Cuban Linx Revisited
Interview with Raekwon
by David Ma
Originally published on www.NERDTORIOUS.com
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… surpassed all expectations in 1995. Wu-Tang was hurling towards greatness and Raekwon, the MC with most time on Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), was up next. Hopes were high, and yet, Cuban Linx went platnium, embraced by fans and becoming a critical triumph. The New York Times named it one of the best albums of the ‘95; Rolling Stone included it in their list of “Essential Recordings of the ’90s.” XXL’s 2005 feature, “The Making of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx,” furthered its status, giving longtime fans an in-depth look at its making process.
This year, Cuban Linx marks its fourteenth anniversary with a long-talked about sequel, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…Pt. II. Rae’s legacy still rests largely on part one, which is something he knows and was very aware of when we spoke. “Motherfuckers love that shit. I know! That’s my rep right there,” he insisted, before adding: “That’s why I wanted to add more life to the original story and give fans what they’ve been asking for. We continued the new one exactly as if it was a movie sequel.” The addition of Dr. Dre and Marley Marl on the sequel adds clout, but it likely changes the overall feel of the original—as does guest spots by Busta Rhymes and Bun B. But Rae disagreed, explaining: “We kept the same vibe. I ain’t stupid. I went back and made sure that shit was compatible. RZA sat for hours and guided everyone through exactly what we needed. Trust me, this is what fans of the first one have been waiting for.”
Ahead of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…Pt. II, I spoke at length with Rae about the original Cuban Linx, hearing backstories and breaking down certain tracks individually. Could Cuban Linx ever have a fitting bookend? Here’s what the Chef had to say before the coming of part two.
When was the last time you sat down and heard Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… all the way through?
I probably heard it again around three months ago. It had been a while before that though.
What did you think of it fourteen years later?
It brought me back to a different time. It was when we straight didn’t give a fuck about what people thought. I was just trying to be a good MC. RZA was just trying to be a good producer. This was before all the money kicked in. I was thinking about me standing on my block and me trying to get off that motherfucker. I was formulating about feeding my family the best way I knew how. At that time, I would just be earning money the negative way, you know? So it was about making people all over the world respect the Wu and what we were doing.
Some say Cuban Linx revived “Mafioso rap,” which New York got down with again in the mid- to late ’90s. You think that’s true?
Well, I don’t look at it so much as Mafioso rap—that’s a term other niggas be calling it. I look at it as drug dealing, gangsta shit. I grew up in the street, so I talked about the shit I knew and saw. We did the hustlin’ thing, we did the crime thing; we did all the things that made us feel like mobsters or Mafiosos in some way. But, personally, if you ask me, I’d say Cuban Linx is more of a gangsta epic.
Looking back at the releases that followed, you think it influenced people like Jay-Z?
Of course. I think Jay was a student of our shit and what we accomplished in those days. He’ll tell you that himself. Ask him that the next time you interview Jay, and he’ll tell you. But, really, I was just trying to make something worth purchasing and worth respecting. So whether it influenced this rapper or that rapper doesn’t really fucking matter.
Okay, so if Cuban Linx is a movie, then RZA was the director and you were the star. By that standard, is it fair to say that Ghostface was the co-star?
Hell yeah. I like how you said that. Yeah, man, everything was on purpose. We wanted people to see me and think of Ghost, or see Ghost and think of me. Ghost and me, especially at the time, had this identical-twin effect on each other. We would joke about the same things and laugh at the same shit. We were into the same clothes and shit. We were like the EPMD of the crew [laughs].
At that time, my buzz was still coming up because of my verse on “C.R.E.A.M.” I mean, I had the most time on 36 Chambers, so fans and other niggas was looking at me like, “Yo, what you doing next?” Along the same vibe, Ghost was coming up too. So Ghost came on the record with me because we were close and because it was a team mentality then.
Did others in the crew ever hear those beats and want them for their own projects?
RZA’s house was more or less like a candy store. You come in and have all kinds of shit to choose from. I would take stuff that I felt would suit my album correctly; others would take their own beats too. The beats were like a grab bag. If I came in and heard a beat that someone already claimed, then I just had to fall back. We almost never fought over beats or nothing. I’d tell RZA if I liked a certain beat, and he’d see if it would fit me or not. It wasn’t a nigga just threw us a basket full of beats.
So do you think Cuban Linx is your best work?
Definitely my best so far. Let me tell you something: we’re lyrical cats. When I did my thing on Cuban Linx, I was just an MC. Now, as you get older, you realize rapping is a job. It’s like you’re a boxer who trains for months; each album is another fight, and each fight makes you better. I feel like my rhymes are glowing right now. We use our imaginations when we put words to paper, and I feel like I’ve rose, like, fifty more notches since then. I feel like I’m one of these dudes who get better the longer I stay in the game. You’ll see on the new one.
Where do you think Cuban Linx ranks among other great rap albums of the ’90s?
It has to be in the top two. I would never say its number one, because I liked a lot of albums from the ’90s. But you never heard niggas rhyme as hard as we did over beats like that before. Like, sometimes you hear a beat and you’re like, “This shit’s nice.” But sometimes you hear a beat and be like, “Where the fuck you get that from?!” So having those beats and those rhymes on the same plate was mad powerful. I wouldn’t say Cuban Linx is number one, because it’s too cocky. So I’ll say top two and that way I’m in at least one of those motherfuckers. [laughs]
Let’s go through some songs off the album. Talk about “Striving for Perfection” and what you wanted it to convey as an intro.
I like that you brought this up and let me speak on it. That joint right there, that ain’t even a song, but it has a lot of feeling in it. Basically, it was like I was talking to an older brother in the hood who saw I had potential. We’d talk about trials and tribulations, what’s important, and how to achieve perfection. I was striving for it, and that’s what it was. That intro is like a flashback of me as a kid—a kid who would one day grow up to be this great MC.
