The Twelve Days of Wu-Mas 2024 - Day #6

1995 was a foundational year for RZA and his building of the Wu-Tang empire. No less than three solo projects were released underneath his purview that year, each one seemingly taking place in entirely different galaxies (or "chambers", to use the group's parlance) even though there was obvious crossover in between each project - since the Wu-Tang Clan were still relatively new to the hip hop game at the time, the individual members supported each other's projects fully, trusting their leader's vision while making musical history in real time.

While Ol' Dirty Bastard's general vibe demanded the bizarre funk-bap he received, Corey "Raekwon" Woods was an altogether different story. Raekwon, also affectionately known as the "Chef", was a Brownsville-born street hustler who relocated to Staten Island at a young age, thereby putting him within proximity of the other members of what would eventually become the Wu-Tang Clan, if not exactly on the friendliest of terms at first. Rae's gruff, no nonsense flow barked boasts-n-bullshit at the listener like orders from a commanding officer, but his true calling was his street-centric storytelling, his bars laying out hyper-specific details surrounding the criminal underbelly existing just beneath polite society. Not for nothing was his debut solo album, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (originally titled Only Built 4 Cuban Linx N----s, the final word smartly dropped in a brazen effort to appeal to a slightly larger audience), also the debut of the Wu-Gambinos, which was basically just Mafioso alter-egos for each member of the group (and also guest artist Nas, whose alias had already been introduced on Mobb Deep's The Infamous earlier that year, but whatever), inadvertently jump-starting, or at the very least accelerating, the East Coast's obsession with organized crime, a fad that only lasted for a couple of years, thankfully.

While Method Man and Ol' Dirty Bastard had managed to secure label deals outside of Loud Records, which was where the group contractually resided, Raekwon opted to stick with the home team for the beginning of his solo career, a brilliant move considering how his music, at least at first, wasn't exactly seen as "mainstream" or having "crossover appeal", although he eventually sold over one million copies anyway. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... was marketed as a Raekwon solo concept album, a "audio film" of sorts about a criminal seeking out one last score, but its own album cover betrays the fact that it's a twofer, as it features fellow Clan member Dennis "Ghostface Killah" Coles in a supporting role. This translates to Ghost appearing on twelve of the album's songs, and I'm not even counting skits in this instance. This tactic sounded counterintuitive at the time - how in the world were we expected to get an idea of what Raekwon was about if we're constantly distracted by a different rapper at all times - but RZA, who produced the entirety of the project in his basement studio, was quickly proven to be a genius in this regard, as Rae and Ghost would become a lyrical tag team of epic proportions, complementing each other's styles so perfectly that whenever either of them releases a new project today, the first thing most heads look for is a guest feature from the other. Raekwon's debut was also the first Wu-Tang solo effort to feature every member of the group in some fashion, and even introduced Popa Wu (R.I.P.), vocalist Blue Raspberry, and eventual group member Cappadonna into the group's canon.

Today, let's talk a little more about the classic album (I said it, I won't be taking it back) Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...

RZA's Five-Year Plan #4: Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (August 1, 1995)

Link to original write-up

Link to a Reader Review (written by Leo)

Link to an extended write-up of my favorite song from the album, "Rainy Dayz"

-Max