Raekwon
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx
Play Only Built 4 Cuban Linx
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AMG Review of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx
Steve Huey
All Music GuideA serious contender for the title of best Wu-Tang solo album (rivaled only by the Genius' Liquid Swords), Only Built 4 Cuban Linx is also perhaps the most influential, thanks to Raekwon's cinematic imagination. If the Genius is the Wu's best overall lyricist, Raekwon is arguably their best storyteller, and here he translates the epic themes and narratives of a Mafia movie into a startlingly accomplished hip-hop album. Raekwon wasn't the first to make the connection between gangsta rap and the Cosa Nostra (Kool G Rap pioneered that idea), but he was the one who popularized the trend. Cuban Linx's portraits of big-money drug deals and black underworld kingpins living in luxury had an enormous influence on the new New York hardcore scene, especially Mobb Deep and Nas, the latter of whom appears here on the much-revered duet "Verbal Intercourse." The fellow Clan members who show up as guests are recast under gangster aliases, and Ghostface Killah makes himself an indispensable foil, appearing on the vast majority of the tracks and enjoying his first truly extensive exposure on record. Behind them, RZA contributes some of the strongest production work of his career, indulging his taste for cinematic soundscapes in support of the album's tone; his tracks are appropriately dark or melancholy, shifting moods like different scenes in a film. Cuban Linx's first-person narratives are filled with paranoia, ambition, excess, and betrayal, fast rises and faster falls. There are plenty of highlights along the way -- the singles "Criminology" and "Ice Cream," the gentle "Rainy Dayz," the influential posse cut "Wu-Gambinos" -- and everything culminates in "Heaven & Hell" and its longing for redemption. Like the Genius' Liquid Swords, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx takes a few listens to reveal the full scope of its lyrical complexities, but it's immensely rewarding in the end, and it stands as a landmark in the new breed of gangsta rap.
Video: Raekwon Interview with SoulCulture TV
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“I make music for the drug dealers,” states Raekwon in the surreal setting of an upmarket London hotel lobby. SoulCulture were there to listen to a preview of the highly anticipated sequel to his classic debut album, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx – and to speak with the Wu-Tang founding member. In this interview, The [...]
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3 Raekwon Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt. II Exclusives
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Good week in hip hop, first the Jay-Z leak, and now this. Here are three exclusive cuts from the album but make sure you go get the album in stores on September 8, 2009. Download links below:Raekwon Ft. Ghostface Killah & Method Man - New Wu (Produced by RZA)Raekwon Ft. Jadakiss & Styles P - [...]
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No Shit
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Mad props to SatisfiedMind614, my first trusted MOG. I've got to say: I love this site. It's got a fucking perfect-seeming interface. I don't know anything about it, though. I just got out of class; I go to a shitty little school in Santa Fe, NM; I'm studying for an M.A. in the liberal arts. Right. I still feel young, though.The whole enter-your-own-question-and-answer-it thing has totall...
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Raekwon- Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2 Cover
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Looks incredibly dope, no one is more excited for this album than me. However, I did notice that Rae has pushed the album back again. I guess he needs to put his new video out before releasing it. If it goes gold I’ll be very happy/suprised.
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Raekwon Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II Review
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01. Return To The North Star (Feat. Papu Wu) (Interlude)(Prod. Bt)02. House of Flying Daggers (Feat. Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah & Method Man)(Prod. J-Dilla)03. Sonny's Missing(Prod. Pete Rock)04. Pyrex Vision(Prod. Marley Marl)05. Cold Outside (Feat. Suga Bang & Ghostface Killah)(Prod. Atl)06. Godfather (Feat. Inspectah Deck)(Prod. Rza)07. New Wu (Feat. Method Man & Ghostface Killah)(Prod...
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[Video] Raekwon - RubyHornetTV Interview
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During his visit to Chicago last week, we spoke with The Chef inside the RH Kitchen. Raekwon provided us one of our best interviews, as he spoke on the natural progression of OB4CL II, reminding himself that OB4CL could not be topped, clarifies the Joe Budden/Slaughterhouse interview, and doesn't want to leave dubbing our own DJ RTC "Baby Howard Cosell." Part 2 after the jump.
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Live from the Purple Carpet: Interviews and Photos from Raekwon Record Release Party
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Nice little write-up about Raekwon’s album release show last week at Santos. On a night chock full of highlights, my favorite might have been Cappadonna rhyming behind DJ Hotday on the decks. Dude is probably my favorite performer out of the Wu. Pictures courtesy of Eleni Rizakos. More after the jump. linkRaekwon’s long-anticipated Only Built [...]
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Cuban Linx Revisited with Raekwon
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linkLet’s go through some songs off the album. Talk about “Striving for Perfection” and what you wanted it to convey as an intro.I like that you brought this up and let me speak on it. That joint right there, that ain’t even a song, but it has a lot of feeling in it. Basically, it [...]
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Video - 8 Days Left
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Get that Purple Tape 2 or delete yourself from the hip hop conversation.
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[Vid] Raekwon Talks About Canada & New Album Artwork
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Check out a preview of the new artwork after the jump.
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[Video] Raekwon - FlyStyleLife Interview
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Talks OBFCLII, Ghostface Collabs And His Regrets With Joe Budden.
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Raekwon - “Resolution” x “Wu Ooh” ft. Method Man & Ghostface Killah(Video)
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raekwon-resolutionIn preparation for Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2 Raekwon drops a video from the album and gives us a whole new mixtape. “Resolution” is from the new mixtape available on Raekwon’s MySpace and here is what he had to say about it.“The Staten Go Hard Vol. 1 Mixtape is a collabo with me and [...]
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Raekwon - SHHO Interview (Video)
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw2VXchTS5s]Raekwon stops by Henry's for a meet and greet with the SHHO Friday, August 21st, and hits the Down Under Lounge later that evening. He was one of the most humble and down to earth emcees we have ever met. Truly one of a kind. I think this video exemplifies ...
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Raekwon: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx [Instrumentals]
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Due to the release of Raekwon’s Only Built For Cuban Linx II today we decided to post the instrumentals to the classic Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… hit it after the jump and enjoy!!!01....* Summary only. Visit the site for full article!
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 "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx")
