And let's start it like this son...
Raekwon, AKA The Chef, AKA Lex Diamons, AKA Louis Rich, AKA Shallah Raekwon is hands-down my favorite Wu-member. When I heard he was about to drop a sequel to his classic Cuban Linx album, my hopes were high that the old Rae was coming back. As big a fan of the Chef that I am, Immobilarity and The Lex Diamond Story couldn't touch Cuban Linx and left me longing for the grandiose production and mafioso-infused joints of his debut.Despite my disappointments, I always looked forward to anything from Rae because he can rhyme like no other (ahaa, yes, even better than Vast Aire. Take that Muttpop Bob). If you can't tell yet, I'm a fan of flows, and not just any flows. Double and triple-rhyme infused lyrics like the ones from "Skew it on the BBQ" (from Outkast's Aquemini album) blow my mind. Just check how he keeps rhyming the "o" sound and how many times he'll do it in a single line (up to four), and how many times he does it in a entire verse (26).
Deliver this through your audio, ghetto mafioso
Grow hydro, then bag it up yo
Price that longevity, suggest make moves
slow take time grow eight, react nine blow
Hydro slide raw like fuck Renaldo
Fly ride though, shit lookin wild dope
then glide yo, flippin the page, I go
Watch five-oh, jump on my meat, ride slow
Watch those, undercovers, cop those, rock those
Glocks blows leave em baggy and collect spot grows
Keep a watch froze, lean on the yacht and wash clothes
Let the chop' blow, bag a half a block plot grows, what?
Skills. No wait, make that skillz (yes, italicized and with a "z"). Not to mention how he uses aliteration and the ghetto mafioso imagery he evokes in his lyrics. Yes, I know that other emcees do this too, but nobody handles the mic like Lex.
Aaaanyways, The Hippo recently copped an early release of the Chef's album (if you don't know how Rae earned that name, check out the story here, it’s almost funny) and despite my initial excitement that it would really be the sequel to Cuban Linx, there’s little continuity between the two albums lyrically or production-wise. Not only that but Rae’s partner in rhyme, Ghostface, is hardly on this album whereas Busta is on four tracks. Let me just say that Busta and the Chef just don’t set it off the way Raekwon and Ghost do. Since it's an early edition release with 28 tracks, let's just hope the final cut is stronger and more of a true sequel.
So rather than post up a bunch of the so-so Cuban Linx II songs you all might be looking for, here’s some classic Rae bangers, and a couple of the better new ones to keep you from breaking down the door.
[MP3] Outkast and Raekwon :: Skew it on the BBQ
[MP3] Cocoa Brovaz and Raekwon :: Black Trump
[MP3] Raekwon :: Guillotine
[MP3] Raekwon feat. Supernatural :: I Got Bars (new)
[MP3] Raekwon :: State of Grace (new)
|bruce banner|
posted by RIP BANNER at 7:43 PM
4 Comments:
I remember how excited I was last year when I heard what they were going for with this album "sequel". Looking at how some of the songs developed from the "Fishscale" pr-release I'm sure there's a lot of room for this album to grow before it actually comes out. We'll see.
Senor Banner:
I politely disagree...which is a good thing, cause it'd be a damn shame if all of us contributors thought and felt the exact same!
:-)
Despite any issues he has had with production, Raekwon has always been consistent...and hands down, Raekwon KILLS Vast Aire if you look at his volume of work and the great ability that he's been able to capture and accomplish the flow that he's uniquely created from the very first Wu Tang album.
But, for me, Vast Aire on point, cannot be TOUCHED by Raekwon. All that alliteration and internal rhymes? Leave them in the text books and English classes!
Hip hop rhymes are meant to be HEARD not studied on some internet site.
When I hear Raekwon...I hear a very cool sing-song flow that no one has been able to copy...that, unfortunately, is very hard to understand. What is he saying? I couldn't tell you.
On paper it looks like he actually has something to say...but is it clever or profound? I really don't see it. It sounds like he's using a bunch of flowery words and rhyme patterns to ultimately say nothing beyond the usual...
Say what you will, but for me it's CRUCIAL that an emcee can communicate. Getting caught up in rhymes and alliteration take the listener away from the message. Better yet, they make the listener THINK you have something to say when in reality...you just messing around with funny sounding words.
I really LOVE hearing your perspective on it. It helps me understand another completely valid perspective...it's just a bit different from my own.
Thanks homie.
-Muttpop Bob
Getdownnn definitely does get down!!! Like the Freestyle Fellowship creed, “We’re so hard, we battle each other”. Come with it Bruce, time to show Hulk green!!
mista hippo is a *!$%ing dumbass.
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