Raekwon – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx [2×LP 180g Vinyl]

Raekwon – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... [2×LP 180g Vinyl]

Details

• Format: 2×LP, Album, Reissue, 180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl
• Catalogue Number: MOVLP1291
• Barcode: 8718469537754
• Genre: Hip Hop, Boom Bap, Mafioso Rap
• Label: Music On Vinyl / Loud Records / RCA
• Originally Released: 1 August 1995
• Reissue Released: 15 February 2016
• Pressing: 180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl
• Condition: New & Sealed

Description

By the summer of 1995 the Wu-Tang Clan had already changed the sound of New York hip hop with Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), and the solo campaigns of individual members were running at full force. Raekwon's debut arrived on 1 August 1995 — the same year as GZA's Liquid Swords and Ol' Dirty Bastard's Return to the 36 Chambers — and immediately distinguished itself from everything else being made in the genre. Conceived as a cinematic work with Raekwon as the star, fellow Wu-Tang member Ghostface Killah as guest star, and RZA as director, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... drew its visual language from Italian-American crime films — The Godfather, Scarface, Carlito's Way — and transplanted their mythology into the streets of Staten Island. The album is commonly known as the Purple Tape, a reference to the entirely purple plastic of the original cassette release, which Raekwon modelled on the practice of drug dealers colour-coding their product to distinguish it from competitors.

Recording sessions took place throughout late 1994 and into 1995 at RZA's basement studio in Staten Island — the same space where much of 36 Chambers had been made. RZA produced, mixed, and arranged every track, drawing on soul and funk samples of extraordinary range and constructing beats that shift between the minimal and the symphonic as the album's narrative demands. The guest list draws on the full Wu-Tang roster: Ghostface Killah appears throughout; Inspectah Deck and GZA feature on 'Guillotine (Swordz)'; Method Man and Cappadonna appear on 'Ice Cream'; Masta Killa and Blue Raspberry appear on 'Glaciers of Ice'; and the closing 'Wu-Gambinos' assembles Ghostface, Method Man, RZA, and Masta Killa for one of the album's most celebrated ensemble performances. The sole non-Wu-Tang guest appearance came from Nas, who appears on 'Verbal Intercourse' — the first collaboration between an affiliated outsider and a Wu-Tang solo project. Nas later recalled that the session arose organically during an evening spent hanging out rather than a formal studio booking.

Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 and number two on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, selling 130,000 copies in its first week. It was certified gold within two months of release and achieved platinum certification in 2020. Critical appreciation has only deepened over time: the album is consistently cited alongside 36 Chambers and Liquid Swords as the high point of Wu-Tang's output, and is widely credited as the defining text of mafioso rap — a subgenre that influenced Jay-Z, Biggie's later work, and subsequent generations of East Coast MCs who adopted crime-film aesthetics and Gambino-style aliases in its wake.

This Music On Vinyl reissue presents the album on 180 gram audiophile vinyl across two records. The pressing contains 17 tracks — the original vinyl configuration, which omits 'North Star (Jewels)', a closing spoken-word piece that appeared only on the original CD release.

Tracklist

Record 1 – Side A

1. Striving for Perfection
2. Knuckleheadz (feat. U-God)
3. Knowledge God
4. Criminology (feat. Ghostface Killah)
5. Incarcerated Scarfaces

Record 1 – Side B

1. Rainy Dayz (feat. Ghostface Killah & Blue Raspberry)
2. Guillotine (Swordz) (feat. Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck & GZA)
3. Can It Be All So Simple (Remix) (feat. Ghostface Killah)

Record 2 – Side C

1. Shark Niggas (Biters)
2. Ice Water (feat. Ghostface Killah & Cappadonna)
3. Glaciers of Ice (feat. Ghostface Killah, Masta Killa & Blue Raspberry)
4. Verbal Intercourse (feat. Ghostface Killah & Nas)
5. Wisdom Body (feat. Ghostface Killah)

Record 2 – Side D

1. Spot Rusherz
2. Ice Cream (feat. Ghostface Killah, Method Man & Cappadonna)
3. Wu-Gambinos (feat. Ghostface Killah, Method Man, RZA & Masta Killa)
4. Heaven & Hell (feat. Ghostface Killah)

Credits

• Raekwon (Corey Woods) – vocals
• Ghostface Killah (Dennis Coles) – guest star, vocals throughout
• Produced, Mixed & Arranged by – RZA (Robert Diggs) for Wu-Tang Productions
• Recorded at – RZA's basement studio, Staten Island, New York, 1994–95
• Mastered at – Sterling Sound, New York City
• Label – Music On Vinyl / Loud Records / RCA