Raekwon The Chef has unveiled the track list and artwork for his highly anticipated fourth album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Part 2. Scheduled to drop September 8th, Rae spoke exclusively with Hip-Hop Wired about the project.
“This album right here my dude is more street. I just really took off the glamour and the glitter and basically just went back to being that MC from the projects. I didn’t really drop too many jewels because I knew that everyone wanted what they wanted right now. Because if started getting too optimistic and too gem dropping, it may be too far over people’s head to really understand. So I just really wanted to kind of keep this album on some street sh%&, talking about my days of bagging up. Bagging up crack. This is going on, that’s going on, stories from the hood. Typical real sh@% that happen in the hood. I just wanted to make sure that I capitalize on that world because that’s what this album is about. When I made the first one, we were fresh off the block . Straight drug dealing ni**as trying to come up with a solution to get the f%$k out the streets one way or another. And I kind of took that blueprint with me on this one. I never really tried to out do it but make sure I was on the same pattern as I was back then. You know what I mean?”
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Pt II will include collaborations with Ghostface, Method Man, Styles P, Beanie Sigel and Lyfe Jennings as well as production from Erick Sermon. Speaking more about the album, Rae also added that he was running his own lane and not trying to compete with the Auto-tune and dance crazes running Hip-Hop today.
“I’m not really sitting here trying to bust my brain to get into the new world or what it is today. All I can do is just create like I been creating and however it comes out, it’s gonna come out. I feel like I paid a lot of dues. I am one of the dudes that a lot of people look at as being creative as it comes to his album or whatever. I’m just gonna keep it the way I keep it. I don’t sit there and try to deal with the consequences of today’s Hip-Hop. My thing is, I’m an artist so I’ma always go in there and give it my best shot. And that’s what I always do. Overall, Chef don’t come with nothing but whatever it’s gonna be. Right now I know the capacity of where people want me to be at with this album, but like I said I’m just gonna put it on the table and its back to the hoodie action again. Just throwing on the good hoodie and the Timbs and just basically going in the studio gettin it in. My key thing that I love to do is to come in the studio and forget that I’m a big artist and go back to that grind factor and that’s what I did. I’m one of them real Champion gear rappers so I’m coming in with the streets on my back.”
Here is the track listing below for Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Pt II.
1. Return of the North Star (feat. Papu Wu)
2. House of Flying Daggers (feat. Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah and Method Man)
3. Sonny’s Missing (Produced by Pete Rock)
4. Pyrex Vision (Produced by Marley Marl)
5. Cold Outside (feat. Ghostface Killah and Sugar Bang)
6. Black Mozart (feat. Inspectah Deck)
7. New Wu (feat. Method Man and Ghostface Killah)
8. Penitentiary (feat. Ghostface Killah)
9. Surgical Gloves
10. Broken Safety (feat. Jadakiss and Styles P)
11. Canal Street
12. Ason Jones
13. Have Mercy (feat. Beanie Sigel and Blue Raspberry)
14. 10 Bricks (feat. Cappadonna and Ghostface Killah)
15. Fat Lady Sings
16. Catalina (feat. Lyfe Jennings)
17. We Will Rob You (feat. Slick Rick, GZA and Masta Killa)
18. About Me
19. Mean Streets (feat. Inspectah Deck and Ghostface Killah)
20. Kiss The Ring (feat. Inspectah Deck and Masta Killa)
21. South Star (feat. Papa Wu)
