Raekwon ‘Only Built 4 Cuban Linx’ 20th Anniversary
This weekend (1st August 2015) marked the 20th Anniversary of the release of Raekwon’s solo debut ‘Only Built for Cuban Linx’. The album, billed as featuring Ghostface Killah (pictured alongside Raekwon on the cover), precedes Ghostface’s solo debut ‘Ironman’ by more than a year. As was typical of the first ‘round’ of Wu-Tang solo LPs, the album in fact features guest appearances from all of the clan’s prominent members, although Ghostface features most heavily. Links to the Wu-Tang’s 1993 debut ‘36 Chambers do not end with the album’s personnel, a remixed version of the clan’s ‘Can It All Be So Simple’ being one of Cuban Linx’s more memorable cuts.
The album comes in at #1 in Ego Trip’s Top 25 Rap Albums of 1995. Singles from the album ‘Incarcerated Scarfaces’ and ‘Criminology’ come in at #10 and #21 respectively in Ego Trip’s Top 40 Rap Singles of 1995.
Stream the full album on Youtube here.
[Purchase physical copies / check release details on Discogs here]