE’S TIGHT GHOST MEANS THAT HE’S A MISER. BY LETTING DRO GET 2 FOR $9, GHOST WOULD BE ESSENTIALLY GIVING AWAY MONEY.

    47. GHOSTFACE: Son, they just.. You wonder why… you wonder why them niggas keep lookin’ at yo’ ass, huh? Fuck with them niggas like that!

    I’m not sure if this is Ghostface or one of his bodyguards who says this line, but it implies that the Rastas might anally rape Woodrow if he gets high in their crackhouse. Clearly, it’s not as safe a place as Ghostface’s.

    WRONG.
    GHOST SAYS YOU WONDER WHY THEY KEEP ‘LICKIN’ YA A$$. AS IN, SHOOTING DRO. LICKIN IS ANOTHER COMMONLY USED SLANG TERM USED PARTICULARLY BY JAMAICANS AND NYC HEADS.
    DRO OWES THE RASTAS MONEY, SO THEY KEEP FIRING WARNING SHOTS AT HIM TO SCARE HIM.

    51.GHOSTFACE: A yo ‘Dro… get the fuck out the house. Get the fuck out the gate, man. I’m about to knock you the fuck out.

    Ghostface here hardens himself against Woodrow… yes, they had a friendship…

    WRONG.
    THERE IS NO FRIENSHIP BETWEEN A CRACK SELLER AND A CRACK HEAD. AGAIN, DRO IS ONE OF THE MORE AMUSING, FAMILIAR CRACK HEADS THAT GHOST HAD DEVELOPED A RAPPORT WITH IN A SELLER/CUSTOMER TYPE OF WAY. HATE TO SOUND LIKE A NANCY REAGAN INFO-MERCIAL, BUT FRIENDS DON’T SELL FRIENDS CRACK. AS SOON AS THE CRACK IS SOLD TO SOMEONE YOU KNOW, IT’S A BUSINESS RELATIONSIP FROM THAT POINT ON.


    — YouTrippin    Feb 14, 07:25 PM   

  18. you trippin got it! A+ I know this is old but I found it.
    Man I love this skit to death, I been through it. Real shit I dig this site keep it up.
    PEACE TO MAN WOMAN AND CHILD.


    — KEFLON DON    Apr 20, 04:27 AM   

  19. I love the skitish storylines in their music!


    — WuQueen    Apr 28, 12:36 AM   

  20. I understand that this thread began around 2 years ago and thus it may seem that I’m entirely too late to be taking part in the discussion. However, it should be admitted that this skit is timeless and the value of continuing to reevaluate this skit was expressed by the author when he stated that when “Ken Burns does his hip-hop documentary and college classes start really delving deep into the medium, we’re going to look back at Wu-Tang skits and see them for the brilliant tableaus that they are”. Hence, I think it is important to reopen this discussion.

    I want to argue against the author’s interpretation of the term “tight” that Ghost uses on line 45 of the skit. According to the author’s analysis, “tight” is taken to mean “how he (Ghost) plays the crack game, and how he has to adhere tightly to certain principles”. This hypothesis appears to be ad hoc as it only seems to be feasible when placed in the larger context of the author’s main thesis presented in author’s examination of line 19. Although, I do think the author’s main thesis is correct and does justice to the pain Ghost is portraying in this skit, I think arguments for an alternative analysis of the term “tight” are stronger. When Ghost uses the term “tight” he is not referring to his principles but he is explaining how mad Woodrow has made him.

    I began to hear the term “tight” as a synonym for “angry” or “mad” in the New York City area a short period of time before the release of Supreme Clientele. Although, it never reached the popularity of other versions of “tight”, it probably peaked around this point1. The best evidence that I have for the claim that “tight” as a synonym for mad was at its top popularity during the making of Supreme Clientele is the fact that I heard mad niggas in the hood say it at this time. You’re just going to have to trust me.

    Another argument is needed for the claims that Ghost was aware and made use of “tight” in this particular way at the time the album was being made. The best argument for such a claim is simply the fact that Ghost’s slang is “too futuristic”. He knows all slang thdun!

    As I have mentioned earlier the author uses his interpretation of “tight” to argue for his central thesis but the text itself provides evidence that “tight” is being used in the same way as “mad”. At the point in the skit where the conversation has reached line 45, tensions between Woodrow and Ghostface have now heightened. This is shown by the subject of guns and violence entering the conversation on line 40 as Woodrow screams out to Suzie to throw down his weapon. After line 45, there is textual evidence found in 48 and 49 which exhibit the fact that tempers are flaring. Line 49 may be actually the most heated point of the sketch2. Thus, at this point in the skit anger and madness are the prevailing feelings and thus Ghost expresses this by declaring that he is in fact “tight”.

    Evidence for the word “tight” as “angry” can also be found in line 45 itself. Notice that Ghost must tell Woodrow three times some variation of the phrase “I can’t even do it like that”. Anyone would get mad if they had to continue repeating themselves to a crackhead3. Ghost also uses the phrase “on the real” before he claims to have become tight. This phrase is being used by Ghost to emphasize how seriously angry he has gotten at Woodrow4. It would sound very awkward for Ghostface to claim “On the real, I must remain true to certain principles”. On the other hand, it sounds natural for Ghost to tell Woodrow “On the real, I’m angry”5.

    I hope this clears up the Ghost’s usage of “tight”. I also want to give props to the author for doing a fine job on such a worthy subject.

    1. Other meanings of the word “tight” can be found at:
    http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=tight
    The meaning that I think Ghost was using can be found at 4.2. The page indicates that it is a lesser known meaning. We can dismiss the west coast meaning of “tight” as “cool” because Ghost would never say no shit like. As Doom stated when discussing west coast slang, “Never let her interfere with the Yeti ghetto slang”.

    2. Don’t you dare disrespect Ghost’s gate! You hear the significance of this warning in Ghost’s voice.

    3. Especially to a crackhead that wanted a kiss on the first of the month.

    4. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=on+the+real


    — idris intifada    Aug 9, 10:45 PM   

  21. Yo that is one of my favorite skits of all time, me and my close homeboy always make references to that “suzie, throw it out the window”. Its some real shit, keep on dropping them jewels.


    — Ron Sonatine    Nov 13, 10:43 PM   

  22. Brilliant skit, and brilliant explanation. Especially for a some one who´s english is not native let alone nyc slang. Respect


    — cls    Dec 2, 03:05 PM   

  23. http://gotuc.net/members/shemorn/default.aspx


    — trolqqvr    Dec 17, 02:31 AM   

  24. you wonder why they keep looking at yo ass. its you wonder why they keep lickin at ya ass. This means lickin shots. lickin shots like shooting at you. brother you gotta get into the streets a little more if you wanna drop jewelry on people


    — mike brown    Apr 28, 10:41 AM   

  25. tight does mean angry but not here. he is saying im tight like i aint got no room to work with you on the price. tight means to be very cheap and frugal


    — mike brown    Apr 28, 10:47 AM   

  26. BEST of the BEST! I love the skitish storylines in their music!


    — Бонусы букмекерских контор    Apr 29, 08:02 AM