The Wu-Tang Clan was at one time, the most dominant, unstoppable force in hip-hop. From their 1993 debut "Enter the Wu-Tang" up until about 1997's "Wu-Tang Forever", all the material they released either as a group or individually, was a success both critically and commercially. After that, releases were hit or miss, spawning a few hit singles and solid albums here and there but not living up to their previous works. The biggest victim of this was Raekwon, who set the bar so high with today's album, his subsequent works faltered. "Immobilarity" and "The Lex Diamond Story" paled in comparison to "OB4CL" and left fans frustrated and wanting more of that classic vibe. Well, 15 years after the original, Rae finally delivered with this year's "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2", possibly the year's best album. But let's take a trip back to '95, as I profile one of the greatest hip-hop albums ever recorded and it's massive, massive impact on the hip-hop industry.
Kool G Rap can be considered the godfather of "mafioso" rap, a style he made popular on albums like "Road to the Riches". He rhymed about selling cocaine, driving fancy cars, wearing diamonds and flashy clothes, living the lifestyle of a mobster basically. Picture "The Godfather" or "Goodfellas" twisted into a hip-hop song and there you go. Hip-hop fans revered him, but his mainstream success with the style was quite minimal. When Raekwon came on the scene with "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx", it shattered everything that rap was at the time.
Enlisting Ghostface Killah as his co-star, Rae created a cohesive concept album about the rise of his character Lex Diamonds and Ghost's Tony Starks. With production exclusively by The RZA, the album flowed seamlessly from the intro to the ending. This album was indeed RZA's best work, hands down. That is saying something considering the prolific and fruitful career he has had. Featuring beats heavy on strings and piano, it felt like you were in the middle of a gangster flick as Rae and Ghost expertly weaved tales of cocaine, robberies, glamorous living and the like with vivid imagery and pinache.
This album set the stage for many to follow. Take a look at some of the albums directly influenced by this master work: Nas' "It Was Written", which was a complete 180 from "illmatic"; Jay-Z's "Reasonable Doubt"; Notorious BIG's "Life After Death", which showed Biggie graduating for a street-corner hustler to the kingpin, Frank White; "The Firm" self-titled album and AZ's "Doe or Die" which basically should send Rae royalty checks. Raekwon pioneered the whole style and imagery that these great rappers took and ran with. Nobody was rapping about Cristal or being a kingpin or selling mass amounts of cocaine before Raekwon did it. Now, and even then, everyone wanted to rep that image and be a boss. From these early stages to now, you can still see the blueprints that Rae laid out, and that in itself is amazing.
This album also marked the high point of Wu-Tang's distinctive slang. Mixing terms from 5 Percent teachings and Supreme Alphabet and Mathematics with everyday street lingo, Rae spoke in a language almost all his own that listeners would need a keen ear to decipher. The wordplay and lyricism was impeccable and once again, it was unlike ANYTHING else at the time. Pure, uncut originality. Each member of the Wu that was featured on the album also took on nicknames, nicknames that would stick for the remainder of their careers, for instance: Method Man was "Johnny Blaze", U-God "Golden Arms", Cappadonna "Cappachino" and the aformentioned "Lex Diamonds" for Raekwon and "Tony Starks" for Ghostface. Nas even was given his famous moniker of "Nas Escobar" on this album. After this album, everyone had a nickname. Biggie was "Frank White", AZ became "AZ Sosa", 2Pac was "Makaveli" and the Outlaws also copped the style. Everyone wanted to be a mobster after this album came out. And everyone needs to know who originated it: Raekwon.
Mindblowing. That's not even the tip of the iceberg. The hard-hitting "Criminology", the crossover appeal of "Ice Cream" and the emotional "Heaven and Hell" are all standout tracks. You also have what is considered one of the best lyrical showcases of all time on the Nas features "Verbal Intercourse". This song was the birthplace of the "Nas Escobar" persona, so pay attention. But as they say on Reading Rainbow, don't take my word for it, check it out:
This album also featured the classic "Shark N***as" skit, which put imitators, or "biters" on blast. This skit reverberated through the industry, since many realized Raekwon was targeting Biggie with this skit for his belief that he was imitating Nas. It caused much controversy but also made "biting" one of the biggest no-no's in hip-hop from that point forward. The skits and spoken word portions of this album are just as influential as the music itself was. Peep the song "Glaciers of Ice" where at the beginning Ghost discusses his crazy vision of custom Wallabee shoes (which also exploded in popularity thanks to Rae and Ghost):
I could go on all day about how awesome and influential this album was and is, but you get the point. Raekwon changed the game with this release, and have everyone following his lead. Landmark releases from the best rappers of all time would not have happened if Rae didn't do it first, take the risk and be successful. I really wanted to rank this album #1, as there is not a single flaw to be had and it's influence is just ridiculous. No other album has affected the world of hip-hop quite like this one did. However, tomorrow you will get a full explaination of why the actual #1 is the best hip-hop album of the past 15 years.
Do yourself a favor and go buy, download or steal Raekwon's "Only Builty 4 Cuban Linx" if you don't already have it. It is the ultimate. The end.
ACCOLADES: 4.5 mics from The Source; 5 stars from Rolling Stone; 5 stars from allmusic.com; #1 Hip-Hop Album from 95-2005 by Hip-Hop Connection; one of Rolling Stone's Essential Recordings of the '90's
KEY TRACKS: all
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