Ghostface is known for his ability to weave richly descriptive tales of street life, rooted in New York iconography; his reflections can be traced to Slick Rick's cautionary tales of youth or Ice Cube's celebrations of everything going his way. Ghostface's sample pool is often filled with mellow soul, in the vein of Barry White and The Delfonics, though at his core is the ferocity and relentlessness of NY MCs like Kool G Rap and Big Daddy Kane.