An essay analyzing the classic album Only Built for Cuban Linx by Raekwon the Chef featuring Ghostface Killah.
Synopsis
Brotherhood is the best hood you can possibly be from. Often, Hip Hop stories highlight broken friendships and accelerated foe-ships over money, women, and this thing of ours. We celebrate circumstances that result in war, pain, and death. This is reality, so it’s impossible to ignore the pitfalls of what comes with our historic trials for success. However, these stories overshadow the stories of brothers coming up in this game together and staying united. Ghostface Killah and Raekwon the Chef are an eminent example of this brotherhood. They have an unbreakable bond, much like a Cuban Link chain. According to Raekwon, that is what the recipe for his first solo album Only Built for Cuban Linx comprises. This bonafide classic body of work is the epitome of an unbreakable bond, and Ghostface’s contribution to this work brings it all the way home. This is the soundtrack to a true brotherhood that still stands today.
My parents were both in their teens when this album hit stores, so I could only imagine what it felt like to walk to Jamaica Avenue and buy a copy of “The Purple Tape.” However, my father has championed this body of work in such a way that I may as well have been there. Hence, the reason you’ll find that I was listening to Incarcerated Scarfaces religiously on that MTA bus to my magnet school in the 7th grade. In an interview with Apple Music, Raekwon recounts a time where he was affiliated with a group of guys that used to snatch chains during his adolescent years. Snatching a Cuban Link chain is notoriously more difficult because of the cumbersome lock on the back that holds the chain together. Essentially, it’s understood that the proprietor of a Cuban Link would be no easy mark.
This inspired the title of the album, as Raekwon felt that his Wu-Tang collective had an unbreakable bond in the same way. The inclusion of the “Only” is to affirm that you had to be a member to represent such an organization. The purple casing that packaged the album cassette produced the the nickname “The Purple Tape” in the Hip Hop streets. An original can be purchased for a whopping £700.00 on Ebay right now.
Providing the history of this album is a necessity, because it serves as a piece of fabric in building the legacy of this Hip Hop cloth we are all cut from. The album also played a huge role in my personal childhood because my parents were both enormous fans, so naturally it has made its way into my mental discography. Only Built for Cuban Linx is so revered for its cinematic quality. Raekwon and Ghostface pushed one another to new levels of songwriting with their Staten Island inspired mafioso tales. This piece was inclusive of excerpts from Kung-Fu movies as the Wu is notorious for referencing. The RZA lived up to his name as a super producer with music that pushed the envelope sonically for East Coast Rap at the time. This album was a gumbo pot of Asiatic Black Man knowledge, Italian Mafia storytelling, and luxurious aspirations. Nas coined the lyrics on this album to be the “language of the streets” at the time. And although I was nowhere around then, I tend to agree with this sentiment.
Below, is an annotation of each of the 5 songs from Only Built for Cuban Linx that I felt most impacted by in my Hip Hop journey.
Knowledge God
The title of this song is so important in history, because the 5% Nation of Gods & Earths was an organization that took the streets of New York by storm in the 80’s and 90’s. Eventually, they naturally took on a presence in the world of Hip Hop because of the likes of Wu Tang and Nas. It was customary for Black men to call each other God at the time, because this organization helped to teach us that that is who we are. Five Percenters used numerology in their teachings, where every Arabic numeral we use has a distinct meaning. Every day it is necessary to be aware of the mathematics for the day, which represents an understanding of what the numerical date translates to within the teachings. When Nas said this album was the language of the streets, there is no better example to provide than this song. In the chorus Raekwon finds himself asking:
What’s today’s Mathematics son? Knowledge God.
Knowledge being equivalent to the number one, and God being equivalent to the number seven. Maybe we can assume he wrote this song on the 17th. I’ll move on. Raekwon goes on to tell tales of dealing with Colombians, Italians, and buying keys of cocaine in Greece. True storytelling quality that stretches far beyond the average street crook tales we were used to hearing in Hip Hop at the time. Not that this is necessarily a good thing, but it adds a cinematic quality to the music that should be artistically appreciated. He ties these ostentatious stories together with humbling motivation and teaching in the chorus. His inclusion of consciousness as a seasoning to these drug stories presents a contradiction to the lifestyle he was professing to live. Many Black men on the street could resonate with developing a level of consciousness that conflicts with how you earn a living.
Incarcerated Scarfaces
This song is introduced by a scene from John Woo’s the Killer, a 1989 film about a hitman. It introduces the song eloquently, where a hitman is being described as calm, courageous, and heroic. Incarcerated Scarfaces is one of the highest rated songs on this album and one of the songs that contribute to its success. The chorus sounds as if it is a letter to those street figures who are incarcerated at present, chasing the luxurious circumstances embodied by figures like Scarface. This is another song where Raekwon engages in Cartel talk, with his Scarface reference. This RZA produced hit samples Detroit Emerald’s 1973 Funk song You’re Getting too Smart and presents a calming instrumentation that compliments depictions of organized crime.
But all I need is my house, my gat, my Ac'
Bank account fat, it's going down like that
And pardon the French, but let me speak Italian
Black stallions wildling on Shaolin
That means the island of Staten
Can it Be All So Simple (Remix)
The original Can it Be All So Simple was a Wu Tang hit that made its way onto Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers). This R&B mashup remix includes a skit that sets the scene for Ghostface to kick this track off with his storytelling prowess about knockin’ off a half a cake outta state. I wish everybody that read this knew what that meant, you’ll get it soon enough.
I doze off, catch a flashback on how I got trapped
And got licked like Pesci in a mob flick, I got hit
Stumbling, holding my neck to the God's rest
Opened flesh, burgundy blood colored my Guess
Gladys Knight and the Pips are sampled, materializing the chorus. Raekwon and Ghostface used that foundation to do a few shout outs to accompany their vocals.
This classic skit at the beginning is so legendary, Aaron McGruder referenced it in a hilarious scene from the Boondocks. A character named Cindy McPhearson confronts another little girl for selling girl scout cookies in her area in the scene. This mirrors the scene where we can hear Ghostface and Raekwon getting into a confrontation about some unknown man hustling on their territory. This is the cinematic quality I am referring to in this project, and this creative genius has even been referenced on screen. Listen to the reference below, cut and mixed by myself:
Verbal Intercourse
RZA produced this album cut, where the only non Wu Tang feature is displayed with Nas. Nas gives this album so much acclaim and has noted feeling honored at his inclusion, especially since they were all friends at the time. To this day, Ghostface recognizes Nas as a true friend. The music on this song is complimented by a woman’s moans layered within the beat to make for a sonic experience that pairs well with the title. Nas showed and proved with his lyrical ability on this track telling a story of living on the run and wielding a pistol in a nonchalant manner. He further describes the loyalty of women who smuggle drugs into Rikers Island for their significant other.
Rooster heads profile on a bus to Riker's Isle
Holdin' weed inside they pussy wit they minds
On the pretty things in life, props is a true thugs wife
Raekwon introduces this record with one of my personal favorite lines on the album. A simple warning to:
Keep your eyes open and your wallet in your front pocket.
Any New Yorker must live by these words, no matter what walk of life in which you represent.
Ice Cream
The 15th song on this body of work, Ice Cream is arguably one of the most well known Wu Tang songs. Method Man who is normally recognized as the Wu’s front man delivered on this chorus, metaphorically referring to different complexions of women based on Ice Cream flavors. This is a problematic theme for some, as Hip Hop has been plagued with misogyny. However, this song was a big hit and recognized as a song that appealed heavily to their women audience. This summertime anthem included a video that had a group of women of different complexions dressed in shirts with Wu Tang logos and their corresponding ice cream flavor. One of the women who happened to be in this video was, ironically, R&B legend Alicia Keys. I may go out on a limb and say that ice cream sales increased in 1995 by way of this song. The ice cream inflation rate rose a whopping 3% from 1995 to 1996. Coincidence? I think not. Hip Hop is the largest marketing machine to date.
Of course there are plenty of other songs on this classic that are artistic masterpieces, but these are the five that were most impactful in my life. What songs do you know on this album? If you don’t know any, check some out and let me know what moves you and why. The themes that resonate the most with me are those of consciousness, brotherhood, and staying prepared for war. This album gave us clear insight on the wars we fight in the inner city from the perspective of drugs, crime, lust, imprisonment, and religion. The influence of mainstream music industry agendas are apparent in all of the classics unfortunately. This forces me to weed through all of that to hear the pain in a group of Black men fighting to keep their brotherhood in a world of hate and despair, that has even turned them against their own selves. Peace.
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