Raekwon Sets A Release Date For FILA And Drops New Cut With Busta Rhymes

Posted on July 10, 2014 by spiritequality

Raekwon’s fifth solo album, “FILA” (Fly International Luxurious Art) is scheduled to drop on September 16th, according to XXL (where they oddly describe the Wu general as “the ‘Footsteps in the Dark’ rapper”, associating him with a recent freestyle, despite his 20-year career).

Everyone loves “Only Built 4 Cuban Linx”, but even Rae’s lesser acclaimed albums (“Immobilarity”  and “Lex Diamond Story”) sound like masterpieces compared to the garbage rap that the mainstream is championing now. That’s not even to mention the return to glory that was represented by “Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Pt. 2”, which is second only to Chronic 2001 for the title of best hip-hop sequel album in history. So, expectations are high for FILA, which features guest appearances from Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross, and Estelle, as well as buzzing NY rappers like A$AP Rocky and French Montana.

Rae’s new track with Busta Rhymes, “Oh God,” (which shares a sample with a Brand Nubian classic Punks Jump Up To Get Beat Down) can be heard above. What really makes the cipher complete is the combination of the title (“Oh God”), the Brand Nubian sample association (complete with the horns!) and the gods Raekwon and Busta Rhymes teaming up to bless the mic (both of whom pledge allegiance to the Nation of Gods and Earths, as do Brand Nubian).

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My Interview With Conspiracy Worldwide Radio On My Wu Book

Posted on July 8, 2014 by spiritequality

I was honored to be interviewed on Conspiracy Worldwide Radio to discuss my book “Enter The Wu-Tang: How Nine Men Changed Hip-Hop Forever” this past February. Host Mista Montana was gracious enough to invite me on the show to talk about the book months before it was even completed, for which I am eternally grateful.

Take a listen to the interview here (it starts at roughly 2:20:00 into the program, after the Jean Grae interview). My son Khalil (then roughly six months old) was on my lap for much of the interview. He was surprisingly well-behaved throughout!

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Nardwuar versus Wu-Tang Clan

Posted on July 7, 2014 by spiritequality

If you’ve never seen a Nardwuar interview, you have missed out on the most talented interviewer in music journalism. His research and preparation for interviews is legendary. Here, he interviews Rza, U-God, Ghostface, Raekwon and a mostly silent Cappadonna and Inspectah Deck. Rza answers most of the questions, particularly those that relate to all of the classic martial arts film posters that Nardwuar presents to the Clan as gifts, such as “Ten Fingers of Death“. Rza is also presented records from his days as Prince Rakeem, The Genius’ “Come Do Me” record (his debut on wax), as well as classics from The Force MDs, The UMCs, and The Fearless Four. After Nardwuar presents him with one particular indie 12 inch, Rza also reveals which hip-hop entrepreneur inspired him to put out Wu-Tang’s first record independently.

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Raekwon Discusses His Upcoming Album FILA And Speaks On OB4CL 20th Anniversary Plans

Posted on July 7, 2014 by spiritequality

With the 20th anniversary of “Only Built 4 Cuban Linx” coming, Raekwon teases plans on how he’ll celebrate that special milestone in the interview (with Kick Rocs) above. He also speaks briefly on his upcoming album “F.I.L.A.” (Fly International Luxurious Arts). Finally, he speaks on working with new artists like Freddie Gibbs and ScHoolboy Q.

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Raekwon Adds A New Verse To A Soul Classic!

Posted on July 3, 2014 by spiritequality

Raekwon added a new verse to The Isley Brothers’ slow jam classic “Footsteps In The Dark“. Stream the marvelous blend the Chef cooked up on the player above.

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Method Man Says His New Album, Blackout 3 Are Coming

Posted on July 2, 2014 by spiritequality

In an online chat with Reddit users, Method Man said his forthcoming album “Meth Lab” will be out soon and that he is currently working on Blackout 3 with Redman. He also took the photo above at the request of a Reddit user named kb401 who asked him to “take a pic saying fuck u kelby”. LOL!

Obviously if you don’t have the first Blackout or Blackout 2, you should get to clicking the aforementioned linked titles ASAP (especially the first one).

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It’s Been Almost A Year Since “Keynote Speaker” Dropped

Posted on June 30, 2014 by spiritequality

July 23, 2014 marks the one year year anniversary for U-God’s “Keynote Speaker”, a very overlooked album executive produced by Rza, with appearances from Method Man, Inspectah Deck, Gza, Elzhi, Kool Keith and Styles P (among others). After lots of interpersonal ups and downs between Rza and U-God (including lawsuits), these brothers reunited to make a very strong album that a lot of people slept on (possibly because it was a release on Wu-controlled indie Soul Temple Records and thus lacked the push of a major label release). You can check out snippets from all the tracks on “Keynote Speaker” on the player below and cop the album here.

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Raekwon To Headline The 2014 Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival

Posted on June 27, 2014 by spiritequality

At the 5:02 mark of the video above, Raekwon discusses how he grew up in Brooklyn, alongside U-God, before they both moved to Staten Island. So, Raekwon’s headlining slot at the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival could be viewed as the triumphant return of a hometown hero.

In a recent interview, Raekwon discussed his plans for his headlining performance the 2014 Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival (without giving away many details).

Other performers at this year’s Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival include:

Jay Electronica
CyHi The Prynce (from Kanye West’s GOOD Music camp)
CJ Fly (of the Joey Badass-affiliated Brooklyn collective Pro Era)
DJ Rob Swift

Tickets can be purchased here.

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Wu-Tang Just Released A Line Of Soccer Gear! Soccer Fans Rejoice!

Posted on June 27, 2014 by spiritequality

Soccer fans worldwide who rock with Wu can now show their allegiance to their favorite sport *and* their favorite group with Wu-Tang’s release of a Wu-Tang soccer line: Wu Cup! Awesomeness! What better thing to rock as you watch the next World Cup match?

You can cop Wu Cup soccer gear straight from the Wu on their site.

If you want to read more about Wu’s impact on the world of fashion, check out the Addendum to my book “Enter The Wu-Tang: How Nine Men Changed Hip-Hop Forever“.

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Raekwon Urges His Better Half To “Stop Tripping” On Remix Of 90s Track

Posted on June 27, 2014 by spiritequality

Raekwon on The Come Up Show
No, the woman in the photo above is not Raekwon’s better half, I just thought the picture was funny next to the headline.

Raekwon and Ghostface make some of the best R&B infused songs of everyone in the Clan (with all due respect to Meth’s classic collabo with Mary J. Blige). Raekwon recently released a snippet of a new cut entitled “Stop Tripping,” which is a remix of Horace Brown’s “Trippin” (off of his 1996 self-titled album Horace Brown). For those who forgot (or slept), Raekwon’s reworking of this track is in same lane as (albeit not as great as) the classic vibe Rae and Ghost brought to Jodeci’s “Freakin’ You” remix. This is ironic, since DeVante Swing of Jodeci is the person who discovered Horace Brown.

Listen to Rae’s “Stop Trippin” remix below.

https://soundcloud.com/iceh2orecords/raekwon-stop-tripping-tbt-2

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