Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt II

[Jin10304]

"^^ "Thug World" is the 6th INS feature i guess. "

But wasnt it originally just a Raekwon solo? Thats what it was listed as in the SCRATCH Article. I thought RZA & Decks verses were added just for 8D, plus why would Deck say 6 tracks if he already knew one of them already manifested on 8D?.

[RynMur]

This album gets more appreciation on other hip hop sites than the wu-corp...haha that's typical. 3 years from now, all these people hating will eventually come to liking it and notice that were overdoing the nitpicking.

This is no doubt the best album of 2009 (so far). There was no skip tricks, and what most people called filler is still solid. Plus, there is ATLEAST ten standouts, which seems impossible for this decade.

The biggest suprise I found to this album was the production. The chef came up with an legendary hip hop lineup. No wonder this album took a while to be released. These are top notch beats. Although, I wasn’t feeling Catalina that much. I felt Dre used the same piano type beat that was on P.I.M.P; he just changed the loop. The concept stayed on point throughout the album and kept it balanced and mafioso like. Furthermore, the storytelling rhymes brought everything together. Rae and almost all of the guest appearances brought some of their nicest (raw & rugged) rhymes.

Anyways, I advise all true hip hop heads to pick this up. You won’t be dissapointed. Just listen to it instead of hearing it.

Top 5: House Of Flying Daggers, Cold Outside (fav), New Wu, Ason Jones, Walk Wit Me

Grade: (4.7/5) A

[Mista JpKoff]

so lets go for a quick track by track

1) North Star Intro
2) House Of Flying Daggers - 5/5 flawless wu-banger
3) Sonny's Missing - 4/5 ultra dope story, dope beat, avg flow
4) Pyrex Vision - 4.5/5 that drug stuff... amazing
5) Cold Outside - 3.5/5 i'm usually a fan of suga bang hooks but here i dont like it at all... the beat is lackluster too
6) Black Mozart - 5/5 great track, love that rza bridge, rae & deck come off dope
7) Jihad - 5/5 one of my favorite joints too, ill beat and a crazy ghost verse
8) New Wu - 5/5 this one grew on me like exponentially... rae's verse isnt as good as ghosts and meths but its still dope as fuck.
9) Penitentiary - 4/5 ill story, not so ill beat
10) Bagging Crack - 4.5/5 love this shit, 2 minutes was the perfect length for this song
11) Surgical Gloves - 3.5/5 again, ill story, too bad that the flow doesnt match this greatness. not a fan of the beat neither but i can fuck with it
12) Broken Safety - 4/5 good stuff
13) Canal Street - 3/5 boooring, an example of a bad use of a dope sample
14) Ason Jones - 4.5/5 tight, emotional
15) Have Mercy - 4/5 weird mixing of the song (blue rasperrys vocals for instance), couldve been off the hook and ends up just good
16) 10 Bricks - 5/5 another flawless wu-banger
17) Fat Lady Sings - 4/5 short and tight
18) Catalina - 4/5 typical...
19) We Will Rob You - 4.5/5 like most ppl the hook is a bit painful to me, other than that, thats a wu-banger
20) About Me - 4.5/5 real dope track, better than the rae joint on big bang but it doesnt really fit, couldve been an ill bonus track if they swapped this and walk with me
21) Mean Streets - 3.5/5 same remark as cold outside
22) Kiss The Ring - 3/5 cant stand this beat... seems some pedophile music to me, dont ask why... terrible way to end the album imo

overall im really amazed at raes lyrics and the quality of the guest verses. not so impressed by raes flow... on some occasions his laziness fits the track perfectly, on some other occasions it only becomes boring after a while. The beat selection is aight... outstanding compared to immobilarity and lex diamond story, but it clearly couldve been better. good points : the dilla joints, the rza joints, necro, sermon, pete rock, marley marl... the rest isnt that great...
i really like this album, now im just trying to get my hands on the uk version... who could say no to two bonus track, especially when one of them is walk with me... i dont want my copy to end with kiss the ring which is maybe the only song i cant stand regardless of the amazing lineup...

[JerseyIronman]

i got to write a review here very soon. best Wu album since SC i think.

[claaa7]

damn this album really reminds me of why i fell in love with wu to begin with (no homo).. "We Will Rob You" and "New Wu" is the fucking anthems of the year, goddamn - every joint on this shit is hot to death, salute to Rae for taking his time and really trying to serve his fans because the customer is always right, right.

[Hollow Dartz]

damn this album really reminds me of why i fell in love with wu to begin with (no homo).. "We Will Rob You" and "New Wu" is the fucking anthems of the year, goddamn - every joint on this shit is hot to death, salute to Rae for taking his time and really trying to serve his fans because the customer is always right, right.

New Wu is my new ringtone. That's my shit.

[12weLvE]

22) kiss the ring - 3/5 cant stand this beat... seems some pedophile music to me, dont ask why... Terrible way to end the album imo

lmao!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[angry!]

ob4cl part deux is an instant classic. i felt this way the first time i heard it and i feel this way today. this album made me feel like a kid again,

theres always gonna be nitpickers bitchin about reused samples or a misplaced hi hat, but there should be no denying ob4cl 2 is a high grade product!!! the lyrics are top notch, the flows are masterful and varied, vocal quality is high, and the beats are bangin!!!

pick any verse off the joint, and if you have half an imagination youll be able to visualize the scene that raes playing out on the pen. for example, raes verse on mean streets...

"Rembrandts is fresh from Scotland, crisp hats, Cristal bottles
Niggaz want the problems, we back
It's time to take over the game, it's nothing
I live on the line, from corner to castles with pawns and capsules"

for all the generic street rap that gets played out, rae and co prove nothins better than a good old fashioned crime epic. raes on some martin scorcese shit here, his performance should not get downplayed. some of the strongest showings of his career!!!

the guest appearences are handeled flawlessly, jada, styles, beanie, and the clan all bring it!!! especially this one dude ghostface!!!!

any track ghost is on here is getting burned!!! no one is spitting with as much tenactiy and passion as ghost right now, plus add the fact hes a visual storyteller with topics for days!!! the fact ghost is spitting this hard at this stage of his career, its straight awe inspiring!!!!

"penetentiary" is one of the hardest rae and ghost tracks ive ever heard, you can see the story play out and the creativity behind the track shows why rae and ghost are one of the best duos in rap.

deck and meth both added some classic verses to their catalogue with this joint as well.

never forget, that at the end of the day, hip hop is beats and rhymes. ob4cl 2 provides this at the highest level, and more. highly cinematic lyrics over banging beats!!! every track is a movie in itself and the shit deserves the highest praise a cd can get. the span of time between the two is immense, but played side by side they sound a part of one. rae made his godfather 2!!!!

5 mics - 10/10 whatever you wanna call it. inspiring release. big ups rae, you did it homie!!!!

[Tony Kipriani]

dope album i luv it!
best rap album 2009

favourite Track: cold outside... awesome

9/10

[V1LLAIN]

Dope album far from a classic tho. Alot of terrible beats and wack corny hooks kill this album. Needed more RZA beats ....BANGER

[num2son]

..Needed more RZA beats ....BANGER

I thought the album was going to be filled with rza beats...guess not.


I thought the album was good, I'm surprise my self that I wasn't wowed by this album. Also to many producers on it.

Overall - 3/5


Favorite tracks:
House of flying daggers
Pyrex Vision
New Wu
Have Mercy
10 Bricks (Dope J Dilla Beat)
We will Rob You
Walk wit Me

[the silencer]

this album is epic.
flat out. The buzz was humongous, Rae really did a masterful job of holding out makin everybody wait until the market was properly ripe and ready to receive this amazing album.. we saw all the interviews, we saw all the random YouTube videos of him just sayin "Cuban Linx 2, it's comin" and then walkin around Canada or someplace..

but when it finally hit, this shit made a major splash--deservedly so..

this is HIP HOP, this is bangin beats and raw lyrics. Matter fact, for as much attention as some of these beats are getting (Dilla's shine is incredible on the album, Rza came ridiculous with Black Mozart and New Wu) it is the LYRICS that truly define this modern classic.

I will say somethin else I don't think I've seen anyone mention yet and that's this: Rae finally gets his own shine here.. Some might disagree, but I feel like Rae has been underrated as FUCK by most Wu fans. Maybe not hip hop fans in general, cuz they see it as "oh well he released that classic Only Built 4 Cuban Linx" but as most Wu fans (in their right mind) see it, that album was mostly Rza and Ghost's shine. Rae was great on it but didn't take the spotlight even though it was really HIS album...his other albums are constantly shitted on and besides that he had never really gotten the deserved praise for being a slang master general lyrically, that mostly went to Ghost (or even Cappa)....well, Cuban Linx 2 is truly RAE's ALBUM.. he spits fire on every song, whether it's the ridiculous slang-drenched verses or he's vividly painting cinematic pictures: this is Raekwon's album and he gets his full shine on it..

and much respect to Raekwon for grabbin the torch and goin full force at the hip hop industry (a totally different scene nowadays) representing Wu to the fullest..I loved this quote from a recent interview:

"But honestly, I would do anything and everything to see my Clan on top. So I felt this was a job I had to take on in making this album. It was a must.”

enough of that, as for the product itself....


Album Cover:
peace to Wu-Corp's very own graphicist Sean for receiving the ultimate reward of having his work as THEE cover to Wu's biggest album in probably a decade. I think it pays homage well to the original but it's also got it's own thing goin for it with all this Purple, i really like the whole Purple theme to the artwork throughout and payin homage to the old purple cassette tape. The inside pic of Rae as a giant tied down in New York is sick but the pose pic of him holdin guns is hella corny. Reminds me of some G-Unit shit and he's even got the machine gun upside down so it might shoot him in the face..
the shit with Rza and the chainsaw is sick tho, is that from the New Wu video shoot?
(it also bears mentioning that there's a ton of misspellings and errors throughout the credits..they didn't list Ghost as featuring a couple times, left out Busta Rhymes...real sloppy shit that was surprising considering how long they had to put it all together)



1. Return of the North Star
ft Poppa Wu
prod by BT

great calm, smooth intro to a great album. Cool idea to set it off with the last lines of Pt 1.
I just love this line from Poppa Wu: “You didn’t let ME cheat you out ya money, shiiiit man, what?”
The switch up to the Have Mercy beat is sick, starts gettin you pumped for what’s about to come.


2. House of Flying Daggers
ft Inspectah Deck, Ghostface, Method Man, Gza (chorus)
prod by J-Dilla

honestly when this track first dropped I wasn’t that crazy about it and only listened to it maybe twice. Once I heard it on the album though I LOVED it. This is a Wu banger, cinematically-stringed marching stomp of raw hip hop. Rae spits that “live fly criteria”, INS sets it off crazy with a verse that sounds better with each listen, Ghost’s “train hat fits lovely”, and Meth surprises me---cuz I didn’t know he could still rap like that. And the ending is awesome, “I feel like my back’s broken!”

This is the perfect jump-off and perfectly, powerfully reasserts Wu’s name back into the scene for all those people who didn’t even realize they were still makin music until they got overcome by the flood OB4CL2 promotion and buzz…yep, they still make music and with this album they’re bringin HEAT..

PS: I also love the video for this track
5/5

3. Sonny’s Missing
prod by Pete Rock

okay so now it’s like, after his co-stars and Wu-brethren helped set things off with him, Rae jumps right into it—right into the vivid, Scorcese-movie style storytelling and lyrical picture-painting and image-scrawling.
I love this line, observin how the tied-up dude they’re interrogating was getting serious money by the sick sunglasses he had:
“I heard you copped a new beamer and them glasses is rough, they was the Furla joints, 18 karats, bought ‘em right in Brazil”
and then, once they’re shooting the guy
“Muddy Gucci joints on, them shits was 9 hun’ed, couldn’t wait to kill him, his son’s wanted it”
The scenes are ridiculous.
And even though the album has no skits, the chatter at the front and back of some the tracks, especially this one, works well. I love how all the voices are Rae’s

4/5

4. Pyrex Vision
prod by Marley Marl

Marley coming through with the smoothness…a brief, beautiful track with Rae in the kitchen bubblin up some drugs on the stove.

4/5

5. Cold Outside
ft Ghostface Killah and Suga Bang Bang
prod by Icewater

The Godfather Pt 2 sample is epic and I’m glad they used it on this album, always loved that scene and the music from it when the young Vito Corleone is walkin along the roofs of NY to go assassinate somebody. But, even though the beginning and end is pretty epic-sounding, I ain’t crazy about the beat itself.
Rae and Ghost’s verses are bananas, especially Ghost’s as he buggin the fuck out about the horrors he’s seeing in the world.

3.5/5

6. Black Mozart
feat Inspectah Deck
prod by The Rza

the transition from Cold Outside into this song is SICK with the sword-fighting craziness and this track is FIRE. Rza twirls the classic Godfather tune into an eerie organ banger and the two emcees are quite obviously hyped as FUCK from it, haven’t heard Inspectah Deck spit like this in ages!!!! Only thing I woulda hoped for is a Bobby Steels verse (and stay off the chorus) but it’s dope nonetheless, just as it is.

5/5


7. Gihad
ft Ghostface
prod by Necro

another banger with probably the second-best drums on the album behind the next song. Rae’s verse is wild and many of the lines have been stuck in my head ever since I first heard this joint. “We bought the crib next to Bill Clinton mother cuz she fuck with the Chinese” might be the funniest line on the album..
Really, this song reminds a lot of the track “The Game” when Rae/Ghost collabo’d with Pete Rock and Prodigy. It’s an absolute banger and the chorus sounds similar. Ghost’s verse is ridiculous----just ridiculous signature Ghost nasty shit.

5/5


8. New Wu
ft Method Man, Ghostface
prod by Rza

the bangin, melodic Rza-produced Wu banger that blew us all away when we first heard it and officially sparked the wick on the SERIOUS hype for CL2 (like "oh shit this album might seriously be awesome" hype).. Probably the best drums of any joint on the album and the track is hype as fuck, with a memorable chorus from Meth..

this track is a perfect example of what makes this album truly special and, for sure, something totally different than the first Only Built: Rae shines on this track lyrically IMO brighter than either guest (his flow, the ridiculous wordplay)…but every verse is sick, Ghost’s “inner strength flowin, mastered Chi Kung” line is wild and even though I’ve personally questioned Meth’s abilities and what he has left lately, he definitely came correct here. The Rza banger definitely hyped everybody up properly.

5/5


9. Penitentiary
ft Ghostface
prod by BT

RAGU dopeness..
The classic back-and-forth style from Wu’s duo is entertaining as hell on this track with a creative storyline and role-playing. Ghost is a prison guard who’s crooked and helping Rae (the prisoner) out, detailing how he’s gonna hide weapons in his breakfast.
The track is relatively brief, especially with the chorus repeated twice but the story ends great: it’s breakfast, Rae’s eating and he finds the stuff Ghost left for him in his grits, it’s a jailbreak and Rae’s people bust in “with blood in they eye like they ready to kill” and it’s over..

4/5

10. Baggin Crack
prod by Erick Sermon

Rae’s flow is off the hook on this one and the lyrics are, just as on most of this great album, crazy visual…the beauty of this album is the plentitude of colorful pictures painted all over it..

4/5

11. Surgical Gloves
prod by Alchemist

I ain’t as crazy about this track as some of the other CL2 enthusiasts. The beat is pretty good but to my ears this is one of the weaker tracks on the album..Rae’s second verse is a gem though:
“gold tuba from Bermuda in my livingroom spreads”

3/5

12. Broken Safety
ft Jadakiss and Styles P
prod by Scram Jones

BANGER..the beat is SICK and Rae stomps and chomps it. “I’m forever zooted, crushed up glass I’m splashin through it”..
I honestly haven’t been feelin the Lox since their first album but Jadakiss is nice on here…Stlyes I hate his flow here but his last line is tight and the kung-fu samples all over this joint are wild..

4/5


13. Canal Street
prod by Icewater

plenty of shit going on in the beginning, basically serving as an interlude or break in the action..
it’s a good track with a good chorus (I was surprised at how ill pretty much all the choruses were on this album) but I could do without this track..

3/5

14. Ason Jones
prod by J-Dilla

oh man, what a track…starts off so wonderfully, like Rae is sittin back with a Bailey’s and a tokin a blunt just chillin and reflectin for a sec..
This is probably my favorite track on the album; it’s an elegiac classic of Rae payin respects to his fallen brother through DOPE and heartfelt lyrics on his own classic album and it’s produced by another fallen hip hop brother..
The Dirt Dog cuts are great and really this track solidifies the album for me. This is Wu right here.
“Russell Ason Jones I knew him for his braids and lessons”

5/5

15. Have Mercy
feat Beanie Sigel, Blue Raspberry
prod by Icewater

the smooth instru from the intro reappears and it’s a great track, Beanie’s is my favorite non-Wu guest spot on the album..
yet again, the Rae’s chorus is great..Blue Raspberry is aight

4/5

16. 10 Bricks
feat Cappadonna, Ghostface
prod by J-Dilla

16 tracks deep already, plenty of dope shit so far…and then you get THIS SHIT!? Some people complained about the length of this album but to me that’s one of the STRENGTHS of this album, it’s got depth, a deep roster of tracks…I feel like once you reach this point you’re startin to think it might be over soon and then this ridiculous joint pops up..
tied with Ason Jones for my favorite joint on the album, I love everything about it..another J-Dilla banger, Rae’s “blow killed the doctor” and he takes “baths with white women, lingerie see-thru”
the chorus is SICK, “knock the ash off the blunt, confront niggas who cunt”!!!
I’m sorry but I’m wild about this joint, I just really look forward to hearin this shit live at a concert.
Ghost is LIVE AS FUCK HERE!!!

5/5

17. Fat Lady Sings
prod by The Rza

Another track with a bunch of drama goin on in the beginning, again it’s like an interlude. Kind of a weird, unconventional instru from Rza here but once you soak it in it’s tight----Rae goes in with the bloody visuals of knockin out a Dread who’s tryin to sling in his area, cutting him up and then “You ain’t dead yet?”..
Track is brief but tight..

4/5

18. Catalina
feat Lyfe Jennings
prod by Dr. Dre

my least favorite track on the album…I find it hard to believe this is Dre, it’s such a simple, dare I say amateur beat. The melody is okay but the hi-hats splashin in make it sound so corny and jesus Lyfe Jennings is whackadocious—Doesn’t belong on this album..
Rae is Rae as always but it’s hard for me to listen to this track..

2/5

19. We Will Rob You
feat Gza, Masta Killa, Slick Rick (chorus)
prod by Justice

the beat is pretty simple and repetitive but it’s okay here cuz the emcees grab the spotlight..
crazy pictures painted by Rae and then The Genius (!) comes through…Masta Killa is okay and clarifies Rae’s infamous tongue-twist from the original album while also goin thru the supreme math, cool verse but has nothing to do with what everyone else is saying..

4/5

20. About Me
feat Busta Rhymes
prod by Dr Dre

“stay fly, hungry and wise/ you know the code, honor it”
DOPE head-nodder, this Dre beat is simple yet again but it works to perfection..Rae is hungry on it and spits fire in both verses and Busta is pretty ill..

4/5

21. Mean Streets
ft Inspectah Deck, Ghostface
prod by Mathematics


I could do without this track. This and Catalina are my least favorite joints on the album..
My problem with it is that the sample is just way to familiar by now and this ain’t even a good use of it…the drums are whack…
Rae's verse is good but I ain’t feelin Deck’s and Ghost’s too much..

3/5


22. Kiss the Ring
ft Inspectah Deck, Masta Killa
prod by Scram Jones

perfect ending…I feel like the opening stuff is a celebration of the album itself and it’s cool that New Wu is playing in the background.
With Ason Jones and 10 Bricks, this is one of my absolute favorites on the album. The beat is dope, Rae KILLS it, then Deck comes in and KILLS it, and then the Masta…

Masta Killa’s verse on this track is my favorite guest verse on the whole album (and that’s sayin a lot), it’s fuckin ill..Last verse on the album and he perfectly paints and summarizes the entire theme of the album just in this one brief verse.

5/5


OVERALL:
Beats 4/5
Lyrics 4.5/5

8.5 outta 10

[noel411]

My edited version of this album has 13 tracks instead of 22, and is about 42 minutes long instead of 71 minutes. This is a perfect album length imo. 42 minutes of high quality tracks that keep my attention, rather than 71 minutes of a mix of high quality tracks, ordinary tracks, and straight up filler that has me repeatedly reaching for the skip button and wishing the fucking thing would just hurry up and end so I could listen to something else. This shortened version is an infinitely more enjoyable and accessible version of the album. Pity they couldn't just do it that way in the first place.

[brock]

^^^The album is a week old. Those people that are pawning off half the tracks as filler after listening to it a few times are retarded. This album has no filler. Each and every track brings something new and unique to the table. Try just zoning out and listening to it rather than staring at your cd player waiting for the exact moment the next song begins so you can skip it. Smoke a blunt. Walk your dog. Just listen.

[claaa7]

^^ word, i bump the 80 minutes every fucking day - i have yet to skip a song.