Twelve Reasons to Die

On September 13, 2012, Ghostface Killah announced that his new studio album would be titled Twelve Reasons to Die, and would be produced entirely by Adrian Younge, and executive produced by RZA. He also announced a release date of November 20, 2012 through RZA's Soul Temple Records.[1][2][3] The album would be pushed back from its original November 20, 2012 release date so it would not compete with the soundtrack to RZA's film The Man with the Iron Fists.[4][5]

During an interview Adrian Younge revealed that Twelve Reasons To Die will serve as the score to a vintage Italian horror film, that takes place in 1968. He also cited RZA and Italian composer Ennio Morricone as two of the inspirations behind his production on the album.[6] Younge took two weeks to write the foundation of all the tracks.[7]

The album's story is set in 1960s Italy of a character of Ghostface Killah, Tony Starks. He is an enforcer for the DeLuca crime family, who is murdered by his former employers after striking out on his own and falling in love with the kingpin's daughter. His remains are melted in vinyl and pressed into a dozen LPs that, when played, resurrect him as the Ghostface Killah, a force of revenge incarnate.[8][9]

The LP was released in various formats including a standard CD, a deluxe double-CD with instrumentals and a mini comic book. The label released a digital deluxe version with instrumentals and a digital comic book, as well as multiple vinyl formats and a cassette. The album was also released with a comic book. For it the imprint teamed up with Black Mask Studios to produce a six-issue series and a collected graphic novel with "striking visuals and an intriguing dual-narrative structure with contributions from a host of stellar comic book artists."[5]

On March 5, 2013, Ghostface Killah and Adrian Younge announced that they would go on a 49 city tour from March 28 through May 22, 2013 with Younge's band, Venice Dawn along with Wu Tang Clan affiliate Killah Priest. This also included a show on March 14 at Soul Temple's SXSW showcase, which featured Inspectah Deck, U-God, Large Professor and Elzhi.[10][11]

Twelve Reasons to Die debuted at #27 on the Billboard 200 selling 15,000 copies in its first week.[21] In its second week the album sold 4,600 more copies.[22] In its third week the album sold 3,000 more copies bringing its total to 23,000.[23]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	78/100[24]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[25]
The A.V. Club	A−[26]
Exclaim!	8/10[27]
Pitchfork	7.4/10[28]
PopMatters	7/10[29]
Q	[30]
Rolling Stone	[31]
Slant Magazine	[32]
Spin	7/10[33]
XXL	[34]

Twelve Reasons to Die was met with critical acclaim upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 78, based on 27 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[35] David Jeffries of AllMusic gave the album four out of five stars, saying "While the album is best listened to in one go, these strong cuts could easily be parceled out for any career-spanning Ghostface mixtape [...] It's short and limited, but it's well crafted and strong."[25] Edwin Ortiz of HipHopDX gave the album four out of five stars, writing "In the archives of Ghostface Killah’s catalog, Twelve Reasons To Die should place somewhere above his most recent releases. Unless an artist is approaching Illmatic territory, it’s difficult to glorify a project that clocks in under 40 minutes, with a third of the lyrical efforts dispensed to guests. Still, the album is a satisfying glimpse into the minds of Younge and Ghostface. Experimental is a tag few artists at his age would attempt, and yet Ghost does it with immeasurable confidence."[36] Ken Capobianco of The Boston Globe gave the album a nine out of ten, saying, "The songs are short, so precision and concision are paramount, and the rhymes are sharp enough to slit veins. There's invention throughout, including “Center of Attraction’’ which reveals a metaphorical id/superego dialogue. While outstanding songs (“The Catastrophe’’) stand on their own, this is a song cycle that demands to be absorbed whole."[37]

Consequence of Sound's Chris Coplan gave the album three out of five stars, saying "GFK’s real life story, his lyrical prowess, and his years of wisdom and insight are better than the sum of this concept album. Keeping him tied to a half-hearted story of ghostly gangsters and empty revenge plots is like the actual Iron Man only using the MK I armor when the Bleeding Edge armor is in the next room. Had GFK’s focus been on par with his corresponding hero’s repulsor beam, this record would’ve been more than a solid collection that fails in trying to make high-art with a half-hearted storyline."[38] In a highly positive review, Tiny Mix Tapes reviewer Joe Hemmerling gave the album four and a half out of five stars, writing "Twelve Reasons to Die delivers spectacularly on its promise," and that it is one of the "bloodiest, most ambitious, and straight-up funnest hip-hop albums of 2013".[39] Hip-hop magazine XXL gave the album an XL rating, praising the chemistry between Ghostface Killah and Adrian Younge, saying "12 Reasons to Die is a pitch-perfect pairing of Adrian Younge’s soulful production and Ghostface’s invigorated rhymes."[34]

Jayson Greene of Pitchfork Media gave the album a 7.4 out of 10, saying, "Their chemistry is so apparent that it's a shame the final product isn't better. It reminds me of Freeway's The Stimulus Package, another seemingly can't-miss proposition from two phenomenal talents that fell just short. Like a lot of what Ghost has done in the past few years-- Apollo Kids, The Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City, and Wu-Massacre-- Twelve Reasons to Die basically feels like a victim of haste."[28] Phillip Mlynar of Spin gave the album a seven out of ten, saying "This might all come across as critical nit-pickery on what's mostly a very good album, but the concept betrays the end listening experience, leaving the unshakable feeling that it could've been a six-track EP, not an over-padded full album. As one of Ghost's pals once put it, there's much virtue in being half-short and twice-strong."[33] Evan Rytlewski of The A.V. Club gave the album an A−, saying "Following his smart score for the 2009 blaxploitation homage Black Dynamite and this year’s joint effort with Delphonics singer William Hart, Adrian Younge Presents The Delphonics, Twelve Reasons is Younge’s first foray into rap, but he takes to the genre like an old pro. Without removing Ghostface from his sweet spot, he’s built a lavish new playground for the rapper to indulge his harried depictions of slit throats, severed tongues, and bullet-torn flesh. In an era where it increasingly seems like rap albums are being rendered obsolete by mixtapes, this tightly focused, wildly entertaining collaboration between two master craftsmen is a testament to how powerful the form can still be."[26]

• All songs produced by Adrian Younge, except "The Rise of the Ghostface Killah" co-produced by Bob Perry & Andrew Kelley

Credits for Twelve Reasons to Die adapted from Allmusic.[44]