Raekwon - 90s Artist of the week

The history of music is rife with artists leaving the comfort of a successful group and recording solo records.  Littered with successes and failures for every Michael Jackson there is a Pras Michel.  Often it has little to do with talent and everything to do with timing, promotion, and the ever changing whims of the musical landscape.  In 1993 a hip-hop collective burst upon the scene from the streets of New York's Staten Island with a brand of rugged hip hop and urban mystique that hadn't been seen before.  The Wu-Tang Clan were almost immediately successful and dominated the airwaves for much of the following years.

Uniquely the clan came into the rap game with a plan for all the members to go solo as well record as a collective and structured their deal so that each had an opportunity to express their own sound.  The first out of the official solo releases was Method Man and he was soon followed by the Old Dirty Bastard.  Both releases were commercial successes and critically acclaimed and the bar was raised for the next round of solo projects from the clan.

Enter Raekwon the Chef. Method Man and ODB had been standouts from the beginning. So, practically no one could have predicted the phenomenon that followed his stunning debut Only Built For Cuban Linx.  Raekwon instantly became one of the greatest rappers in the game and delivered not only a classic LP but something that that would influence rap music for the next decade. Cuban Linx showcased Raekwon's unique blend of seemingly simple rhyme scheme that hid very intricate wordplay. With ease The Chef could weave a tale of hustling in the hood so smoothly that it was easy to forget the harsh realities of life being exposed in his words.

Widely hailed as not only a classic but the best Wu-Tang solo album of all time, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, has garnered praise and critical acclaim over the last decade. With 5 out of 5 scores from such notable magazines as The Source and Rolling Stones; Raekwon easily became one of hip-hop's all-time greats. 

Raekwon is our 90's artist of the week, and if you think that his excellence ended in the last decade take a listen to his latest remixes of classic songs being released through Soundcloud over the last few weeks and months.