Following some very stellar appearances on the classic Wu-Tang release Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), Corey Woods, better known as Chef Raekwon, begun work on a solo LP, one that was to be the third solo Wu-Tang release, after 1994's Tical by Method Man, and early 1995's Return To the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version by Ol' Dirty Bastard. Now, these two albums had been pretty well received, but at the same time had both sounded very dusty and grimy, and not too ambitious in terms of production - the rappers were left to make something unique out of the often bassy and percussion heavy instrumentals that never really stood out too much. For the Raekwon album, however, The RZA, the man behind all of the early Wu LPs, intended to switch things up a bit, and make a cinematic style of album that was to sound completely different to anything that had come out of the Wu camp before. Raekwon himself was a very different MC to Meth and ODB, and so the cinematic and grand instrumentals would fit his delivery and drug dealing/mafioso rhymes a lot better than the dark stuff RZA had previously been doing. The album was originally intended to be only about 14 tracks, but as Rae was right in his bag at the time, he ended up doing 18, and so the project became the longest out of all of the first round of Wu solo albums (before Wu-Tang Forever).
The album was released through Loud Records, who also had the Wu-Tang Clan as a group signed anyway, and make no mistake, this was a Wu album at heart. Every single song is done by The RZA, and Rae's close buddy Ghostface Killah is seen not only on the album cover, but also on 14 out of 18 tracks - he even had one song all to himself! Ghost would return the favour by letting Rae give a similarly large amount of contributions to his debut Ironman, an album I have already covered on here (it'll be linked at the end). Most of the other Wu-Tang members showed up too, but one thing this project is notorious for is being the first from the Wu camp to include someone who wasn't in or closely affiliated with the Clan - yes, Nasir Jones pops up on here for a classic verse too. Loud Records also decided that the best way to draw attention to the album was to make the cassette tape a slightly different colour to usual - instead of clear or matte black, it was to be purple. Yes, it sounds like a stupid idea, especially as the cover art isn't purple anyway, but it worked, and the album sold a lot of copies, and charted high. Not only this, but the tape was so successful that the album is now commonly referred to as simply "The Purple Tape", and original copies of said purple tape go for a bloody fortune on the internet. And, no, I don't have one (got the CD though, of course), although it is high on my wantlist, that's for sure.
The album is generally regarded to be the pinnacle of mafioso rap, and one of the greatest hip-hop albums full stop, let alone albums to come from the Wu-Tang Clan. RZA's new direction payed off enormously, with every beat being grand and excellent, and Raekwon and Ghostface spitting more classic verses on this album than Future has in his entire bloody career. This album is regarded as a classic '90s piece, and as such, I should probably get down to reviewing the thing, shouldn't I?
So, is Raekwon's debut the classic that it is constantly praised to be, or has it aged like a cup of milk left in the sun? Let's have a look.
Every song is produced by The RZA. That's right, every single one!
1. Striving For Perfection
If one was to "strive for perfection", wouldn't it be a good idea to leave out the bloody overlong pretentious spoken intro? Just a thought.
2. Knuckleheadz (feat. Ghost Face Killer A/K/A Tony Starks & Golden Arms A/K/A Lucky Hands)
For those wondering, "Golden Arms" is actually U-God, who did have that stage name when this album came out, albeit apparently it wasn't his main one at the time, as it's nowhere to be seen on the back cover here. It's funny that, while U-God is a solid stage name, they instead advertised bloody "Lucky Hands" and "Golden Arms", as if the guy was some kind of miniature lucky charm for a card player. Anyway, this song is an all-caps CLASSIC, and one of the more underrated tracks on the whole LP. The instrumental gives off a similar vibe to the songs "Shame On a Nigga" and "Clan In Da Front" off of Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), which is a good thing, and the three MCs all deliver some of their most impressive verses ever. Rae opens things up with some brilliant bars such as "save the fully inflatable, rap relatable, drug relatable, niggas here to play with you", Ghost exudes aggression ("Who's the knucklehead, wantin' respect??") and U-God delivers easily one of the best verses I've ever heard from him. This is incredible, guys - a must-hear.
3. Knowledge God
As Ghostface famously later stated on "Iron Maiden", the violins on the beat here do indeed sound ILL. They only really pop up on the chorus, and intro and outro, though, and during the verses we have a more simplistic beat, that still sounds great mind you. While "Knowledge God" may sound like an arrogant title for the song, it actually simply refers to a kilogram of cocaine - Kilo-Gram = KG = Knowledge God. No, I don't know what the two things have in relation either, but then there's a lot of things Rae says that's difficult to understand. The storytelling itself on here isn't super unique or anything, but Rae's rhyme schemes certainly are, and that teamed with the catchy hook and great beat make this one well worth your time.
4. Criminology (feat. Ghost Face Killer A/K/A Tony Starks)
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5. Incarcerated Scarfaces
Somehow, the album just keeps getting better, as Rae takes this fairly simplistic yet unimaginably energetic drum beat from The RZA, and not only does he kill it with aggression and precision, but then he proceeds to throw it right up into the sun for it to burn into ashes. This is arguably the best Rae song ever - it is arguably the best song released throughout the year of 1995 as a whole. The hook is also brilliantly catchy, and the amount of classic lines is just unbelievable - "all I need is my house, my Gat, my Ac, bank account fat, it's going down like that"; "black stallions wilding on Shaolin"; "me and the RZA connect, blow a fuse, you lose"; "I move rhymes like retail, make sure shit sell - from where we at to my man's cell". Those are just some of my favourite lines. This song is incredible.
6. Rainy Dayz (feat. Ghost Face Killer A/K/A Tony Starks & Blue Raspberry)
So, remember how I said that the last song was "arguably the best Rae song ever". Well, if it's not that, then it's probably this. RZA makes possibly the most cinematic beat he ever did for this one, with pulsating drums and tragic violin loops making up for one of my favourite instrumentals of all time. Blue Raspberry (who contributed to a couple of songs on Method Man's Tical if you remember) brings her all here, with some absolutely beautiful singing that is creepy and heartbreaking at the same time. Ghost and Rae both kill this beat with their tales of hard times - I personally prefer Ghost's verse, as I just think he fits the beat better, but at the same time, Rae makes good use of the instrumental too. This is literally the fifth classic song in a row. This album is truly astonishing.
7. Guillotine [Swordz] (feat. Ghost Face Killer A/K/A Tony Starks, Inspektah Deck A/K/A Rollie Fingers & Genius)
One of two all-out posse cuts on the album, this one being rapped over the same music that introduced Method Man's "Tical" song, the intro track off the album of the same name. These guys all predictably destroy this instrumental, an instrumental that stands as easily one of my favourites on the album. Inspectah Deck gets things off to the perfect start with his classic bars "poisonous paragraphs smash your phonograph in half, it be the Inspectah Deck on the warpath", and from then on we just get a lyrical onslaught, with GZA finishing things up with a very creative verse. One of the best Wu posse tracks out there.
8. Can It Be All So Simple [Remix] (feat. Ghost Face Killer A/K/A Tony Starks)
A remix to my least favourite song on Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), and it's a little bit better than the original, even if there's not much in it. This beat is a little bit more menacing than the one on that one, and the lyrics are also slightly more interesting - the overlong intro skit had set the tone of this one: Ghost was shot by a man they saw dealing around their ends, and decided to confront. This may be a true story, I'm not sure. Anyway, this is good, but it being a remix it probably shouldn't have made it to the album.
9. Shark Niggas [Biters]
Spoken word interlude from both Ghost and Rae. Normally, this is the type of stuff to make my blood boil, but I suppose the sentiment here is simply truthful, rather than preachy or arrogant, so that's good. This track also disses The Notorious B.I.G., which was pretty intriguing stuff, and there's a whole other story to that. So, yes, this is a good interlude, and it deserves to be here. That's pretty high going for a skit.
10. Ice Water (feat. Ghost Face Killer A/K/A Tony Starks & Cappachino)
It's a good thing Cappadonna changed his name from "Cappachino" after the release of this album, as that would have made for some funny coffee breaks in the Wu offices. "Hey, Cappachino!" "Coming right up" "No, I mean Cappachino (pointing to Cappadonna)" etc. Don't know why I bought that thought up, but I did, so it is what it is. Anyway, this song is solid, and as the first appearance of Cappa on wax it carries historical significance, but at the same time, the beat with the effectively moaning sound effect is grating to me. Not bad, but the lyrics deserved much better backing.
11. Glaciers Of Ice (feat. Ghost Face Killer A/K/A Tony Starks & Master Killa A/K/A Noodles; Vocals: Blue Raspberry & 62nd Assassin of Sunz Of Man)
Yes, that is how the credits are laid out on the back cover. Aside from the title pointing out the bloody obvious (as opposed to glaciers of what? Wood? Orange peel?), this track is excellent in a hypnotic way. The instrumental sounds like nothing else you or I have ever heard, and the rapping on here is simply incredible - "Proceed with caution as you enter the symphony, degrees of punishment increase intensely" are some of the best lines to open a verse on the whole album. Masta Killa may not be the most exciting MC, but he sure knows how to drop some memorable lines. The singing from Blue Raspberry and then 60 Second Assassin (notice how the person who did the credits misinterpreted the name when they were told it?) on the end is also a thing of beauty. Jeez, I'm running out of ways to praise this album.
12. Verbal Intercourse (feat. Ghost Face Killer A/K/A Tony Starks & Nas A/K/A Nas Escobar)
A rather disturbing song in which Rae, Ghost and Nas exchange sexually explicit compliments towards each other. Bet you didn't see THAT coming.
Nah, I'm just kidding, but that song title certainly puts some odd ideas into the mental, doesn't it?
This one is most famous for the truly brilliant poetry of Nasir Jones, as he spits one of his best verses ever over this decidedly softer type of instrumental, that's still bloody excellent, mind you. While I do indeed think that Nas bodies this one, I personally would give it to Ghostface Killah, who's on his verse for an admittedly long time, but it's worth it, as his rapping here is truly mind-blowing. Anyone who says they don't feel this one is just lying to you - it's phenomenal.
13. Wisdom Body (feat. Ghost Face Killer A/K/A Tony Starks)
The aforementioned solo Ghostface Killah song, where he compliments a women he has just met with surprising sincerity from the man who would later start a song with the line "yo bitch, I fucked your friend! Yeah, you stank ho!", on "Wildflower" (his aggression on that song was justified, mind you, although I'm sure those that blindly hate on rap music would turn their ugly noses up in disgust anyway). While not being as memorable as most of this LP, Ghost rhymes well on this one, and the beat is quite exciting. Great track.
14. Spot Rusherz
Having listened to Ghost spit a short verse in the previous track, Rae decided he didn't want to be left out on the fun, and contributes something similar here. Rae, being competitive, decides to be less unique than Ghost in favour of spitting another street tale to appeal to the hip-hop heads, and while this is good, I wouldn't recommend it over most of the rest of the album, and the skit at the beginning is overlong. Still a nice song, though.
15. Ice Cream (feat. Ghost Face Killer A/K/A Tony Starks, Method Man A/K/A Johnny Blaze & Cappachino)
16. Wu-Gambinos (feat. Ghost Face Killer A/K/A Tony Starks, Method Man A/K/A Johnny Blaze, The RZA A/K/A Bobby Steels & Master Killa A/K/A Noodles)
The second and final posse cut ("Ice Cream" doesn't count - Meth only did the hook, and there has to be more than four different rappers spitting verses to fit the criteria for a posse cut in my book), and I could argue that this is even better than the previous one, "Guillotine [Swordz]". Production on this track is intense and exciting, and every rapper makes themselves stand out on here. Method Man always delivers on features, but for RZA to drop one of the best verses of his career here was a nice surprise, and the other three MCs compliment the instrumental excellently with boasts-n-bullshit bars. What a bloody track.
17. Heaven & Hell (feat. Ghost Face Killer A/K/A Tony Starks)
Buyers of the vinyl and purple tape will finish their listening experience with "Heaven & Hell", but on the CD, we are gifted with a bonus track. How kind...
18. North Star [Jewels]
I'm surprised Rae missed the opportunity to spell it as "jewelz". Sloppy behaviour. Anyway, this track contains the first appearance of bloody Popa Wu on wax, and while I don't mind his appearance on here, I still think that the shit he spouted on Wu albums needed to be cut the fuck out. Rest In Peace to the man, but still, I'm never a fan of religion being preached through spoken word on albums. I'm just not interested. Anyway, Rae spits a nice-ass story on here, and the production is truly powerful - ODB singing in the background was a nice touch as well. Good stuff, although weirdly tragic sounding for a bonus cut.
While Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... is not as concise as Liquid Swords or as musically diverse as Ironman, it still stands as easily one of the best releases of the 1990s, and one of quite a few undisputed classic albums put out by the Wu camp throughout the decade. This album is unbelievably good - it just feels like I'm listening to a compilation of the greatest Wu-Tang tracks, and Raekwon just happens to appear on most of them. I don't think the album is perfect - firstly, it's a bit long, and seems more bloated than the other Wu-Tang solo debuts, and also, the intro skit was unnecessary, and "Can It Be All So Simple [Remix]" should not have made the cut - it should have been a B-Side to something at most. Other than that, though, there's little else for me to make critical points about. This album is consistently wonderful - the beats are always loud, cinematic and creative, and yet still remain hip-hop influenced through and through, and the rapping is just off the scale good on here. This is an album simply full of some of the best lyricists ever spitting their darts at their absolute primes. Ghostface Killah is quite possibly MVP of this album, as I think he spits classic verses every time on this thing, but Raekwon truly makes this album too with his unmistakable NY swagger and excellent mafioso bars. This album is an instant classic, and easily worth a listen - hell, I would consider buying the bloody purple tape version for £200+, it's that bloody good. Buy this album, stick it in the player, and just take it in - it's one hell of an experience. This is an absolutely incredible album, and deserves all the praise that it gets.
Best Tracks: Knuckleheadz, Criminology, Incarcerated Scarfaces, Rainy Dayz, Guillotine [Swordz], Glaciers Of Ice, Verbal Intercourse, Ice Cream, Wu-Gambinos, Heaven & Hell
Worst Tracks: Ice Water
Read up on more Wu-Tang related stuff here, and my review for the similar album Ironman can be found here.
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