“For those who don't know me, I’m known for using soul music,” Ghostface Killah proclaimed as he took the Paradise stage last Thursday. “The music your parents would fuck to,” he added for clarification. “I get a lot of pussy for it too.”

Ghostface, like several of his former Wu-Tang Clan associates, has managed the trick of having a successful solo career in both the mainstream and underground spheres. His first solo album, 1996’s Ironman (Razor Sharp), debuted at No. 2 on Billboard ’s Top 200 (Method Man and Raekwon didn’t get higher than No. 4). Ironman was followed by the critically acclaimed Supreme Clientele (Razor Sharp). Later, his Bullet-Proof Wallets (Epic) and The Pretty Toney Album (Def Jam) spurred a critical backlash, despite reaching the single digits of the pop charts; underground elites disliked the major-label veneer. But his new Fishscale (Def Jam), sporting a title drawn from the street name for uncut coke, found Ghostface at No. 4 on the charts. Maybe it’s the return to Wu-style darkness, or that baby-making soul — “Big Girl” samples the Stylistics’ 1971 soul hit “You're a Big Girl Now” — or the all-star cast of producers including Just Blaze and MF Doom, but underground dudes seem to like it too.

Still, only one song from Fishscale made it into Ghost’s set last week. Not that anyone’s complaining. Live, the man turned everything up to 11: the R&B-fueled raps, the adult-themed rants. Rocking the small stage with the swagger of a mafia don, he didn't need any help from his new album, and he didn't even need backing vocalists. The only people on stage with him were there for his protection. He didn’t seem to need that, either: every song in his greatest-hits set was received with overwhelming joy — “Biscuits,” “Holla,” “Ironman,” “We Made It,” “Cuban Linx,” “Shimmy Shimmy Ya.” That these last two are notably associated with other Wu members (Raekwon and the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard) mattered not a wit. And, as far as the pussy goes, dude wasn’t lying: toward the end of the show, almost half the women at the sold-out gig accepted his invitation to join him on stage.

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David Boffa: david.boffa@bmc.org