More often than not, rap careers go the way of athletic careers once an artist hits 40. What is (currently) impressive about Raekwon is the way he has bucked this trend. He sounds as formidable as ever on his new album The Wild. At 47, he is the rap game Julio Franco.
This article traces his dominance in the mid-'90s, from his appearances on Wu-Tang's seminal album Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) to his solo album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... to his dozens of collaborations, in particular those with Ghostface killah. Click through the gallery to listen.
Wu-Tang Clan - "C.R.E.A.M." (1993)
Raekwon's "I grew up on the crime side, the New York Times side" isn't even the most iconic line on "C.R.E.A.M.," but it's still one of the most iconic Wu-Tang lines ever. In a 2011 interview with Complex, Raekwon spoke on how the song takes him back to his younger days in Staten Island's Park Hill projects:
“‘C.R.E.A.M.’ did a lot for my career personally. It gave me an opportunity to revisit the times where that cream meant that much to us. So, yeah, when I think of this record it just automatically puts me back into ‘87/’88 where we were standing in front of the building. It’s cold outside. We didn’t care. We’re out there, all black on trying to make dollars. Just trying to make some money and trying to eat. Survive."
Wu-Tang Clan - "Can It All Be So Simple" (1993)
On "Can It All Be So Simple," which featured one of the earliest instances of Raekwon and Ghostface's otherworldly chemistry, Raekwon promises to subject his foe to a fate worse than death: "I'm not playing, get his folks, Desert Eagle his dick and put him in a yoke."
"Heaven & Hell" feat. Ghostface Killah (1994)
While most Raekwon songs feature his dialed-up, aggressive side, the slower tempo of "Heaven & Hell" allows him to sit back on his haunches a bit more and literally trade bars with Ghostface. The track originally appeared on the soundtrack of the 1994 hood gangster film Fresh, which starred Samuel L. Jackson as an alcoholic chess genius.
Raekwon on the making of "Eye For an Eye," as told by Vulture:
“This was the early stage of my career. I happen to have a good relationship with these guys, Mobb Deep. At that time, there was a Queens and Shaolin thing going on. Nas was my good friend as well, and we was chilling one night. You know, we always at the peak of our careers when we was making moves. And we got together and made that record, you know, we already knew it was a stylish song. Everybody came with what they came with — which was the heat. And my thing was that record was just so special because I wrote it on the spot with them. It didn’t take me that long to write it, maybe 35 minutes, because I was already in tune with everybody else [and] what they were doing. The energy was in the room.”
"Glaciers of Ice" feat. Ghostface Killah, Masta Killa, 60 Second Assassin, and Blue Raspberry (1995)
One of first songs created on Raekwon's landmark debut album Only BUilt 4 Cuban Linx..., "Glaciers Of Ice" contains a glittery beat (by RZA's standards) that neatly mirrors the piles of diamonds that Raekwon and his Wu-Tang brethren speak on.
"Rainy Dayz" feat. Ghostface Killah & Blue Rasberry (1995)
In a 2010 interview with XXL, Raekwon revealed that he wrote a portion of Cuban Linx in Barbados: "We wrote ["Rainy Dayz"] by the water. Had that good villa right off the ocean and shit. Three, four in the morning. Wind is blowing, curtains is blowing, and we just really got a chance to put it down."
"Incarcerated Scarfaces" (1995)
Despite being B-side of "Ice Cream," (Raekwon's highest-charting single ever) "Incarcerated Scarfaces" is an all-time great Raekwon track, and it was also the highlight of Raekwon and Ghostface's transcendentally good Coachella 2015 set. Guess who's the black Trump!
Ghostface Killah - "Daytona 500" feat. The Force MDs, Raekwon, & Cappadonna (1996)
The Staten Island-bred Force MDs are an R&B contemporary of the Wu-Tang (MD stands for "melodies). Raekwon explained the drug-fueled creation of "Daytona 500" to Complex:
”Me and Ghost invited them to come do a track with us. So they were just chillin’ with us getting drunk, high, buggin’ out. They heard the beat, and were like, ‘Damn, y'all niggas want us on this shit?’ We were like, ‘Yeah, this one.’ So, it was an all-nighter. They were goin’ in there trying shit and we were like, ‘Again. Nah, yeah, nah, yeah.’
“You know Ghost came in, and this was back then when Ghost used to get high, so we were geekin’, high. We're drunk, buggin’ out. He may have been smoking some dust before he came in, but he got it under control. You know, this is back in his wild crazy days."
Ghostface Killah - "The Faster Blade" feat. Raekwon (1996)
Ghostface appeared on 13 of 17 songs on Cuban Linx, so it was only right that Raekwon appear on 12 of 16 songs on Ironman. Ghostface didn't even appear on "The Faster Blade," ceding the entire track to his "identical twin." "The Faster Blade" is considered to be Raekwon's best verse on Ironman, along with "Daytona 500" and "Iron Maiden."
Outkast - "Skew It On The Bar-B" feat. Raekwon (1998)
Hip hop was still fiercely regional in 1998, and the blend of NYC and ATL styles on "Skew It On The Bar-B" was something of a revelation. It all began when Raekwon ran into Big Boi in an Atlanta mall.
”That shit blew me the fuck up in the South," he told Complex. "When I tell you everywhere I go, clubs, everybody? Everybody in the South knew that record, and it wound up being a situation like Nas being on ‘Verbal Intercourse.’ Now Rae is on ‘Skew It On The Bar-B’ in the South. So, while they blew up, I blew up too. So everything looked like a real chess move, but it was still coming from the heart. It was nothing that was premeditated.”