![]() That was the goal, to describe what Ive been around, what Ive lived through, and basically the vision that I had captured. It was me really bringing my life story to the table, just letting the world know Im coming from a reality perspective. Its different when you make an album and youre just having fun making it, youre making dance music, youre doing all different types of things But for me, I knew that I wasnt going to be the dancey-music type of guy, you know ( Laughs.) Even though I grew up on that type of hip-hop, and I love that type of hip-hop. You get nervous for a little bit, but that comes with the territory.įor the most part I was nervous because I really wanted people to understand me. Was there a degree of pressure to equal them How nervous were you going into those sessions. So its a moment that will always be with me because it was a time when I really wanted to impress the masses, and to see the album still have life 25 years later is a blessing. I think this album has been a trailblazer for a lot of peoples careers, a lot of peoples fashion, a lot of peoples style in the game. That time was just about me being able to do a solo record that would allow me to be one of the elites in the game, so it definitely brings back good memories. Most importantly, the albums use of language took the Wus already opaque signature slang and elevated it into the sort of endlessly self-referential, cabalistic argot that fans could spend years trying to fully decipher.Ĭuban Linxs overall narrative might not have always been clear-cut, but its details were as rich as any of the cinematic landmarks that had inspired it, offering an entrancingly strange, cracked-kaleidoscope snapshot of the New York underworld. Take Mike Lavogna, the fictional kingpin figure whom Raekwon brings so vividly to life in a single verse, right down to the name of his pet fish, only to dismiss his eventual death with a curt, His ass is out now, tallyho.) The between-song dialogue might see Rae and Ghost describing a shootout, or talking about the weather, or devising DIY color schemes for their shoes. There were intricate webs of Cosa Nostra-inspired aliases and a whole network of sharply-sketched minor characters. Instead, he envisioned Cuban Linx as a dense, cinematic concept album, inspired by films like Sergio Leones Once Upon a Time in America and John Woos The Killer, that would follow two drug dealers who resolve to pull off one last big score before going straight. The first two out of the gate, Method Man and Ol Dirty Bastard, each notched hit crossover singles with their respective debuts, but Raekwons Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, released 25 years ago this week, was something else entirely.īut for his first solo outing, Raekwon had higher ambitions than simply out-rapping his regional peers. It helped that these werent solo albums in the typical sense of the term: Though each member of the Clan had been given the freedom to sign their own separate label deals outside the contractual confines of the Wu, all of their early solo records featured plentiful guest spots from the rest of the group, and every album was produced almost entirely by Wu-Tang founder the RZA, then in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime creative spree. Though the tag-team posse cuts like Protect Ya Neck and Da Mystery of Chessboxin established Wu-Tang in the public imagination, it was only when the individual members got a chance to strike out on their own that the collectives uncommon diversity of talent really came to the fore. So I never really compared it to Def Jam, because they were more the Mercedes-Benz of the industry, and Loud was more like the Audi.īy the time the groups second release, the mammoth double album Wu-Tang Forever, arrived in 1997, the Staten Island nine-piece was arguably the hottest commodity in hip-hop: The album went quadruple platinum in a matter of months, and the following years saw the Wu expand into everything from apparel and film to video games and book publishing.īut the groups real watershed year came in 1995, when solo albums from members Raekwon, Ol Dirty Bastard and the GZA established just how vast the Shaolin Extended Universe really was. For assistance, contact your corporate administrator. He also appeared in the new Hulu docuseries about the Wu-Tang Clan, Wu-Tang: An American Saga. ![]() ![]() Popa Wu helmed two releases of his own as well, the 2000 compilation Visions of the 10th Chamber, and its 2008 follow-up, Visions of the 10th Chamber Part II. Cant believe youre gone wrote Raekwon, while Method Man shared a picture of himself and Popa Wu with the caption, No words Ghostface Killah also posted a photo of himself with Popa Wu and wrote, Rest in paradise my brother. ![]()
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