My Gut Reaction: Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...Pt. II (September 8, 2009)

Yep, that's right, it actually came out. Which makes Chef Raekwon an eventual man of his word.

Some thoughts I had while perusing the liner notes of Raekwon's fourth solo album, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...Pt. II:

-Who the fuck designed this shit? And why does every track on the back of the CD case list the producer? I feel like I bought a mixtape from a fucking flea market.

-The quality of paper used for said liner notes only furthers the above feeling.

-The cover art, which is supposed to make one remember the original project's cover, works pretty well, but the pics on the inside are kind of embarrassing. Hopefully Raekwon opted to use all of his budget on securing the two Dr. Dre prescriptions instead of making the liner look good.

-Dr. Dre's two tracks appear to be the ones that the most work was put in to, if one is to believe the sheer amount of credits listed underneath each. No, seriously. Also, they both say "Produced by Dr. Dre" and "Produced by Dr. Dre and Mark Batson". Which one is it?

-Track number seventeen, "Fat Lady Sings" is produced by either The Rza (doubtful) or Icewater Productions (probable). The liner notes list both possibilities. Also, "We Will Rob You" lists two different producers, both of whom I'm sure are supposed to be the same guy.

-I seriously can't believe I'm holding this in my hands right now. I was taking bets as to whether this was really going to hit store shelves in 2009. I have to say, Rae, I'm kind of impressed.

-I also liked the fact that Rae brought back all of the Wu-Gambino names. Good bit of nostalgia there. He even gave new monikers to guests Jadakiss, Styles P., and Beanie Sigel. (And yet, Slick Rick doesn't get one? Maybe his rap name is already close enough.) Too bad Nas Escobar wasn't able to tear himself away from his own divorce proceedings to appear on either Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...Pt. II or The Blueprint 3. Oh well.

-I hope this album does well enough to warrant Ice H2O/EMI releasing Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...Pt. 2.5, featuring the songs that never ended up on any album like "Baggage Handlers" and "Criminology 2", and also, more sound bites from The Killer.

-Busta Rhymes still managed to receive an executive producer credit. Seeing as I believed all of his contributions (save for one song late in the tracklisting) were removed from the final product, this was a shock. The Rza snags a similar credit, as well: here's hoping all of the rest of his contributions to the original version of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...Pt. II are released soon, as are all of the songs the Gza was supposed to appear on (he was originally supposed to be biggest supporting player, alongside Ghostface Killah, but his contributions were, apparently, chopped down to one track).

-Raekwon's final line in his dedications is "All the haters hold this pickle!!!" Which is just fucking hilarious.

Anyway, I've wasted enough of your time. Let's get into this shit.

1. RETURN OF THE NORTH STAR (FEAT POPA WU)
I have to say, giving listeners the impression that this album picks up right where the first Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... left off is pretty brilliant, as it obliterates the sensory memory of the other two albums Raekwon released. Although the original “North Star (Jewels)” was a bonus track only available on compact disc versions of the album, but that's just a minor quibble. I'm sure that, in the past fourteen years (fuck, I feel old), folks have replaced their cassettes with CDs or digital copies.

2. HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS (FEAT INSPECTAH DECK, GHOSTFACE KILLAH, & METHOD MAN)
After the kung-fu sample clears the way, the late J. Dilla's Rza impersonation kicks in, and it is a fucking monster, making this song a contender for song of the year easily. Rae seems to have been inspired by Deck, Ghost, and Meth, as he wakes the fuck up and impresses alongside everybody else. One wishes the Gza actually showed up to recite a twist on his hook from the Wu's early “Clan In Da Front” (unlike the video version, there is no Genius on here, and no intro by The Rza, either). This reminds me of how hyped I was the very first time I heard “Guillotine (Swordz)”, which is the kindred spirit for this track. I cannot stress enough how fucking awesome this song is.

3. SONNY'S MISSING
This is similar to the crime stories that populated the last two Raekwon solo albums (the ones that sucked), but he seems to step his game up on here, possibly because Pete Rock provides an unorthodox (for him, anyway) beat. I choose to believe that Raekwon was cognizant to the fact that hip hop heads will leave his ass in the dust if Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...Pt. II was anything less than a good album. Not as entertaining as some of Ghostface Killah's stories, but still fairly effective.

4. PYREX VISION
This one verse half-thought from Rae (and producer Marley Marl) gets into so much detail, you feel as if you're sitting in the kitchen with the Chef as he sleepwalks through a procedure that he's done an infinite number of times already. The sleepy flow actually makes this song better. This was nice.

5. COLD OUTSIDE (FEAT GHOSTFACE KILLAH & SUGA BANG)
I hated the singing on here (was that really necessary?), and it took too long to get the ball rolling, but other than those complaints, I really didn't care for this track at all. Moving on...

6. BLACK MOZART (FEAT INSPECTAH DECK & THE RZA)
This Rza-produced beat didn't grab me the first time I heard it, so I listened again, and I appreciate it a lot more (it's dramatic as hell), but it's still hardly Prince Rakeem's best work. Also didn't ever need to hear The Rza singing on the hook, as every time he does, it gets more and more frustrating. Rae and Deck fight for their lives (and their respective careers) with fantastic results, though: had both men been rapping like this for the past few years, maybe this little tiff with Joe Budden would be a non-issue.

7. GIHAD (FEAT GHOSTFACE KILLAH)
I'm actually surprised that this track made the album and “Criminology 2” didn't, as they both leaked around the same time (bloggers mistakenly called this track “Necro”, when in reality, it was simply produced by Necro, in what is probably his most high-profile production slot ever). The instrumental is still haunting today (the chanting won't help cure anybody's insomnia), and Raekwon rocks it accordingly. Ghost's verse is fucking hilarious, as he rhymes about sexual encounters as only he can: he's probably the only rapper on Earth that can get incredibly graphic and still have female fans appreciate his attention to detail.

8. NEW WU (FEAT GHOSTFACE KILLAH & METHOD MAN)
Truth be told, I'm kind of over this song. It's still really good (Method Man, especially, sounds fucking great), but Rae's flow on here is lazy, and “House Of Flying Daggers” stole this track's momentum anyway. I would have thought that a song called “New Wu” (or, as it was originally called, “Wu Ooh”, which is a stupid name) would actually feature more than just three members of the Clan, but oh well. The Rza doesn't bring his A-game to Rae on the production tip: maybe his feelings were still hurt from Corey's 8 Diagrams criticisms.

9. PENITENTIARY (FEAT GHOSTFACE KILLAH)
Rae almost lost me with his reference to “lead burgers”, but this was entertaining nonetheless. Rae and Ghost pass the mic back and forth so effortlessly that you're left wondering why they don't always just work together.

10. BAGGIN' CRACK
Allegedly, this subdued Erick Sermon-produced cut is only available on the dirty version of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...Pt. II. I'm not about to go to Wal-Mart to pick up a clean rap album, so who knows how true that fact is. The song is alright, but I'm more impressed at just how blunt the title is: I'd bet the Clipse never thought to just be obvious with their drug talk.

11. SURGICAL GLOVES
This Alchemist-produced track sounds like the same bullshit that Rae has been trying to pass off as “music” since Immobilarity. I know that many bloggers are celebrating this song's existence, but I can't bring myself to do it. I guess it is true: I'm just not an Alchemist stan.

12. BROKEN SAFETY (FEAT JADAKISS & STYLES P.)
Jadakiss says it best over this Scram Jones-produced banger: “Fuck saving hip hop, we're bringing the streets back.” This was actually pretty fucking good (although Styles P threatens to mess everything up), and it's nice to hear Raekwon sound rejuvenated even when he's not around his Wu-Tang brethren.

13. CANAL STREET
I liked the beat, but otherwise, this crime tale bored me to death. They can't all be winners.

14. ASON JONES
Raekwon wasn't satisfied with his verse on the Wu's “Life Changes”, so he crafted another respectful homage to the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. This J. Dilla-produced track actually hits you harder than the Wu's song because Rae includes excerpts from Russell himself. I liked this a lot, but I was left wondering why Ghost didn't lay down some thoughts: he infamously missed his opportunity to contribute to “Life Changes”, so you would have thought he would have made damn sure to be in the studio the day “Ason Jones” was recorded. Unless Raekwon wanted this track all to himself, of course.

15. HAVE MERCY (FEAT BEANIE SIGEL & BLUE RASPBERRY)
I can't say that I expected the Wu to bring Blue Raspberry back into the fold: I figured she had simply moved on. However, “Rainy Dayz” this is not. Beanie Sigel's opening verse is dull, and Raekwon's medication seems to have kicked in at the worst possible time.

16. 10 BRICKS (FEAT CAPPADONNA & GHOSTFACE KILLAH)
J. Dilla's beat is catchy in a monotonous kind of way, but otherwise, this was pretty fucking entertaining. Raekwon and Cappadonna only manage to be decent, but Ghostface saves the day (no surprise here) by ripping the stuffing out of the instrumental, tossing it in the air like a graduation cap, and dancing in the resulting downpour.

17. FAT LADY SINGS
I liked the false start to Rae's story and the way he says “You ain't dead yet?”, but I can't remember anything else about this song.

18. CATALINA (FEAT LYFE JENNINGS)
Dr. Dre's first of two production credits appears on “Catalina”, which starts off with a sample from the English-dubbed version of John Woo's The Killer, a smart move as Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... was almost entirely built around that classic flick. However, unlike other bloggers, I found this track to be bland as hell. The chorus, performed by Lyfe Jennings in an entirely different studio (seriously), was okay, but the beat is meh, and Raekwon doesn't sound especially jazzed to be here. So why exactly was everybody excited when it was first announced that Dre would be working with Rae?

19. WE WILL ROB YOU (FEAT SLICK RICK, GZA/GENIUS, & MASTA KILLA)
I liked this one a lot, although Ricky should have done more than just the intro and the chorus. Allah Justice/Karim's upbeat instrumental helps offset Raekwon's “crime joints”, making this come off as a pseudo-sequel to Ghost's “The Hilton” (a terrific song, by the way). (When you click on Allah Justice's name on Wikipedia, you're redirected to the Gza's page. Karim, or Kareem, is Gza's son. If Gza's kid really produced this track, he did a fucking bang-up job.) The hook should be corny (given the song's title), but Slick Ricky changes it up just enough to make things interesting. Gza and Masta Killa also sound really fucking good, even though Elgin fails to stick with the theme.

20. ABOUT ME (FEAT BUSTA RHYMES)
Raekwon and Busta pair up over the other Dr. Dre prescription, This one sounds a bit better than “Catalina”, if only because Busta deliberately tones down his approach (a fact he cops to during his verse) to such a degree that you're coerced into hanging on to his every word, and let's be honest here, how often does that happen with Busta Rhymes?

21. MEAN STREETS (FEAT INSPECTAH DECK & GHOSTFACE KILLAH)
I liked everything about this one, save for the singing. Allah Mathematics's dramatic theme helps lend credibility to the verses of Rae, Ghost, and the Rebel INS. Ghost's first couple of lines, especially, are even more hilariously graphic than anything he could have said on “Gihad”, so that was interesting.

22. KISS THE RING (FEAT INSPECTAH DECK & MASTA KILLA)
Raekwon ends Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...Pt. II with a celebration of the Wu-Tang Clan's legacy and what they (naturally) assume will be their continued dominance in hip hop. Which of course means that Elton John's “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” is sampled. (At least Sir Elton got himself a writing credit on the song: Gary Numan still hasn't received any credit for “Life Is A Movie”.) Their golden days may be long past them, but with more albums such as this one, they can easily stay afloat in the game, carving their niche for hip hop heads who continue to enjoy the work of the Wu.

THE LAST WORD: So it turns out that Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...Pt. II is not the perfect sequel we've been waiting for. It also doesn't help eradicate the memory of Raekwon's Immobilarity and The Lex Diamonds Story. However, due to a renewed focus by the Chef and his collaborative efforts with everyone in the Wu who matters (read: U-God is nowhere in sight!), this album is still pretty fucking good. I would have liked more production from The Rza, as his musical backing played a vital role on the original Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..., but I've learned not to ask for much in my Wu-Tang releases: that way, I'm pleasantly surprised whenever I buy something like, say, 8 Diagrams, and find almost wall-to-wall Rza production. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...Pt. II is much more enjoyable and entertaining than anybody could have hoped for, given the extremely long lead time, so maybe 2009 really is the year of the Wu renaissance. This is easily Raekwon's best effort since his debut.

-Max

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