Only Built 4 Cuban Linx
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Template:Album infobox Only Built 4 Cuban Linx is an influential East Coast rap album by rapper Raekwon, released in 1995.
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Overview
A member of the The Wu-Tang Clan, Raekwon released Only Built 4 Cuban Linx (originally to be titled Only Built 4 Cuban Link Niggaz) as his first solo album. As with most Wu-Tang solo records, however, a lot of collaboration was involved, in this case with RZA and Ghostface Killah. Throughout the album, Raekwon recasts the Wu-Tang Clan as an Italian mafioso family dubbed the "Wu-Gambinos", while rechristening himself as "Lex Diamond" in the process. In terms of production, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx marked a major stylistic change that saw RZA move away from the raw, minimalist, stripped-down beats of the early Wu-Tang albums, towards a richer, cinematic sound more reliant on strings and classic soul samples. The album also featured Queensbridge-based rapper, Nas, on the song "Verbal Intercourse" —becoming the first non-Wu-Tang artist to appear on the group's solo albums.
Critical Recognition
Deviating from past Wu-Tang efforts and heralding a narrative-driven concept that redefined the Gangsta Rap genre, Raekwon's solo album is widely considered to be one of the greatest albums of hip hop in the 1990s. In fact, it was one of the sixteen hip hop albums to be included in Pitchfork Media's Best Albums Of The 90s Redux list, and was listed as one of thirty-three hip hop/R&B albums in Rolling Stone's Essential Recordings Of The 90s list. In addition, Stylus Magazine called it one of the greatest hip hop albums ever [1], Allhiphop.com calls it "incredible" [2] and fellow rapper Busta Rhymes regards it as "one of the best albums ever" [3]), and it is still remembered by many fans as perhaps the greatest Wu-Tang solo LP thus far (the All Music Guide calls it "a serious contender" for that title).
Influence
Filled with samples from crime thrillers and mob dramas, many from the English-dubbed version of the Hong Kong action movie The Killer, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx had an enormous influence on the burgeoning East Coast hardcore rap scene, cultivating the Mafioso rap phenomenon of the mid-1990s. Raekwon's hypervisual narratives, chronicling the crime underworld of drug trafficking and the luxurious pleasures of the high-end illegal business, led many to draw comparisons with Kool G Rap (considered as the progenitor of Mafioso rap). Since then, the album is widely regarded as the quintessential hip-hop recording of the 1990s, spawning a myriad of imitators and influencing several prominent hip-hop artists such as Nas (who subsequently adopted the Wu-Gambino inspired alias, "Escobar") and The Notorious B.I.G. (who made the transition from "thug" to "kingpin" between his debut and sophomore releases)[4]. Furthermore, the album had a profound impact on contemporary hip hop culture, initiating slang terms such as "politic" and "butter-pecan Rican" into the Urban African-American slang[5].
Adam Heimlich of CDNow describes the impact and artistry of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx: "For several years afterward you couldn't find a rap thug who wasn't 'politicking', slinging cut-up gangland narratives like a ghetto John Woo or Martin Scorsese, doling out guest appearances to his crew like loot from a job, and striving all the while to keep it as raw yet richly detailed as Rae did...Raekwon's storytelling evokes senses of rapid motion, kamikaze faith, loyalty, and focus in the midst of high-stakes tumult that, together, convey more about his mindstate than any straight autobiography could have. RZA wanted Cuban Linx's music to transport listeners into Rae's transcendent point of view, and he succeeded so spectacularly that thousands of rap fans --the ones who don't look to hip-hop for an out-of-body experience -- will never fully comprehend all the undying fuss about this album".
Track listing
- "Striving for Perfection" (Diggs/Woods) (1:43)
- "Knuckleheadz" (Diggs/Woods) (4:05)
- "Knowledge God" (Diggs/Woods) (4:27)
- "Criminology" (Adams/Bascombe/Burgess/Coles/Diggs/Patterson/Woods) (3:49)
- "Incarcerated Scarfaces" (Diggs/Raekwon) (4:30)
- "Rainy Dayz" (Diggs/Woods) (5:17)
- "Guillotine (Swordz)" (Diggs/Woods) (4:21)
- "Can It Be All So Simple (Remix)" (Wu Tang Clan) (4:10)
- "Shark Niggas (Biters)" (Diggs/Woods) (1:39)
- "Ice Water" (Diggs/Woods) (4:02)
- "Glaciers of Ice" (Coles/Diggs/Turner/Woods) (4:54)
- "Verbal Intercourse" (Diggs/Woods/Jones) (4:07)
- "Wisdom Body" (Diggs/Woods) (2:34)
- "Spot Rusherz" (Diggs/Woods) (3:51)
- "Ice Cream" (Diggs/Woods) (4:16)
- "Wu-Gambinos" performed by Raekwon / Method Man (5:09)
- "Heaven and Hell" (Diggs/Woods) (4:57)
- "North Star (Jewels)" (Diggs/Woods) (4:00)
Personnel
- Raekwon - Vocals
- Ghostface Killah - Vocals
- RZA - Arranger, Producer, Engineer, Mixing
- Robert Diggs - Executive Producer
- Mitchell Diggs - Executive Producer
- Oli Grant - Executive Producer
Chart positions
Billboard Music Charts (North America) - album
1995 The Billboard 200 No. 4 1995 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums No. 2
Billboard (North America) - singles
1994 Heaven Hot Rap Singles No. 32 1994 Heaven Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales No. 34 1995 Glaciers Of Ice The Billboard Hot 100 No. 43 1995 Incarcerated Scarfaces The Billboard Hot 100 No. 37 1995 Glaciers Of Ice Hot Rap Singles No. 5 1995 Incarcerated Scarfaces Hot Rap Singles No. 5 1995 Heaven & Hell Hot Rap Singles No. 21 1995 Criminology Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks No. 32 1995 Incarcerated Scarfaces Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks No. 37 1995 Glaciers Of Ice Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales No. 2Template:Hiphop-album-stub