Happy New Year. Seems that Raekwon couldn’t wait to start 2012 with some new music. Check out his new mixtape entitled Unexpected Victory . The 17-track effort includes guest appearances from Mobb Deep, Busta Rhymes, and Vado, along with production by 9th Wonder, Statik Selektah, and The Olympicks. Stream it below, or download your copy at DatPliff.com . Download Mixtape | Free Mixtapes Powered by DatPiff.com RELATED POSTS: Raekwon “Butter Knives” [MUSIC VIDEO] Raekwon “Ferry Boat Killaz” [MUSIC VIDEO]
‘Sometimes people get stuck off of one style I got,’ Raekwon tells MTV News about 1995’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. … By Rob Markman Raekwon Photo: MTV News For Raekwon , the success of his 1995 classic debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx … , is a double-edged sword. While the Wu-Tang Clansman celebrated and performed songs from his first album on Saturday at Rock the Bells in New York, he admitted to MTV News that sometimes the OB4CL admiration distracts from his other work. “It is a gift and a curse, because sometimes people get stuck off of one style I got, and that’s cool if that’s what you love,” Rae said backstage at Rock the Bells before he and Ghostface performed Cuban Linx … for thousands of fans. “I mean, I wanna be loved regardless by the fans because they help me pay my bills and allow me to still be here, but as long as you know what I’m capable of.” The Chef got his start as a member of Wu-Tang Clan in 1993, but after dropping the much-celebrated Cuban Linx…, Raekwon was held as one of New York’s biggest rap draws, right along with the Notorious B.I.G., Nas and Method Man. Since then, Rae dropped Immobilarity in 1999 and The Lex Diamond Story four years after that. In 2009, the Staten Island MC returned with Only Built 4 Cuban Linx … Pt. II , and last year he released his fifth solo album, Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang . Still, having such highly regarded debut can be a lot to deal with at times. “Of course I get tired of people dwelling on that, but at the same time, that’s me, that made me a Martin Luther King rap n—a, that put me in a certain box. So if that’s what you know me by, as long as you know me from the get-down side,” he said. “Other than that, all I can do is keep climbing and keep growing and that’s all I been doing.” In true Chef fashion, Raekwon used food to draw his perfect analogy, comparing his albums to prime cuts of meat. “Every now and then, it do feel like, ‘Yo, check this out, leave that steak alone, that sirloin, and f— with New York steak or this rib eye or somethin’.” On August 1, Rae celebrated the 16-year anniversary of the Purple Tape and spoke with RapFix about its impact. “I knew I had a classic when I formulated with these nine members in this group,” he said of his camaraderie with the Wu. “Everything at that time that we was making, we was so sharp, it was supervisual already.” Related Artists Raekwon
Raekwon is working on a new book based on his life and growth as a human being. Rae talked about the book with AllHipHop.com Russell Simmons On Chris Brown: ‘Give This Man A Break’ How Many Times Should A Black Man Apologize? “That’s in the making soon. I just gotta deal with certain things at certain times in my life,” Raekwon told AllHipHop.com . “When it’s time to happen, yeah I got a great story and I’m going to tell the truth. It’ll be something that you can jump on a plane or get on the bus and say yo that kid evolved as a man.” As one of the members of the Wu-Tang Clan , Rae has traveled the globe and worked with an extensive who’s-who in hip-hop and R&B. RELATED: Did Raekwon Call Justin Beiber A Lesbian? RELATED: Raekwon On Making “Verbal Intercourse” With Nas [VIDEO]
‘It’s … dealing in my mind and everything that I been through, and dealing with the crew,’ Rae tells MTV News of new solo LP. By Paul Cantor Raekwon Photo: Roger Kisby/ Getty Images Raekwon the Chef knows a thing or two about Shaolin and Wu-Tang. The title of the MC’s fifth solo album, Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang, represents the New York City borough he hails from, Staten Island — whose street name in rap circles is Shaolin — and, of course, the MC has been a key member of the iconic Wu-Tang Clan since its founding in the early ’90s. Ultimately, though, Rae’s album, which dropped on Tuesday (March 8), is inspired (like many things Wu-Tang) by the classic 1981 Gordon Liu film of the same name, about a rivalry between two schools of ancient martial arts. “[The film is about] basically two schools fighting with one another,” Raekwon told MTV News recently about the movie’s plot. “But they all come from the same school, and it was an outsider who actually tried to get the Shaolin style and the Wu-Tang style and have them go at one another. On this album, it’s the same thing: It’s two schools and, you know, I’m part of that school. I’m Shaolin but at the same time, I’m Wu-Tang. So really, it’s ego versus discipline, dealing in my mind and everything that I been through, and dealing with the crew.” It’s no coincidence that the concept behind Raekwon’s album focuses on two forces in opposition. Rae began working on Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang back in late 2007, after expressing disappointment with the creative direction Wu-Tang’s nominal leader, the RZA, had taken with the group’s ’07 LP, 8 Diagrams. (Fellow Wu member Ghostface Killah went so far as to call the album
‘It’s … dealing in my mind and everything that I been through, and dealing with the crew,’ Rae tells MTV News of new solo LP. By Paul Cantor Raekwon Photo: Roger Kisby/ Getty Images Raekwon the Chef knows a thing or two about Shaolin and Wu-Tang. The title of the MC’s fifth solo album, Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang, represents the New York City borough he hails from, Staten Island — whose street name in rap circles is Shaolin — and, of course, the MC has been a key member of the iconic Wu-Tang Clan since its founding in the early ’90s. Ultimately, though, Rae’s album, which dropped on Tuesday (March 8), is inspired (like many things Wu-Tang) by the classic 1981 Gordon Liu film of the same name, about a rivalry between two schools of ancient martial arts. “[The film is about] basically two schools fighting with one another,” Raekwon told MTV News recently about the movie’s plot. “But they all come from the same school, and it was an outsider who actually tried to get the Shaolin style and the Wu-Tang style and have them go at one another. On this album, it’s the same thing: It’s two schools and, you know, I’m part of that school. I’m Shaolin but at the same time, I’m Wu-Tang. So really, it’s ego versus discipline, dealing in my mind and everything that I been through, and dealing with the crew.” It’s no coincidence that the concept behind Raekwon’s album focuses on two forces in opposition. Rae began working on Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang back in late 2007, after expressing disappointment with the creative direction Wu-Tang’s nominal leader, the RZA, had taken with the group’s ’07 LP, 8 Diagrams. (Fellow Wu member Ghostface Killah went so far as to call the album
‘It’s … dealing in my mind and everything that I been through, and dealing with the crew,’ Rae tells MTV News of new solo LP. By Paul Cantor Raekwon Photo: Roger Kisby/ Getty Images Raekwon the Chef knows a thing or two about Shaolin and Wu-Tang. The title of the MC’s fifth solo album, Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang, represents the New York City borough he hails from, Staten Island — whose street name in rap circles is Shaolin — and, of course, the MC has been a key member of the iconic Wu-Tang Clan since its founding in the early ’90s. Ultimately, though, Rae’s album, which dropped on Tuesday (March 8), is inspired (like many things Wu-Tang) by the classic 1981 Gordon Liu film of the same name, about a rivalry between two schools of ancient martial arts. “[The film is about] basically two schools fighting with one another,” Raekwon told MTV News recently about the movie’s plot. “But they all come from the same school, and it was an outsider who actually tried to get the Shaolin style and the Wu-Tang style and have them go at one another. On this album, it’s the same thing: It’s two schools and, you know, I’m part of that school. I’m Shaolin but at the same time, I’m Wu-Tang. So really, it’s ego versus discipline, dealing in my mind and everything that I been through, and dealing with the crew.” It’s no coincidence that the concept behind Raekwon’s album focuses on two forces in opposition. Rae began working on Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang back in late 2007, after expressing disappointment with the creative direction Wu-Tang’s nominal leader, the RZA, had taken with the group’s ’07 LP, 8 Diagrams. (Fellow Wu member Ghostface Killah went so far as to call the album
Track channels old-school Wu-Tang Clan, with two new verses from Raekwon. By Jayson Rodriguez Justin Bieber and Kanye West Photo: Getty Images On Kanye West’s re-engineered vision of Justin Bieber’s “Runaway Love,” which arrived online Monday (August 30), ‘Ye and Raekwon take turns trading Wu-homage rhymes in between the teen’s vocals. West sampled the Wu-Tang Clan ‘s 1993 breakout smash “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing Ta F— Wit” for the number. In his verse, Kanye pays homage to Raekwon’s standout verse on Jodeci’s “Freek’N You” remix, among other nods to the Staten Island collective. The veteran Wu lyricist also gives a nod to that same verse. “Yo, ‘Ye, what up,” Rae spits, opening the track like he did on the Jodeci hit. “You got stacks like the International House of Pancakes/ All alone, ready to phone me and your hand shakes/ Palms is wetted, don’s regret/ Never to walk miles for love, I sit in the starter’s deck.” “Last name West, and my teeth diamonds,” West rapped. “She said, ‘Yo, what’s your occupation: crazy rhyming?’ ” Bieber’s vocals are the same as on the original. Raekwon anchors the song with two verses, and Kanye has one verse on the track. Raekwon spoke to MTV News earlier this month and revealed that only he and West joined forces in the studio for the track. The wordsmith made no mention of Bieber among the celebrities who were present during the session at New York’s Electric Lady Studios. “Kanye was just being Kanye,” Rae said. “He was definitely excited. The energy in the room was already speaking for itself. It was time to get up and have fun on the track together. We was drinking, laughing, being normal cats. At the same time, we had a houseful of celebrities in the house as well. [Kanye] was moving through the facility, checking out the studios he had. He had three studios in there. “You had Akon in the building. Mos Def was just chillin’. Mos is a good friend of ‘Ye’s,” Rae added. “You had Charlie Wilson, the legendary cat from the Gap Band. Chris Rock walked in. These are guys that really respect who ‘Ye is. ‘Ye’s energy is cool. He’s a normal cat. A normal Chicago/world cat. Very mature. Having a great time.” The record came together after Kanye West and Justin Bieber talked to each other via Twitter. “Listening to @JustinBieber ‘Run Away love,’ ” West wrote “I love Sunday mornings in the crib.” Bieber responded and the two traded messages about their mutual admiration. West then added Raekwon in the mix. The producer revealed that the Wu-Tang Clan star performed on one of his favorite remixes of all time, Jodeci’s “Freek’N You” redux. “Maybe me and Rae should hop on Runaway Love! FLEX would drop bombs,” West wrote on Twitter, referring to Hot 97 DJ Funkmaster Flex’s method for showing his approval of records. What do you think of Kanye West’s “Runaway Love” remix? Let us know in the comments! Related Artists Kanye West Justin Bieber Raekwon Wu-Tang Clan
‘We never sung the whole album,’ Raekwon says of performing entire Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) debut. By Shaheem Reid Raekwon Photo: Universal This summer, the Wu-Tang Clan return to headline the heralded Rock the Bells Tour . But unlike the Killer Bees’ previous stage ventures for the annual outing, the Clan’s set will have a twist. The group will perform their classic debut, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) — in its entirety. “We never did that before,” Raekwon the Chef told Mixtape Daily last week. “We never sung the whole album, the 36 Chambers. “That’s gonna be interesting to see these cats do some of the records that really bust hip-hop’s cherry open,” Rae said. “I can’t wait to see this because I never seen it like that before. The concept is great. It gives fans the opportunity to go back and rewrite their history, go back and check it out, see what made dudes who they are. … This [tour] is gonna allow races to come together and have fun for one night. This is gonna be the event of events. This is gonna be the Royal Rumble of hip-hop. I’m sure that everybody is gonna come out and represent this. It’s gonna be right. I can’t wait.” Rae said every time he gets to perform among the legends that Rock the Bells welcomes onto its treks, he feels another year younger. “It’s always good to get out there with my brothers. We going to get money, pay them bills, take care of them kids. Then getting back in front of them fans again and giving them what they want,” the
Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Mark Ronson and Janelle Monae party for the New York magazine. By Steven Roberts Queen Latifah at the PAPER magazine party at the New York Public Library in New York City on Tuesday Photo: Bryan Bedder/ Getty Images NEW YORK — Paper magazine celebrated its 25th anniversary Tuesday evening with a party at the New York Public Library. Kanye West , Kid Cudi and Janelle Monae were all in attendance as Queen Latifah , the Virgins , DJ Mark Ronson and Liza Minnelli performed
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