Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx

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Music reviews of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx

Music Review: The best solo work by any Wu-affiliated artist...
Rating: 5 Stars

1) "Striving for Perfection" (Produced by The RZA)
The intro to the album, what more can I say about this one.

2) "Knuckleheadz" (feat. Ghostface Killah & U-God; Produced by The RZA)
A great first track for a classic album. The RZA's production is (as with most joints on this album) bangin'. Ghost drops one of his best verses on this joint and U-God makes on of his more impressive appearances.

3) "Knowledge God" (Produced by The RZA)
Not one of the highlights of the album but this is still a solid track. RZA's solid on the production but it's clear this beat was a bit of an afterthought.Still, I like the message of this song; at the time it was very creative

4) "Criminology" (feat. Ghostface Killah; Produced by The RZA)
The RZA takes a real risk with this track and uses an instrumental as the hook. The gamble pays-off in spades and Ghost comes extremely hot to open this joint up and Raekwon has a sick verse too.

5) "Incarcerated Scarfaces" (Produced by The RZA)
If this were the only good track on the album it would still be worth buying. Happily that isn't the case, but this joint is so hot it's enough to build Raekwon and the RZA storied hip hop reputations on its own.

6) "Rainy Dayz" (feat. Ghostface Killah & Blue Raspberry; Produced by The RZA)
Blue Raspberry lends Rae and Ghost her talent on this track and they use the same beat that introduced "Incarcerated Scarfaces" to start this one off. This track would be a highlight on most other hip hop albums and even on this classic piece this joint is still great.

7) "Guillotine [Swordz]" (feat. Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, & GZA/Genious; Produced by The RZA)
If you've heard the introduction to Method Man's "Tical" then you've heard the beat that RZA interpolates throughout this piece. For such a simplistic beat it more than shines under hot rhymes from all four emcees. Indeed, it's hard to pick a highlight when every single emcee comes red hot.

8) "Can It Be All So Simple [Remix]" (feat. Ghostface Killah; Produced by The RZA)
A solid remix of a Wu classic with a nice beat by RZA. There's really nothing else to say.

9) "Shark Niggas [Biters]" (Raekwon & Ghostface Killah)
A better-than-average skit about emcees biting lyrics, beats, and styles from the Wu in the early-mid 1990s.

10) "Ice Water" (feat. Ghostface Killah & Cappadonna; Produced by The RZA)
Another hot verse by GHost opens-up another great track featuring another great beat by The RZA. *Whew* Anyway, Cappadonna makes a solid appearance too and Rae's verse is the highlight of this piece.

11) "Glaciers of Ice" (feat. Ghostface Killah & Masta Killa; Vocals by Blue Raspberry & 62nd Assasin; Produced by The RZA)
Ghost introduces the track with a nice little skit and Rae follows it up with one of his best verses on the album. Masta Killa then makes the most of one of his two appearances on the album and Blue Raspberry and 62nd Assasin lend their talents to the hook while Ghost proceeds to rip the mic.

12) "Verbal Intercourse" (feat. Ghostface Killah & Nas; Produced by The RZA)
This track is memorable because Nas makes a solid appearance. Otherwise though, it's a pretty ordinary song on this album.

13) "Wisdom Body" (feat. Ghostface Killah; Produced by The RZA; Produced by The RZA)
A very humorous "blacksploitation" introduction leads into a track wherein Ghost is at his soulful best. Rae then shows he has some soul too.

14) "Spot Rusherz" (Produced by The RZA)
A very RZA-like jazzy beat drives this song in which Rae shows what he can do on his own. This is the second best track (behind "Incarceracted Scarfaces", of course) that Rae has ever done on his lonesome.

15) "Ice Cream" (feat. Ghostface Killah, Method Man, & Cappadonna; Produced by The RZA)
This song is an absolute must-hear (if you haven't already). Ghost opens up this piece with what is arguably his best verse ever. I mean, I didn't listen to the whole song through the first few times I heard this track, I just kept rewinding back to Ghost's verse. I wouldn't advise you do that though because Cappadonna drops what is arguably his best verse and Rae does what he always does and slams the mic.

16) "Wu-Gambinos" (feat. Ghostface Killah, Method Man, The RZA, & Masta Killa; Produced by The RZA)
I'm not as big a fan of this joint as many people are but it does deserve credit for almost single-handedly creating the mafia-obsession in hip hop. Also, The RZA's beat in this song is very creative.

17) "Heaven & Hell" (feat. Ghostface Killah; Produced by The RZA)
Another soulful piece featuring Ghost? It's almost like this song is designed to flow into Ghost's "Ironman" album (which guest stars Raekwon & U-God). Anyway, I'll have a review of that album up in the coming week or so.

18) "North Star [Jewels]" (Produced by The RZA)
This bonus track is a nice treat for those who picked-up the CD version of the album.

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