Just yesterday, my aunt and I were discussing Kanye’s behavior during award shows and I then proceeded her to school her in the infamous acts of Ol’ Dirty Bastard. This past Saturday marked the 6th anniversary of his passing but Raekwon opts to celebrate life first by releasing the video to “Ason Jones” today, which would have been his 42nd birthday. Read the rest of this entry »

Rae drops a few inspiring words for all the wisdom bodies out there lest they end up like Montana Fishburne. This along with a few other leftover new tracks will be available via iTunes with the Gold Deluxe Version of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt. II. Read the rest of this entry »

When considering the best qualifying member of the Wu-Tang Clan to give a thorough analysis of every project they’ve conceived, the RZA easily bests his brothers, seeing that he oversaw each compilation as a general and executive producer. Seeing that Raekwon has adopted the role of the Clan patriarch as of late, his input is highly valued in 2010. Read the rest of this entry »

As it turns out, the “Surgical Gloves” heist didn’t end according to plans and Raekwon and the rest of the Icewater camp have some lunch dates with the interrogation room. If you’re like me or the rest of the TSS Crew, you lost track of Rae’s videography for OB4CL2 about say…three videos ago. Still, it’s a swift reminder to keep an all-time great sequel nearby for the drought. Read the rest of this entry »

The album may have decreased in monetary significance over the years, but few can deny the calibration it stacks onto an artist’s creative worth. Who can come the most original, pick the best beats, wedge through that sliver of possibility of reinventing the wheel, all of those ideals factor into who’s really running this rap ish. Read the rest of this entry »

Rae’s daydreaming of Nino @ the Carter with the theme for this visual short for OB4CLII‘s “Pyrex Vision.”

[OS]

The ultimate heist and one of the ultimate cuts that helped make OB4CL2 album of the year for most Hip-Hop heads. Let the record show that Alchemist should be credited for his output all the same. Between this and the “Microphone” video, he’s helped put a jolt into credible, hardcore rap singles. Read the rest of this entry »

The Chef’s whipped up some more OBC4L2 goodness in the form of “Catalina.” With it being such a cinematic track in audio form, it’s good to see that the video brought that story to life. Read the rest of this entry »

Raekwon continues to give the Wu-heads plenty of reasons to put the purple and W’s up in the atmosphere in 2009. Still trailblazing with the best album this year, The Chef is cooking up classic live performances with his Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…Pt II Tour and TSS wants to send you there. Read the rest of this entry »

Nas. The man. The myth. The enigma. I’ve never really known how to describe Nas properly throughout my years of listening to Hip-Hop. For as much as his music will forever speak for him (how it should be), it’s what he says (or doesn’t say, rather) off the mic which has left people scratching their heads. Read the rest of this entry »

For the most part, we’re all agreed that OB4CL2 is a great album. Excellent as a sequel. Part of me feels like I owe Shallah Raekwon a thanks for pushing his co-stars to rise to the occasion. Read the rest of this entry »

“Nihilists! Fuck me. I mean, say what you like about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it’s an ethos.” – Walter, The Big Lebowski

A friend of a friend swayed side to side in a football tailgate haze a couple weeks back. Beer and cigarette smoke fumed from his pores. He took a sip of Miller Lite and pawed at his freshly grown porn-stache and scruff.

“I don’t trust a man who can’t grow one,” he said. “Matter fact, I don’t trust anyone who’s born after the Berlin wall fell. Until they know true evil, they’re just living a life of nihilism.”

Fast-forward to that Tuesday and I’m standing across from a young, sandy haired, Best Buy salesclerk — born after the Berlin wall came tumbling down, undoubtedly — growing the beginnings of his own porn-stache and scruff. I handed him a clean, sealed copy of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2, proud to be buying good Hip-Hop for once in what seemed like forever.

The clerk leaned in and said in an aside of confidence, “If it’s in Cuban, why is everybody buying this?”

Nihilist. Fuck me. Read the rest of this entry »

As any chef worth his stuff will sum up: you can’t rush fine cooking. Granted, most recipes don’t require 14 years of preparatory time, but Raekwon obviously wanted to make sure he had the sequel to his all-time classic Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… done just right. 14 years is a few lifetimes in Hip-Hop, and the Wu’s admitted, slow steady drift from the center of the Hip-Hop universe had critics rightly questioning whether another Cuban Linx… would sully the legend of the original Indiana Jones 4 style. Luckily for Hip-Hop fans, the wait is worth it. With Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt. II, Raekwon has created a reflection and re-imagination of the original with the same cinematic storytelling, fire-spitting guests, and grim beats that made the Wu legends in the first place. Read the rest of this entry »

As Purple Tape mania continues to sweep the Hip-Hop community, Rae took a little trip to the islands to film this bonus track for Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…Pt. II. Read the rest of this entry »

14 years ago, the Wu-Tang Clan’s Raekwon & Ghostface Killah set out to earn solo respect and wound up creating history, a lifestyle and one of the greatest musical compositions the world has ever witnessed. Can lightning strike twice or has the magic faded in the Chef’s kitchen? You be the judge as Raekwon goes into vivid detail of the strenuous recording process of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt. II as Ghostface adds the color commentary along the way.

One thing’s for sure, the duo are still striving for perfection.

TSS: It’s been a long time coming for this project. What’s the mood like?

Raekwon: You know I’m definitely excited. It feels like all the hard work we’ve been putting amongst this project is starting to payoff and I feel like it’s time the people get this record. People are able to recognize what I’m capable of as well.

TSS: To get where we’re going, we have to know where we’ve been. What was your state of mind going into the original Cuban Linx as far as creating street mafia cinema?

Raekwon: I just wanted respect back then. I considered myself as one of the last Mohicans in the game. Being out there in the streets, struggling, selling drugs all my life, that was a part of me and I just wanted to represent. All I wanted to do was represent.

TSS: How does the new one transition from the first one? Read the rest of this entry »