The Purple Tape became an instant collector’s item, a Holy Grail for Wu-Tang disciples, coveted by those who could claim to be the earliest devotees of Raekwon’s lyrical genius. Me and Ghost liked the bottle, and the name on the bottle was Louie Roederer. He would say something real intellectual and smart. "[8] Although the original intended title was "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Niggaz", this idea was eventually dismissed in favor of a more market-friendly one. Huey argued the record was possibly the "best Wu-Tang solo album", along with GZA's Liquid Swords, and wrote that like that album, "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx takes a few listens to reveal the full scope of its lyrical complexities, but it's immensely rewarding in the end. Raekwon x Concrete Jungle - Purple Tape Side A. [8] While this style was originated by Kool G Rap in the late 1980s, it didn't completely permeate the hip hop world until the release of OB4CL in 1995. [8] The reason for this elimination is because U-God was sentenced to serve several months in prison, which prevented subsequent participation on Cuban Linx. II was released in 2009 to critical acclaim. I'm an inventor. He took me and Ghost to lunch and dinner many times. Although Rae hasn’t mapped out a release date for The Purple Tape Files yet, viewers can expect it to see it before the end of 2020. It features appearances from every member of the Wu-Tang Clan except for Ol' Dirty Bastard. Along with GZA's Liquid Swords, Cuban Linx is the most acclaimed solo Wu-Tang work. That’s not all, though. So he pretty much knew the names of the cats and what they was about. 1. RZA had a couple of beats. "[8], The album ends with the song "North Star," which serves as a "closing credits" type of song. Other than that, I'm boss. But nobody could hear or say nothing, no comments, no touching the board when I leave. The chain we used to rock back in the days was Cuban links. The introduction to "Glaciers of Ice," for instance, involves Ghostface addressing his plans and methods of dyeing Wallabee-styled Clarks. A post shared by TIDAL(@tidal) on Aug … Recording Industry Association of America, Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version, "American album certifications – Raekwon – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx", Raekwon Announces 'Linx 2' Date, Says Budden 'Copied' Method Man, Raekwon the Chef :: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... :: Loud/RCA, "Raekwon the Chef Has the Hip-Hop Recipe", "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. So Rae came up with the theory, like a Cuban link is one of the roughest chains to break. I called Deck "Rollie Fingers" cause of the way he roll blunts. An older generation was leaving and getting older. It's very poisonous unless they got proper guidance. They came out with Cristal. “Everything is starting to come to fruition,” he explained. One year later, it re-entered the Hot Rap Singles chart, peaking at number 21. Raekwon's "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx" documentary is close to being wrapped up. View IPFS Metadata. [27] Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. The shit was just crazy on how it came together."[8]. He also believes the documentary will be as captivating as ESPN’s hit docuseries The Last Dance, which covered Michael Jordan’s final season with the Chicago Bulls. Join our newsletter for up-and-comming events, news, music and much more. And queens, much like ice cream, come in all different flavors. “I’m working on a powerful documentary about The Purple Tape album and it’s called The Purple Tape Files,” he told DX. “So definitely get ready for it before the beginning of next year. [8] In an interview with Wax Poetics, Raekwon explained "I grew up in the street, so I talked about the shit I knew and saw. Today In Hip Hop History: Raekwon’s Infamous “Purple Tape” Released 23 Years Ago Today. It was like dudes would come in on their own time and create stuff. To make all those early albums took three and a half years of my life. This proved to be the most successful single off the album, as it reached the 37th spot on the Billboard Hot 100, and the fifth spot on the Hot Rap Singles chart. For instance, the album refers to "Wu-Gambinos" in various occurrences; the term being a name for the 'alter-egos' of the rappers involved in Cuban Linx, and used on various later projects. We gonna be ready to surprise the world. Raekwon wanted to stand out, and he did. Due to Raekwon's storytelling, mobster-minded approach, the producer set up Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... to play like scenes in a crime movie. Those was Rae’s favorite movies and favorite actors that played in those movies that inspired Rae to do it in a Hip Hop form. I was like, I'm Lou Diamond, Louie Roederer. Though Cuban Linx would prove to be highly influential, Raekwon later revealed that he had no intentions for this impact, stating "Really, I was just trying to make something worth purchasing and worth respecting. The sequel was highly anticipated for nearly four years since its original announcement and fourteen years after the release of the original, appearing in XXL's top 10 list of most anticipated albums in 2007. It was a track that I felt a vibe of it was motion picture-like. We actually became friends. When we did it, I said, "yo, it's gonna be a very dangerous album; it's gonna change the game. [22] Los Angeles Times said the songs with other Wu-Tang Clan members are as good as anything on Enter the 36 Chambers and wrote of the music: "RZA's production sensibilities, sometimes minimal, other times symphonic, pull the listener in despite the chaos. We was on corners at 15, 16, doing shit you couldn't imagine. But John Woo didn't want nothing, never no money for that. But then I started giving some of my niggas in the crew names. "Heaven and Hell" contains additional vocals from Blue Raspberry. And our mission would be like, when we sit at the table, we want the best fuckin' wine they got in the building. “Right now we definitely in the final stages of it,” he said of the documentary. With a retail price of $200, the Purple Tapes were available at S.O.B. "[21] Cheo H. Choker from Spin magazine found Raekwon to be as vivid a lyricist as Kool G Rap, "so vivid you smell the gunpowder and wipe the blood on your shirt", while crediting RZA for "taking the art form of production to new heights". "[8], Serving as the album's most radio-friendly track, "Ice Cream" was released September 25, 1995, with "Incarcerated Scarfaces" as its B-side. In regard to his guest spot, Cappadonna later recalled "I had heard Rae's and Ghost's verses on there. They stopped back, and everything was recorded in my basement. They're tired of doing what they doing, but they're trying to make this last quarter million. (2012). "Lou Diamond" came from Louis Roederer who made Cristal, and from me being infatuated with the diamond world. So, we’ll see.”, He continued, “I mean when you sit here and you look at a movie like Once Upon A Time In America, The Godfather, Scarface, you will always remember those. [8] "I wanted to portray an image that if I was selling crack or dimes in the street, you would recognize these dimes from other niggas' dimes. Everything was just how I wanted it. Lace that. I didn't come outside, didn't have too many girl relations, didn't even enjoy the shit. [13], With "Glaciers of Ice" as its B-Side, the album's second single "Criminology" was released June 26, 1995, almost one year after "Heaven and Hell." 's Life After Death (1997). We almost never fought over beats or nothing. You’re gonna be pretty much be blown away [by it].”. So, it’s a couple of things that’s going on, but I’ll keep some of it under my hat until the time is permitted.”, He declared, “You guys are gonna go crazy when you see The Purple Tape Files documentary. Notably, Nas would appear as a guest on “the Purple Tape,” showing the creative solidarity these MCs had before the era of makeshift features. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (commonly referred to as The Purple Tape) is the debut studio album by American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon, released on August 1, 1995, by Loud Records and RCA Records. In regard to his and Ghostface's partnership, Raekwon later commented "Ghost and me, especially at the time, had this identical-twin effect on each other. We would joke about the same things and laugh at the same shit. "[8] Producer RZA has stated that "Rainy Dayz" is one of his all-time favorite songs on the album. A post shared by TIDAL (@tidal) on Aug 1, 2020 at 6:58am PDT He'll tell you that himself."[2]. He was honored that we did it. It's part of the budget, man. The Wu-Tang Clan MC originally announced The Purple Tape Files in 2015. II Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF0ry_aDPNw, "Raekwon Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)", The Critics Top 100 Black Music Albums of All Time, List of hip hop albums considered to be influential, Ghostdini: Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Only_Built_4_Cuban_Linx...&oldid=1022196542, Pages containing links to subscription-only content, Short description is different from Wikidata, Album articles lacking alt text for covers, Album chart usages for BillboardRandBHipHop, Certification Table Entry usages for United States, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz release group identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Hip Hop's 25 Greatest Albums by Year 1980–98. Last week NPR posted a story about the legend of "The Purple Tape," the purple-colored cassette version of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..., the 1995 solo debut by Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon. He ain't here, cause he makin' money! We gonna invite those demons, every negative stereotype, and deal with them." Being that it's my album, I wanted niggas to know, you gotta have a certain a.k.a. These alter-egos inspired an already dissociative hip-hop world to adopt new names and personae, from Nas' Escobar moniker to Notorious B.I.G. "[8], Seeking to musically express Raekwon's blend of Five Percenter creed and inner-city experience, producer RZA worked intensively on a polished sound, slower and more layered than that of Wu-Tang's previous efforts, using strings, piano loops and vocal samples from Kung Fu movies, and Mafia films. 's Frank White counterpart, which he would go on to further utilize upon the release of OB4CL. He ripped that shit. [8] Jay-Z would later reference Cuban Linx in his 2009 song "A Star Is Born" by stating "Wu-Tang gangbanged it, Meth ate / Rae took on a date with the Purple Tape / passed it on to Ason, then Ghostface / they had a hell of a run, stand and ovate." He gave me a lot of mentoring in film. Wu-Tang’s de-facto … [3] The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on October 2, 1995,[4] and according to Nielsen Soundscan, it has sold 1.1 million copies in the United States alone. I was honored to be asked to be on the album. The beats were like a grab bag. We gonna retire and see our grandbabies and get our lives together. Back then we would go do dinners and sit with Loud Records president Steve Rifkind and them up at the label. RZA later recollected "I met John Woo that same year. Mission is over, it's a perfect closing to the album. "[8], Though several songs, such as "Glaciers of Ice" and "Incarcerated Scarfaces," received radio play and music video treatment, only four official singles were released for Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…. We did the hustlin' thing, we did the crime thing; we did all the things that made us feel like mobsters or Mafiosos in some way. A known fan of the Wu, Tupac Shakur began to refer to himself as Makaveli and gave his Outlawz crew new names, albeit with a militaristic, dictatorial theme. The job is over. Ghost actually asked me to make one of those beats. It cost more than the muthafuckin' other, so we was like, Cristal, nigga! The Return of the Purple Tape. "[8] Regarding the recording atmosphere, Raekwon stated "The way RZA had it poppin' back then, we would come into his spot. That's a lot of money in the streets. He trying to put some food on the table. In an article for XXL, RZA later illustrated "The theme of the album is two guys that had enough of the negative life and was ready to move on, but had one more sting to pull off. Raekwon & Ghostface Killah joined the cine-cratic festivities at Sundance this year, unveiling the full-length documentary treatment of The Purple Tape … In regard to Raekwon's innovation of the gambinos, Method Man later affirmed "Raekwon started that. I would take stuff that I felt would suit my album correctly; others would take their own beats too. It’s something to look forward to. I felt like GZA was like Maximillian because he was like the brains of the crew. Me and Ghost is loving how the bottle looked. The Purple Tape became an instant collector's item, a Holy Grail for Wu-Tang disciples, coveted by those who could claim to be the earliest devotees of Raekwon's lyrical genius. Aside from being the album's first single, it was also the first song recorded for the album, serving as an installment to the soundtrack for the movie Fresh. "Glaciers of Ice" contains additional vocals from Blue Raspberry and. "[2] In a different article, Ghostface Killah recollected "Back then I was punchin' a lot of rap niggas in their face, and niggas was getting beat up in the clubs. Everything is over now. He sent me a letter. On the cassette version, the tape was purple, which spawned the nickname "The Purple Tape". It's like the shit was lived; a lot of it was lived or experienced in one form or another. Cypress Hill's DJ Muggs called up and was like "Yo, he killed that shit. 1996 also saw the releases of Ghostface Killah's debut album Ironman, which loosely covers some of the topics on Cuban Linx, and also Mobb Deep's second major-label album, Hell on Earth, which showcased the duo's interpretation of the Cuban Linx demeanor, and featured contributions from Raekwon, Method Man, and Nas. [1] The album was loosely composed to play like a film with Raekwon as the "star," fellow Wu-Tang member Ghostface Killah as the "guest-star," and producer RZA as the "director. "[8] Raekwon further commented "'North Star' was a track I really, really wanted on my album. Colors aside, though, lets not … We will forever be in debt to you guys for the “Purple Tape”. Hop History: Raekwon ’ s “ the Purple Tape Side a cassette Tape, thus Purple... Louie Roederer Tape to this, Raekwon clarified `` RZA 's house was more or less like Cuban! 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