Raekwon

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Biography

Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970),RZA, 2005, The Wu-Tang Manual , p. 18. better known by the stage name Raekwon , is an United States|American rapper and a member of the Wu-Tang Clan . He released his solo debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... in 1995, and has since recorded numerous solo albums, as well as work with Wu-Tang and an extensive amount of guest contributions with other hip hop artists.

Raekwon is often cited as one of the pioneers of the Mafioso rap sub-genre. http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/32329/Raekwon-Only-Built-4-Cuban-Linx...-Pt-II/ In 2007, The editors of About.com placed him on their list of the Top 50 MCs of Our Time (1987–2007). http://rap.about.com/od/toppicks/ss/Top50Emcees_4.htm The Miami New Times described Raekwon's music as being "street epics" that are "straightforward yet linguistically rich universes not unlike a gangsta Iliad ." http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/crossfade/2011/09/raekwon_the_chef_and_ghostface_rock_the_bells_miami.php

Music career

Wu-Tang Clan

Corey Woods joined the Wu-Tang Clan, a nine-member hip hop group based in the Staten Island borough of New York City , in 1992. He went under the stage name Raekwon the Chef and aliases Raekwon, Shallah Raekwon, and Lex Diamonds. Wu-Tang Clan debuted one year later with Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers . Singles from the album included " Protect Ya Neck " and " C.R.E.A.M. ", the latter of which reached #8 on the Billboard rap chart. Wu-Tang Forever followed in 1997 and was certified four times platinum by the RIAA , quadruple the certification given Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) . Alongside other solo albums by its members, Wu-Tang continued recording as a group, releasing The W in 2000, Iron Flag in 2001, and 8 Diagrams in 2007.

Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...

In 1994, Raekwon signed a solo deal with Loud Records and released his debut single " Heaven & Hell (song)|Heaven & Hell " for the soundtrack to the movie Fresh (1994 film)|Fresh . His first solo LP, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... , was released in 1995 to rave reviews, though not to as much commercial success as fellow Wu-Tang member Method Man 's Tical (album)|Tical . According to Steve Huey of allmusic , " Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... contained a narrative album format revolving around cocaine trafficking, criminal activity, and a rise through the ranks of the illegal industry." Wu-Tang member Ghostface Killah appeared on over half of the album's tracks, with Wu-Tang member RZA producing the album in its entirety.

Immobilarity and The Lex Diamond Story

After Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... , Raekwon appeared on a track by the R& B group Allure (group)|Allure from the group's Allure (album)|self-titled debut in 1997. He also appeared on Fat Joe 's song "John Blaze" alongside Nas , Jadakiss , and Big Pun ; "John Blaze" also had a music video. Raekwon's next effort, Immobilarity , came out in 1999 to mixed reviews, which were mainly attributed to the absence of RZA and Ghostface Killah. The Lex Diamond Story followed in 2003 on Universal Records , to mixed reviews as well (generally lukewarm critical reviews and wildly varying public reviews) and moderate success. Raekwon later voiced his dis-taste for the albums lack of promotion and budget and vowed that future releases would not suffer the same fate.

Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II

Raekwon planned to release the long-delayed sequel to his debut, entitled Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II|Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II in 2007 through Aftermath Entertainment . The album was informally executively produced by Busta Rhymes , whom Raekwon cited as getting him in the " Cuban Linx mindset", and RZA , with RZA handling most of the production. Dr. Dre , Scram Jones , and J Dilla were other producers that were announced early on as working on the album. RZA explained the collaboration between him and Dr. Dre as "yin and yang" when it came to their styles.

Raekwon and EMI both confirmed at one point that Only Built For Cuban Linx... Pt. II would be released in the summer of 2009 with EMI serving as the distribution label. WeLiveThis.com . Retrieved March 30, 2009. for the album, which was officially released on Raekwon's ICEH2O label.. WeLiveThis.com . Retrieved April 15, 2009. However, Raekwon and EMI later announced that the album would be pushed back to September 8, 2009 due to sample clearance issues, and the leak of a song from the album entitled "Surgical Gloves." On September 8, 2009, Only Built For Cuban Linx... Pt. II was released after many delays. The album features many Wu-Tang members and affiliates, as well as Slick Rick , Jadakiss , Busta Rhymes , Beanie Sigel and more. On September 28, 2009 Raekwon was named the #10 Hottest MC in the game by MTV . He also converted to Islam in 2009.

In December 2009, major hip hop site HipHopDx released their 2009 Awards, with Only Built For Cuban Linx... Pt. II being chosen as 'Album of the Year'. Dx described it as "...the Hip Hop equivalent to The Godfather 2 , with Rae as revitalized as Marlon Brando|Marlon was...". In addition, Raekwon was selected as 'Emcee of the Year' (fellow New Yorker Nas had won in 2008). Their staff justified this pick with this description of Raekwon's career in 2009:

Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang

After the critical and relative commercial success of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II , Raekwon collaborated with Method Man and Ghostface Killah for Wu-Massacre , a short trio album designed to showcase unity within the group. Following this release, Raekwon resurrected talk of Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang , a project announced in 2007, originally planned as a Wu-Tang album, minus RZA, due to his response to the previous group album 8 Diagrams . Raekwon forwarded his projects continuously thru his growing label Icewater. He both worked on his own project while signing other underground artists. Raekwon's son is rumored to be heavily involved in his father's label.

Though not a Wu-Tang Clan project, Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang was released in March 2011, serving as Raekwon's fifth solo LP. As originally planned, RZA did not participate on the project, however, several other Wu-Tang members made appearances, as well as Black Thought , Nas and Rick Ross (rapper)|Rick Ross , among others. Shortly after Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang was completed, Raekwon revealed that he intends on eventually releasing a third installment to the Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… albums.

Discography

Albums

Year	Title	Chart positions			Certifications
Year	Title	U.S. cite web	U.S. R& B	U.S. Rap	Certifications
1995	Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Released: August 1, 1995 Label: Loud Records\|Loud / RCA Records\|RCA / Bertelsmann Music Group\|BMG Records	4	2	*	Recording Industry Association of America\|US : Gold
1999	Immobilarity Released: November 16, 1999 Label: Loud Records\|Loud / Columbia Records\|Columbia / Sony Music Entertainment\|SME Records	9	2	*	align=center US: Gold
2003	The Lex Diamond Story Released: December 16, 2003 Label: Universal Music Group\|Universal Records	102	18	*	align=center
2009	Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt. II Released: September 8, 2009 Label: Ice H20/ EMI\|EMI Records	4	2	2	align=center
2011	Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang Released: March 8, 2011 Label: Ice H20/ EMI\|EMI Records	12	3	2	align=center

Collaboration albums

Year	Title	Chart positions
Year	Title	U.S.	U.S. R& B	U.S. Rap
2007	Raekwon Presents Ice Water Inc Released: August 11 Label: BabyGrande	style="text-align:center;"	style="text-align:center;"	style="text-align:center;"
2010	Wu-Massacre (with Method Man & Ghostface Killah ) Released: March 30 Label(s): Def Jam	12. Current.com. Retrieved on 2010-04-08.	6. HipHopDX. Retrieved on 2010-04-10.	2. Billboard (magazine)
2012	Wu-Block (with Ghostface Killah , Cappadonna & The L.O.X. ) SOHH . Released: TBA Label(s): TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA

Mixtapes

2006: The Vatican Mixtape Vol.1 hosted by DJ Riddler

2006: The Vatican Mixtape Vol.2 The DaVinci Code

2006: Heroin Only hosted by DJ Thoro

2007: The Vatican Mixtape Vol.3 House of Wax

2009: ''Blood on Chef's Apron hosted by DJ Absolut

2009: Staten Go Hard Vol.1 hosted by Brinks Boys

2010: Cocainism Vol.2 hosted by Brinks Boys

2010: Coke Up in da Dollar Bill hosted by DJ Whoo Kid & DJ Scream

2011: Trouble Makers hosted by DJ Love Killed Kurt

2012: Unexpected Victory

Compilations

2009: Raekwon Babygrande Recordings (with Ice Water Inc.)

Singles

Year	Title	Chart positions			Album
Year	Title	U.S. cite web	U.S. R& B cite journal	U.S. Rap cite web	Album
1994	Heaven & Hell " (featuring Ghostface Killah )	—	102	32	Fresh (1994 film)
1995	Ice Cream " (featuring Ghostface Killah, Method Man , and Cappadonna )	37	37	5	Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...
1995	(featuring Ghostface Killah, Masta Killa , and Blue Raspberry (singer)>Blue Raspberry ) / " Criminology (song)	43	32	5	Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...
1999	"Live From New York"	—	—	30	Immobiliarity
2003	"Smith Bros."	—	115	—	The Lex Diamond Story
2004	"The Hood" (featuring Tiffany Villarreal )	—	—	—	The Lex Diamond Story
2009	"New Wu" (featuring Ghostface Killah and Method Man)	—	—	—	Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Part II
	"House of Flying Daggers" (featuring GZA, Method Man, Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah)	—	—	—
	"Catalina" (featuring Lyfe Jennings )	—	—	—
2010	"Butter Knives"	—	—	—	Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang
2011	"Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang"	—	—	—	Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang

As featured performer

Year	Title	Chart positions		Album
Year	Title	U.S. R& B	U.S. Rap	Album
1996	"Firewater" ( Fat Joe featuring Big Pun , Raekwon, and Armaggedon)	114	—	Endangered Species (Big Pun album)
1998	"Wu-Tang Cream Team Line Up" ( Funkmaster Flex featuring Raekwon, The Harlem Hoodz, Inspectah Deck , Method Man , and Killa Sin )	85	32	The Mix Tape, Vol. 3: 60 Minutes of Funk, The Final Chapter
1998	" Skew It on the Bar-B " ( OutKast featuring Raekwon)	—	—	Aquemini
1999	( Tash (rapper)>Tash featuring Raekwon)	86	45	Rap Life
2000	Apollo Kids " (Ghostface Killah featuring Raekwon)	121	32	Supreme Clientele
2001	Never Be the Same Again " (Ghostface Killah featuring Carl Thomas (singer)	65	21	Bulletproof Wallets
2004	"What's Fuckin' Wit Us" ( CHOPS featuring Raekwon)	—	—	Virtuosity
2007	"Something To Say" ( Parazitii featuring Raekwon The Chef)	—	—	Slalom Printre Cretini
2008	Royal Flush " ( Big Boi featuring Andre 3000 and Raekwon)	68	—	non-album single
2010	"Gorgeous" ( Kanye West featuring Kid Cudi and Raekwon)	—	—	My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Other appearances

1993 Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers (album by the Wu-Tang Clan)

1994 "Meth vs Chef" (from the Method Man album Tical (album)|Tical )

1995 "Raw Hide" (from the Ol' Dirty Bastard album Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version )

1995 "Right Back At You" & "Eye For An Eye" (from the Mobb Deep album The Infamous )

1995 "Investigative Reports" (from the GZA album Liquid Swords )

1995 "Respect Mine" (from the Fat Joe album '' Jealous One's Envy )

1996 "Iron Maiden", "The Faster Blade", "260", "Assassination Day", "Winter Warz", "Box in Hand", "Fish", "Camay", "Daytona 500", "Motherless Child", "Black Jesus", & "After the Smoke Is Clear" (from the Ghostface Killah album Ironman (album)|Ironman )

1996 "Nighttime Vultures" (from the Mobb Deep album Hell on Earth (Mobb Deep album)|Hell on Earth )

1997 Wu-Tang Forever (album by the Wu-Tang Clan)

1997 "Nasty Immigrants" (from the Nutty Professor soundtrack)

1998 "Dart Throwing" (from the Cappadonna album The Pillage )

1998 "Intellectuals" (from the Sunz Of Man album The Last Shall Be First (Sunz of Man album)|The Last Shall Be First )

1998 "Skew It On The Bar-B" (from the Outkast album Aquemini )

1998 "John Blaze" (from the Fat Joe album Don Cartagena )

1998 "Spring Water" & "As The World Turnz" (from the La the Darkman album Heist Of The Century )

1998 "Black Trump" (from the Cocoa Brovaz album Rude Awakening (Cocoa Brovaz album)|Rude Awakening )

1998 "Spazzola" (from the Method Man album Tical 2000: Judgement Day )

1998 "Movin' On (Remix)" (from the Mya (singer)|Mya album Mya )

1998 "The Game" (from the Pete Rock album Soul Survivor (Pete Rock album)|Soul Survivor )

1999 "Frozen" (from the Slick Rick album The Art of Storytelling )

1999 "Can't Fuck Wit" (from the Mobb Deep album Murda Muzik )

1999 "Shell Shock" (from the U-God album Golden Arms Redemption )

2000 "Money Talks" (from the Sticky Fingaz album Black Trash: The Autobiography Of Kirk Jones )

2000 "Apollo Kids" & "Wu Banga 101" (from the Ghostface Killah album Supreme Clientele )

2000 "The Heist" (from the Busta Rhymes album Anarchy (Busta Rhymes album)|Anarchy )

2000 The W (album by the Wu-Tang Clan)

2001 "Love Is The Message" (from the Cappadonna album The Yin & The Yang )

2001 "Maxine", "Flowers", "The Forest" & "The Hilton" (from the Ghostface Killah album Bulletproof Wallets )

2001 Iron Flag (album by the Wu-Tang Clan)

2003 "Respect Mine" (from the Mathematics (producer)|Mathematics album Love, Hell Or Right )

2003 "What's Fuckin With Us" (from the CHOPS album Virtuosity )

2004 "The Turn" (from the Method Man album Tical 0: The Prequel )

2004 "D.T.D." (from the Masta Killa album No Said Date )

2005 "Real Nillaz" (from the Mathematics (producer)|Mathematics album The Problem (album)|The Problem )

2005 "Advanced Pawns", "Destruction Of A Guard" (from the DJ Muggs and GZA album Grandmasters (album)|Grandmasters )

2005 "So Long (feat. Mashonda )" (from the Cassidy (rapper)|Cassidy album '' I'm A Hustla )

2005 "New York (feat. Ghostface Killah )" (from the AZ (rapper)|AZ album A.W.O.L. (album)|A.W.O.L )

2005 "Black Opera" (from the Supernatural (rapper)|Supernatural album S.P.I.T. )

2005 "The Watch" (from the Ghostface Killah and Trife Da God album Put It on the Line )

2006 "Kilo", "R.A.G.U.", "9 Milli Bros." "Dogs of War" & "Three Bricks" (from the Ghostface Killah album Fishscale )

2006 "Goldmine" (from the Busta Rhymes album The Big Bang (album)|The Big Bang )

2006 "It's What It Is" (from the Masta Killa album Made in Brooklyn )

2006 "The Glide" & "Presidential MC" (from the Method Man album 4:21...The Day After )

2006 "Brazil", "Enemy (Remix)", "Cocaine World", "Thousands To M's" (from the Ill Bill album ''Ill Bill Is The Future Vol.2: I'm A Goon )

2007 "Yolanda's House", "Rec-Room Therapy", "Paisley Darts" and "Shakey Dog Starring Lolita" (from the Ghostface Killah album The Big Doe Rehab )

2008 "The PJ's" (from the Pete Rock album '' NY's Finest )

2008 "Bulletproof Diaries" (from the Game (rapper)|Game album LAX (album)|LAX )

2008 " Royal Flush (song)|Royal Flush " ( Big Boi feat. Andre 3000 and Raekwon)

2008 "Coka Moshiach" (from the Ill Bill album The Hour Of Reprisal )

2009 "Puttin' Work In" (from the EPMD album We Mean Business (album)|We Mean Business )

2009 "Four Minutes to Lock Down" (from the Method Man & Redman album Blackout& #33; 2 )

2009 "Ice Cream" (from the Fat Joe album Jealous Ones Still Envy 2 (J.O.S.E. 2) )

2009 "100 Miles and Runnin'" (from the Warren G album The G Files )

2009 "Cartel Gathering" (from the Jadakiss album The Last Kiss (album)|The Last Kiss )

2009 "Legacy" (Ninja Assassin Soundtrack) feat. Ceazar, Xzibit, and M.U.R.S.

2009 "Coke" (from the U-God album Dopium )

2009 "Stay Off the Fuckin' Flowers" (from Blakroc , a hip-hop/rap collaboration album with the The Black Keys )

2009 "Something to say" (from the Slalom printre cretini album by Parazitii )

2010 "I Wish" (from the Yelawolf album Trunk Muzik 0-60

2010 "Time Will Tell" (from the Styles P & DJ Green Lantern album The Green Ghost Project )

2010 "The Big Game" (from the Inspectah Deck album Manifesto (Inspectah Deck album)|Manifesto )

2010 "One Thing" (from the Freeway (rapper)|Freeway & Jake One album The Stimulus Package )

2010 "Audio Meth" (bonus track on the Rick Ross (rapper)|Rick Ross album Teflon Don (album)|Teflon Don )

2010 "Dutch Masters vs. Phillies vs. Bamboo", "The Reserves", & "The Oath" (from the Capone-N-Noreaga album The War Report 2: Report the War )

2010 "Runaway Love Remix" ( Justin Bieber feat. Kanye West & Raekwon)

2010 "Lord Lord Lord" ( Kanye West feat. Mos Def , Raekwon, Swizz Beatz & Charlie Wilson (singer)|Charlie Wilson ). Pitchfork Media . Retrieved 2010-09-19.

2010 "Everyday Struggle" (from the Faith Evans album Something About Faith ) feat. Raekwon

2010 "Chase Manhattan" (from the Ill Bill & DJ Muggs album Kill Devil Hills )

2010 "Gorgeous" (from the Kanye West album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy )

2010 "Sooner or Later (Die 1 Day)" (from the Lloyd Banks album The Hunger for More 2 )

2010 "The Heat" (from the Twista album The Perfect Storm (album)|The Perfect Storm )

2010 "Gutter Water" (from the Gangrene album Gutter Water )

2010 "Live It" (from the Paul Wall album Heart of a Champion (album)|Heart of a Champion )

2010 "Superhero Music" (From the Diggy Simmons Mixtape Airborne )

2010 "Michael Knight (Remix)" (From the Currensy album Pilot Talk II )

2011 "Pushing Keys" (From the Fat Joe album The Darkside Vol. 2 )

2011 "Drops Is Out" (From the Jim Jones (rapper)|Jim Jones album Capo (album)|Capo )

2011 "Combat Jazz" (From the Limp Bizkit album Gold Cobra )

2011 "Prevail" (From the Smif-N-Wessun & Pete Rock album Monumental (album)|Monumental )

2011 "No Pretending" (From the 9th Wonder album The Wonder Years )

2011 "Letter To Da Rap Game" (From the 2 Chainz album T.R.U.REALigion (album)|T.R.U.REALigion )

2011 "The Red Carpet" (From the Evidence album Cats & Dogs (Evidence album)|Cats & Dogs )

Music videos

Year	Title	Director(s)
1994	"Heaven & Hell"	Ralph McDaniels
1995	"Criminology"	Froi Cuenta & Guy Guillet
	"Glaciers Of Ice"	Froi Cuenta
	"Ice Cream"	Ralph McDaniels
	"Incarcerated Scarfaces"	Ralph McDaniels
2000	"100 rounds"
2006	"Rap Killers" (feat Mink )	J.G Biggs
2006	"De 91 a Park Hill" (with Ol'Kainry)	J.G Biggs
2009	"New Wu"
	"House of Flying Daggers"	Erick Sasso and Brian Wendelken
	"Walk Wit Me"	G. Visuals
	"Have Mercy"	Littles & Wilc
	"Catalina"	G. Visuals
	"Surgical Gloves"
	"Pyrex Vision"	G. Visuals
2010	"Canal Street"	LaMarck
2010	"Ason Jones"	Kris Kinetik
2011	"Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang"	Konee Rok

Copyright Citations

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Raekwon Photo by: www.msu.edu


1. 50 Cent 2. Busta Rhymes 3. Cappadonna 4. Dr. Dre 5. Fat Joe 6. Method Man 7. Nas 8. OutKast 9. Rakim 10. Run-DMC 11. Twista 12. Wu-Tang Clan 13. Big Boi 14. Mobb Deep 15. The Game 16. Beanie Sigel 17. GZA 18. RZA 19. Big Daddy Kane 20. Fifty Cent 21. Ghostface Killah 22. Kool G Rap 23. M.O.P. 24. Onyx 25. Necro

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