Ghostface Killah (born Dennis Coles, May 9, 1970) is a rapper and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. After the Wu-Tang achieved breakthrough commercial success in the early 1990's, Ghostface, like his clan-mates, began a solo career, which turned out to be one of the most critically and commercially successful solo careers of the group members. He also frequently goes by the alias of Tony Starks, taken from the secret identity of Marvel Comics super hero Iron Man, Tony Stark.
As a solo artist, he first appeared on "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx" (with clan-mate Raekwon in 1995), then on the soundtracks to "Sunset Park" and "Don't Be A Menace To South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood". His first solo LP was "Iron Man" in 1996, which was successful in hip hop circles and debuted at #2 on the pop charts. It had more of a pronounced soul influence (particularly 1970's soul) than previous Wu-Tang solo releases, and Ghostface's future albums would continue this stylistic trait. Ghostface became well-known for both his uptempo, seemingly indecipherable stream-of-consciousness raps and, later in his career, for his very emotionally charged delivery (first seen on the Wu-Tang Clan track "Impossible"). His follow-up to "Ironman" was "Supreme Clientele" in 2000, which was critically acclaimed by both mainstream critics and hip hop enthusiasts. "Cherchez La Ghost", a single off the album, became a minor club hit, and the sentimental "Child's Play" brought Ghostface numerous comparisons with Slick Rick. Ghostface wasted little time in recording his next album, the heavily R&B-influenced "Bulletproof Wallets" which was released a year after "Supreme Clientele". He had another minor club hit with "Flowers" (meaning rappers, people who "flow" lyrically, rather than a reference to horticulture) which featured guest vocals from fellow Wu-Tang members Method Man and Raekwon. In April of 2004, The "Pretty Toney Album" was released on Def Jam Recordings; it featured collaborations with Missy Elliott and Jadakiss and was Ghostface's first album to be credited to "Ghostface" rather than "Ghostface Killah". "Tush" and "Run", two singles taken from The "Pretty Toney Album", achieved moderate success in the clubs and the charts. The album was named 9th Best Album of the Year on Pitchfork Media's end of the year list. Ghostface also appeared on the track "On My Knees" by UK R&B group 411, The which became a hit in the UK and Australia, and released an album titled "718" with a group of his proteges, calling themselves The Theodore Unit.