Ghostface Killah Calls Out the Culture Behind ‘Pause’ While Promoting New Album
Ghostface Killah is once again proving he’s never been one to follow trends or let slang dictate how he speaks.
On his new album “Supreme Clientele 2,” the Wu-Tang Clan legend takes aim at the word “pause,” a phrase often used to call out statements that sound unintentionally sexual, making it clear he’s never been a fan of it.
While breaking down the album during a recent appearance on the Rory & Mal Podcast, the rapper explained why the term has always bothered him. The conversation unfolded naturally after Ghost made an offhand comment about pulling songs out and where they would fit next.
Mal joked that he would typically say “pause” in response, but held back out of respect, opening the door for Ghost to unpack his frustration fully.
That irritation shows up directly on the project through the track “Pause (Skit),” where the rapper openly pokes fun at the phrase and what it represents.
On the podcast, Rory noted that the term didn’t originate with younger generations or internet culture, but instead traces back to the Roc-A-Fella era.
Although many people associate “pause” with Cam’ron and the Diplomats, who helped popularize it in mainstream hip-hop, Rory pointed to Roc-A-Fella co-founder Kareem “Biggs” Burke, along with early label figures like Jay-Z and Dame Dash, as some of the first people he remembers using it.
The hip-hop veteran agreed, recalling that he initially heard the phrase through Dash and others connected to the label.
But once Cam’ron took it mainstream, the slang began to feel unavoidable and restrictive, according to the 55-year-old.
“I’m like damn, I can’t even speak no more,” the “Fishscale rapper said, explaining how the term changed everyday conversation.
“All my sh*t is paused all day. But it’s paused to y’all, not to me. We can’t talk no more.”
He suggested the mindset behind constantly flagging language says more about the listener than the speaker.
In his view, conversations didn’t used to be filtered through that lens and shouldn’t have to be now.
“Our minds ain’t thinking on no no-homo sh*t,” he said. “What’s on your mind that making you think like that?”
You can watch the episode below.
