… There was ample opportunity for a lateral move. Who finished on top? I bought this album on the same day I bought Jay-Z, and it was like a saturday family day. That said, in 1995, Raekwon had no problem talking about what Ghost meant to him. JHenny614. A lot of the people utilizing the Mafia rap style nowadays act like being a big time criminal is nothing but fun and games, neglecting to ever mention the downside of the lifestyle. So to tell stories like the ones that Raekwon and Ghostface Killah tell on Only Built for Cuban Linx, you needed to disguise the narrative. All hotly (strangely this descriptor seems almost an understatement) anticipated albums should deliver so profoundly. But the record could be all those things, could be influential, without being widely listened to today. Because the prophets weren’t available to interpret their scriptures, the members of early online forums devoted hours to hashing out the record’s Talmudic qualities, and in doing so, spread the Wu gospel. As the title tells you, it’s the Clan spitting some hard-edged Mafioso shit. Working almost like a glorified mixtape, many of the tracks bleed together or start mid-scene with field recordings of corner action. During the intro, appropriately titled “Striving 4 Perfection”, Rae proclaims “I’m not trying to just be sitting on, motherfuckin, $200 grand, and acting like I’m gonna be a drug dealer all my life; I got bigger and better plans… Let’s keep moving ahead, man, keep our head up, man, take care of our families.”. That said, there's one crucial difference between the two Cuban Linx records that could've tripped this album up: The switch from an all-RZA palette of beats to an all-star roster of production names. NOTE: CHECK OUT MY NEWER & BETTER REVIEWZ HERE, THIS REVIEW IS OLD Good to see a review on this. Deducted one point for the 14-year wait, other than that it's flawless. There are sterling features from the Wu-Tang underclass, Cappadonna on “Ice Water”; U-God on “Knuckleheadz.” And Cuban Linx features the first cameo from a rapper outside of Wu Corp. on “Verbal Intercourse.” Nas shows up, in his prime, holding forth with the roving camera eye that was already familiar from his 1994 debut Illmatic, the one New York album that consistently outranks Cuban Linx on the list of all-time great rap records. Suddenly the mink-wearing, Cristal-sipping, Benz-driving drug dealer image was the “in” thing; evicting the 40 drinking, low-rider driving, “rebel without a cause” gangsta from the throne he had held since 1992 nearly overnight. And while Ghost was his equal in terms of pure ability, he was more liable to just bulldoze through everything, letting his intuition, aggression and unmatchable sense of humor guide his bars. Along with Jay-Z’s “Reasonable Doubt” which dropped the same year, “Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…” revolutionized the hip hop scene. So while some people might read this album's title as a gimmicky hook to lure in bring-NYC-back nostalgists, it actually acts more as a reassuring seal of quality from an MC who some people think lost his way the moment he released Immobilarity without a single RZA beat. Love your niggas that you rollin’ with. Ice Cream For RZA, the concept of Cuban Linx was business-oriented as was so much else with the Wu-Tang: the order that solo records would be released, who would appear on each song, and countless other decisions were made with the bottom line in mind. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBcpkPSnCRI #HappyHalloween2020 @StarmanNJ @FlyinBrianJ @PrincessTekki @Pixel66 @ACR_Collection @R8edR_ @SirKrunch, He's the (samurai) ghost with the most, babe. "House of Flying Daggers", "Ason Jones", and "10 Bricks" benefit from a trip to the Dilla vaults that brought back three of his most RZA-esque beats. It’s a code, a puzzle, and a bible. Must have for any old school rap fan. Critic Reviews Share On. You don’t need to have taken a course in masculinity studies to acknowledge that American men have been socialized to avoid overt displays of emotionality. Cuban Linx makes explicit use of that pain on songs like “Rainy Dayz,” on which an agitated Ghost spells out his troubles, fuming after he’s just been robbed. “They kinda hooked up and seen that similarity in them, and that’s how it went down,” he told XXL. His lyrics are precise and diffuse, digressive and focused, thematically consistent but constantly roving. In 1995, hardcore hip hop was dominated by two factions: the gangstas of the West coast, and the gritty thugs that came out of the East. I'll listen to this tonight or tommorow. Rapping for him was about escaping the life he had lived, exchanging criminality for criminology, and poverty for a full belly and a flute of Cristal. / Me and the RZA connect, blow a fuse / You lose, half ass crews get demolished and bruised.” This is followed by the cinematic classic “Rainy Dayz” with Ghostface speaking of the difficulties of making it in life, be it through the rap game or other methods. I only remember Incarcerated Scarface which is one of my favorite songs. Year 2009 in Review (by Emanuel Wallace) Emanuel Wallace December 29, 2009. Related Posts . (In 1996, a Harvard Business School professor, James Cash, said the Wu were at “the head of the class in terms of strategy development.”) The album was to be designed for a specific demographic, the street guys, who the Clan had never addressed quite so directly. This man—portrayed lovingly, wistfully, and in full—is already dead. 5. "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...Part 2" is another classic (albeit with a more polished, '09 feel). Easily one of the best albums this year. Tweet. Today we explore Raekwon’s game-changing 1995 debut Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. 4. Raekwon and Ghostface Killah, with more than a little help from the RZA, created one with “Cuban Linx.” Rae’s ability to write deep, meaningful, flat out NICE lyrics and then deliver them with impeccable flow and an ill voice paired with Ghostface Killah’s passionate delivery of complex lyrics and his very distinct voice makes them a perfect duo of MC’s. Great, great hip hop. As Rae put it to Mao: “People seen that we came in with nothin’ and left with something…If you one of them niggas that’s just all about money, there gotta be love first. 3. 8. While the results point to a clear winner, you can listen to songs from the top 50 albums to help you find your own favorites. While many of Rae’s verses are relatively stoic (see “Incarcerated Scarfaces”), Starks brings an unparalleled energy: On “Criminology,” he talks about being “trapped by sounds/Locked behind loops,” and his verses often feel like he’s giving his all to just get the hell out of the booth, out of the basement. Raekwon was capable of living within those intricacies, angling his words to fit pockets created by the instrumental churn. The hit of the album though is “Ice Cream” featuring Ghost, Meth, RZA, and Cappadonna (then known as Cappachino). Instant Classic. Incarcerated Scarfaces New reviews of Yung Gravy, Cypress Hill, Lil Loaded, NY Reality Check 101 plus a feature on M.O.P.! All the gangsterisms, everything that made the album so palatable to many fans, those violent elements color the story. This is definitely going to get another spin sometime in the near future. Fundamentally, though, the album is a wistful and occasionally melancholic one that is as consistently captivating in its lyrical content as it is wonderfully dark and eerily melodic in its composition and production. It's unbelievable how amazing this is. “They didn't know each other as well as they knew me—it was my concept.”. These 4 albums are must gets for your Wu Tang and rap collection. The only non-Wu member who shows up to drop a verse is Nas on “Verbal Intercourse.” This verse is lauded as one of the greatest ever, and with good reason. Raekwon :: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... 10 Classic. 04 * Mix – Cheapshot, Ghostface Killah and Trife Da God :: Put it on the Line, RapReviews.com #BlackLivesMatter Retweeted. Illmatic’s verses are far more straightforward, which makes them more accessible. Shark Niggas (Biters) Universal acclaim It was also before Twitter, where Rae could just solve the record’s decade-long riddles. The plot needed to be cryptic and bloody. #hiphop http://www.rapreviews.com/ @grantjones86 @ryan_feyre @SammyEngele @shack_house83 @MannyWallace @WoodyBlack @AdamsWorldBlog @foodieinheels @JesalTV, Various Artists :: Dub Session Vol. His slang was borrowed equally from Staten Island and the Five Percenter movement, which branched off from the Nation of Islam in the 1960s and which Raekwon associated with when he was still a kid. One of the albums that we were waiting for too much, but it certainly paid-off. We'll get more in depth on that shortly, but with the two most important questions surrounding this album finally answered after four years of anticipation, that leaves a third one: why a sequel? One of the albums that we were waiting for too much, but it certainly paid-off. Pitchfork is the most trusted voice in music. It isn’t the official end though as the CD bonus track “North Star” follows. II demands worship and solidifies Raekwon as one of history's best with a continuation that exceeds his original debut in every way imaginable. But when they told the crowd that they’d be performing all of Rae’s 1995 album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, I don’t think they got the response they wanted. I just listened to this front to back for the first time. But it's the guest spots that make the album widescreen, particularly with the involvement of every remaining Wu-Tang member (except for U-God, possibly as a canonical continuation of his being "killed off" on the first Cuban Linx).