WU-TANG CLAN - Pre-"36 Chambers" Interview + Freestyles

Lurking the Wu-Tang Corp. forums (whcih is close to dead right now but there's still somee good heads representing) member Soob found and posted an absolutely excellent radio interview predating the release of "36 Chambers". Recorded and sent out through the airwaves on March 1, 1993 this is an absolute must hear for any hardcore Wu fans (and you know I'm one of them, as I know many of my readers are). Of course the real props for this shining gem goes to YouTube's Wu-Tang Messiah number #1, Mister Hezakayah who has uploaded the full 25 minutes segment on to the Tube for free streaming and enjoynment for heads all over the world. Hosted by legendary DJ's and hosts DJ Ritz and Steve Wildman this is like an extended skit from the "Enter The Wu-Tang" LP, with Ghostface, Raekwon, Method Man and U-God holding it down together with Ce Style and Kamal Bee of Total Pack. This been up for a few months but I and many with me has been sleeping so in the words of Sunz Of Man and Killarmy - Wake The Fuck Up!! As some interesting bonus footage check out this very rare clip from Prnce Rakeem doing a short freestyle for Music Video Box in 1990, now that's a Lost Tape. Again tahnks to Hezakaya, you're definitely the man!

[Stream] GHOSTFACE KILLAH - "12 Reasons to Die II"

 With the help of super ill composer/producer/instrumentalist Adrian Younge, Wu-Tang Clan's most shining star Ghostface Killah delivered his best album in several years with 2012's "12 Reasons to Die". Now the duo team back together for more of the same formula - following the concept of their first meeting so closely they have choosen to call it a proper sequel. While the album isn't released to stores in another week, the New York Times have been given exclusive rights to stream the project to listeners for free so be sure to head over to the link below and press play.'

01. "Powerful One (Intro)"

02. "Return Of The Savage" (Ft. Reakwon & RZA)

03. "King Of New York" (Ft. Raekwon)

04. "Rise Up" (Ft. Scarub)

05. "Daily News"

06. "Get The Money" (Ft. Vince Staples)

07. "Death's Invitation (Interlude)" (Ft. RZA)

08. "Death's Invitation" (Ft. Scarub, Chino XL & Lyrics Born)

09. "Let The Record Spin: Interlude" (Ft. RZA)

10. "Let The Record Spin" (Ft. Raekwon)

11. "Blackout" (Ft. Raekwon)

12. "Resurrection Morning" (Ft. Raekwon & Bilal)

13. "Life's A Rebirth" (Ft. RZA)

STREAM @ NYTIMES.COM

GHOSTFACE & ADRIAN YOUNGE - "Let The Record Spin"

On various, especially Wu forums, a lot of people have been dissing Ghostface and his recent albums a lot which to me is just fucking crazy. Okay "36 Seasons" was kind of mediocre, but "12 Reasons to Die" and "Sour Soul" was excellent to me. Not every album need to have super intricate rhyme scemes, and the production is so cinematic so you don't really need that much more than Ghost's amazing voice and flow though his lyrics is a bit dumbed down. As you know I put "12 Reasons..." as my #1 record of 2012, which I still stand by and the word that a sequel to this immaculate project is soon to arrive (July 6th if i'm not mistaken) is really something to look forward to. Especially as both singles so far has been absolutely excellent - the latest one is called "Let The Record Spin" and features GFK's long time P.N.C. Raekwon The Chef. So blast this one LOUD on some good speakers or your favorite headphones. In case you missed the first single, I'm posting that one too. Salute!

[Comp] ADRIAN YOUNGE / LINEAR LABS - "Los Angeles"

This baby has been out for some time by now, at least a few weeks, but being that Adrian Younge quickly has become one of my favorite producers doing it at the moment I'm taking this opportunity to post this up for anyone who might have missed it since I've been slacking heavily on updates lately. "Los Angeles" is a 10 tracks deep official compilation by Younge's Linear Labs Studios/label, featuring previously released material and exclusive tracks produced by Younge for artists like Ghostface, Laettitia Sadler, Bilal, Venice Dawn, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Toni Scruggs, Souls Of Mischief, and more. Highlights include the first single from "Twelve Reasons to Die Pt. 2" (you might remember its predecessor being my favorite LP of 2012) which features Raekwon and RZA and goes HARD, and the first joint from the Ali Shaheed/Younge joint production LP. And more than that it plays very well as a front-to-back listen, going through alot of Younge's brilliant funk/soul renaissance sound. "Twelve Reasons.. Pt. 2" drops July 10... TURN IT UP!!

GHOSTFACE & ADRIAN YOUNGE Ft. Raekwon & RZA - "Return Of The Savage"

While I've heard some people put down Adrian Younge's collaboration with Ghostface on 2013's "Twelve Reasons to Die", this has always been absolutely crazy to me. You might remember that I put that album as my number one pick of the best hip-hop albums released of its year, and I absolutely loved how it all came together and the chemistry displayed between GFK, Adrian Younge and the many incredible guest emcees, and while the story was quite generic it was still a very fascinating listen no matter what and GFK did a great job conveying the emotions. So when I found that the MC/producer duo (who also includes Younge's live band Venice Dawn) has been working on a sequel to that excellent album sporting an ill tracklist (on paper) and a great cover I was hyped to say the least (i wasn't at all crazy about "36 Seasons" which was a dissapointment to me, though the BadBadNotGood joint is solid, especially beatwise).

The first single is now here and is titled "Return Of The Savage" and features RZA and Raekwon. Real Wu heads will love the fact that Raekwon, who did not appear on the first installment, is all over this baby. Check out the single below along with the official tracklist and turn that motherfucker up! Cop the album in various packages directly from Linear Labs Music store and receive it for its 10th of July release. TURN THIS ONE UP (I absolutely love this one)!!

01. Powerful One 
02. Return Of The Savage (feat Raekwon & RZA) 
03. King Of New York (feat Raekwon) 
04. Rise Up (feat Scarub) 
05. Daily News 
06. Get The Money (feat Vince Staples) 
07. Death's Invitation (RZA Interlude) 
08. Death's Invitation (feat Lyrics Born, Scarub & Chino XL) 
09. Let The Record Spin (RZA Interlude) 
10. Let The Record Spin (feat Raekwon) 
11. Blackout (feat Raekwon) 
12. Resurrection Morning (feat Raekwon & Bilal) 
13. Life's A Rebirth (feat RZA) 

[Live Set] RAE & GHOST - Live @ Cochaellla 2015

This brings me back to the number of times I've seen Wu or their solo members life, though I have yet to catch Raekwon in concert. Mr.WorldPremiereTV posted a 15 minute HQ video of the dynamic duo's performance on Day 1 @ this years Cochaella performance. It seems they performed the entire "Cuban Linx..." album this Sunny day, looks like good show. Also props to Pyrex Visionist for putting me on to this. Enjoy and throw them W's up!

I can't find where to Embed from the DailyMotion site, but just click the link below and be sure to change your settings to view the video in 720 because both sound and video is excellent.

RAE & GHOST - "LIVE @ COCHAELLA"

RAEKWON Ft. SNOOP DOGG - "1,2,1,2"

The fourth single from Raekwon's sixth solo offering, "F.I.L.A. (Fly International Luxurious Arts)" just dropped and is a pretty hard hitting cut produced by Scoop Deville. "1,2,1,2", which also features Snoop Dogg, follows the same formula as previous leaks from the upcoming album in that it sees Chef embracing his status as one of the middle-big names in todays commercial rap without coming off as a sell-out. I think the material so far has been quite decent but I can't say I'm very hyped about the project either... We'll see...

[Article] An alternative version of RAEKWON's "OB4CL2"

On a personal level I have always held Raekwon's marvelous '95 debut "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..." to be the single greatest album ever created. An opinion that is not all that unpopular amongst hip-hop heads and music critics, so when the Chef announced plans to produce a true sequel to hsi masterpiece in collaboration with most of the supporting cast of the original music fans everywhere were ecstastic at the prospect. Though the initial recording sessions went down as early as 2005 the project faced label and distribution problems that caused it to be delayed until mid-2009. Within that time a whole lot of changes occured that would transform the original idea behind the project into something else, while the countless recording sessions allowed Raekwon to release a huge amount of mixtapes that made sure the hype didn't die down. I was following the developement of the LP rather fiendishly at the time, snapping up any media reports and digging through every article and interview that I came across. The early articles was also some of the best in increasing the hopes of listeners getting a sequel that could live up to its name. Two of my favorites, and also those who I base much of my own conclusions on, is two interviews with RZA from SCRATCH and Hip Hop Connection, respectively. The piece in SCRATCH is based on a listening session and breakdown of several key songs together with RZA, while the HHC interview only slightly touches upon "OB4CL2" but in doing so reveals important pieces to the puzzle. Both articles were published already back in 2006, giving credence to the fact that a full album was basically completed and ultimately remade before it reached the public. This is the basis for my own writing today, to use all the information available to recreate a possible interpretation of what "OB4CL2" might have been like had it been released when it was originally intended to.

To clarify, I think that "OB4CL2" indeed is a very good album that stands on its own, but that being said it is not, unlike its predecessor, without flaws. In its initial stages, the concept of the album was to have RZA be the main producer steering the ship while additional tracks would be supplied by J Dilla,  Scram Jones, Erick Sermon and a couple of others. However, by the time Raekwon was able to release it this had changed drastically as only two RZA tracks remained on the album ("Fat Lady Sings" was in fact produced by True Master). Now, to me RZA was every bit as integral to the original "Cuban Linx" sound as Raekwon was - and so was Ghostface. To then make a sequel barely carrying RZA's sound is just wrong, like making a sequel to "Carlito's Way" and having Jay Hernandez and Puff Daddy play the leads. However, a big reason for this is that many of the cuts recorded for "OB4CL2" was snatched up, in some cases remixed, and put out as Wu-Tang Clan tracks on "8 Diagrams". I personally believe that is the main reason for Rae's public resentment against that LP, which is totally understandable. So without a main producer and years of building the album, leaving Raekwon with tons of material to consider, the 24 tracks deep LP that was finally released comes off as a heavy, but disjointed almost mixtape like album. This didn't stop me from banging the shit out of it for months after it dropped though as almost everything on it is pure crack and an unbelivable step up from Raekwon's previous outing, 2003:s "The Lex Diamond Story". With that being said I did miss a central sound and the always sharp on-record chemistry between Raekwon and RZA. That begs the question - had it actually been better had the original vision been kept in tact, had RZA not given away tracks for "8 Diagrams", etc.? I personally think the version that I am about to present y'all with, based only on songs confirmed to have been recorded by 2006 or at the very latest 2007, answers that question in the affirmative but you'll be the judge for yourself!

01. "Baggage Handlers" Ft. Busta Rhymes

This was originally pegged as an early single from "Cuban Linx II" and made an apperance on the first installment of Chef's "The Vatican" mixtape series (2006). I initially figured this as more of a street single to build up hype, but conversations about this topic with Seamuz made me change my mind. As an album opener I think it works really well; beginning with a Scarface sample that leads into a real hard knocking banger of pure energy that builds up the anticipation of what's to come... An anticipation that is doubled up with Busta Rhymes raw hook - "YO IT'S CUBAN LINX II MOTHERFUCKERS!!". Some debate about whether this was produced by ?uestlove or J Dilla, however it is clear that Busta figured it a Jay Dee beat (which he, in his role as executive producer, probably presented to Raekwon together with the other Dilla beats that he picked) as he included it as such on "Dillagence".

02. "House Of Flying Daggers" Ft. GZA/Genius, Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah & Method Man

Another J Dilla production, structured around a one bar loop that I believe is sampled from RZA's "Ghost Dog" score and mixed down in a real lo-fi manner with the drums and bass line booming and blasting at you. In other words this song is raw as fuck! "House Of Flying Daggers" was mentioned early on as a posse cut with the Clan. In the VIBE article it mentions how GZA and Inspectah Deck had recorded a lot of material for the LP, playing a similiar position as that of Ghost on the first one, and here they make their first, out of several, apperances.

03. "Black Mozart" Ft. Inspectah Deck
Originally titled "Secret Indictment" this Inspectah Deck collaboration was at one point considered to be the next single from the LP, following "State Of Grace". RZA's flip of 'The Godfather' theme is neither original or very creative, but the track has an aura of dark mystique, an intense hook and killer verses from both parties. Great success!

04. "Sonny's Missing"
Produced by Pete Rock, this song was never mentioned in any of the early interviews, though it clearly was recorded back then (perhaps in the same session as "Kids That's Rich"). The reason I know this is because the beat was first heard in early 2008 on Pete's "NY's Finest" where Royal Flush made a great track called "Questions" out of it. Mr. Philips put a light on the situation - "I gave the beat to Raekwon, and it was just lingering for years and years ... I didn't think he wanted the beat anymore, so I used it for my album" (Complex, 2011).

05. "Broken Safety" Ft. Jadakiss & Styles P
This was often mentioned in earlier articles under the title of "Forty Deuce" and is produced by Scram Jones. Jones was also one of the first outside producers, together with Jay Dee, whose work was confirmed for the album, hence their inclusion here. It also fits the vibe of the album very well if you ask me, and hearing The LOX and Wu is always a good thing.

06. "Rockstars & Smoking Barrels" Ft. GZA/Genius & Inspectah Deck
"Rockstars" (which it was renamed for) was discussed in the SCRATCH article and the description made it sound like the most awesome song ever recorded. In 2009 when we were getting real close to the release, Raekwon and the Ice Water team kept posting the tracklist, albeit with slight changes and "Rockstars" was deleted only at the last minute, which is a true shame. This is without a doubt the song that I'm the most disapointed with not being included on the LP. The team of Raekwon, GZA and Inspectah Deck over RZA's laid back, blues inspired production is just fantastic. GZA's storytelling abilities is on another level as proven here.

07. "New WU" Ft. Method Man & Ghostface Killah
Classic Wu vibes on this, the lead single from the 2009 release, and I remember I was gobsmacked hearing this monster jam for the first time. I never saw this track mentioned in interviews back in '06/'07 but since it's a RZA production I figured that it might very well have been done then as all songs obviously wasn't revealed at the time.

08. "10 Bricks" Ft. Ghostface Killah & Cappadonna
Yessir, the Ghost/Rae/Cappa collaboration is definitely a must for a proper "Cuban Linx..." sequel, and "10 Bricks" delivers in every sense. J Dilla is behind the production, and the beat would later be pciked up from a beat tape and modeled into "The Red" remix for Madlib. Once again this particular title was not mentioned to my knowledge but I remember reading an interview with Busta who revealed that Jay Dee had several tracks on there.

09. "Kareem Khan" Ft. GZA/Genius, Masta Killa & Slick Rick
Real stripped down, pounding track that put the emphasis on thick DRUMS and a beautifully structured bridge sampled from Bobby Womack's classic "Across 110th Street". "Kareem Khan" was described in the SCRATCH Magazine article and was luckily kept for inclusion on the final album, although renamed "We Will Rob You". The aforementioned article states that this song was a co-production between RZA and Young Justice (the son of GZA) though the linear notes only credits the latter. I think the first scenario is the more plausible one but who knows. Very ill track nontheless, and I love the intro with Slick Rick ("...no, but I'ma tell you one of them old, Raekwon crime joints").

10. "Baggin' Crack"
As with "Rockstars" this song appeared and disappeared between the various tracklists Raekwon posted before the release of the album - it did survive however. Erick Sermon's involvement with the album was announced in 2006 and as far as I know this is the only known song from them (save for "Goldmine" on Busta's Aftermath LP and the "We Mean Business" cameo). Interesting fact - the constant hacking hi-hat sound is created from looping a razor hitting the table, It does have a West Coast vibe to it which makes for a nice transition into...

11. "About Me"
When Raekwon signed to Aftermath in '06 he went in the studio to record with Dr. Dre. At one point it was said that The Good Doctor would be responsible for a large percentage of the beats on the LP, but to my knowledge only three songs has been revealed to have came out of those sessions. Two of them appeared on "CL2" while a third track, supposedly featuring Busta Rhymes have yet to be released. Although "Catalina" fits the time frame I decided to cut it, simply on personal taste as I never been big on it nor do I find it very "Cuban Linx"-esque. "About Me" is a heavy track though, and more in line with the sound of the LP.

12. "Thug World" Ft. Inspectah Deck & RZA
"Thug World", which was mentioned in the SCRATCH article, is the very definition of a Wu banger; sparse, hard hitting, dark, opens on a movie sample, etc. For this very reason I found it extremely frustrating that RZA completely reworked and remixed it into the psychadelic rock-rap experiment "Unpredictable" on "8 Diagrams": Luckily DJ Allah Mathematics included the first 2:30 of the song on the official promo mixtape preceding the Clan album. This version has been expanded two times by creative and talented fans. The first version extends the snippet by repeating the chorus after RZA's verse and including the full movie sample. The second version, created by Rusty WU Chain on my request, adds the acapellas to Raekwon and U-GOD's verses on "Execution in Autumn" as these verses followed RZA according to Cilvaringz. The only problem is that there's not any clean parts to allow the beat to be looped up in a proper way, so a part of the movie dialouge plays under the two last verses. It's good in the way that you'll get an idea of what the complete original track sounded like. I included the extended version by Hom1e, but be sure to check out the Rae/Uey version HERE (again many thanks to Rusty and Hom1e for their respective mixes).

13. "Weak Spot" Ft. RZA & GZA/Genius
Another song that ended up on "8 Diagrams" but unlike "Thug World" did so virtually unchanged from the mixtape version. In an interview with HipHopConnection in 2006 RZA mentions a track called "Weed Spotz" (probably a misinterpretation by the interviewer) that he produced during the "Cuban Linx II" sessions. Already here RZA was not sure whether they should include it on "CL2" or save it for the next Clan album as it was heavy on the Kung Fu vibe and he wasn't sure if he wanted to mix the Mafia and martial art themes. The version that appeared on the "8D" mixtape in 2007 is different in the way that it is a different mix of the song with a whole lot more emphasis on the strings which is placed a lot more far back on the album version. You can download the mixtape version here (it's actually the superior version, although I went with the album version due to sound quality).

14. "State Of Grace"
This song is correctly titled for sure, it's got a truly majestic vibe although it is based around a simple loop. This reminds me a bit of LL Cool J's comeback single/LP "Mama Said Knock You Out" in that some people had counted Rae out as a solo artist and this track, the first single from the album, let everyone know that he's back and not going anywhere. The chemistry that I mentioned between Rae and RZA is truly in effect here, and despite it having been out for years when "CL2" was finally released it's a shame that this was cut. "Halftime" had been out for a few years when "Illmatic" dropped, imagine they had deleted that because everybody already having heard it.

15. "Mean Streets" Ft. Inspectah Deck & Ghostface Killah
Yet another Inspectah Deck collaboration, underlining the notion that INS and GZA taking on the role of Starks for this sequel. Rebel INS appears on a total of six tracks on this version, while GZA kicks knowledge on four joints (about the same amount of songs he usually rhymes over on Clan LP:s). Produced by Allah Mathematics I remember this joint catching some flack from Wu-Tang fans when the LP was first heard, likely because of the chorus, but for me this is an all around winner. I think the first time I saw this song title mentioned might've been in 2007.

16. "Kiss The Ring" Ft. Inspectah Deck & Masta Killa
"Kiss The Ring" closes the album on the official version which I think is a great choice, as it is a triumphant celebration of a mission completed. Scram Jones on the beat again, and Inspectah Deck is joined by Masta Killa, making sure it's a family affair.

17. "Sunlight" Ft. RZA
Here's one that is likely to suprise a whole lot of people who didn't know about this. Remember the RZA solo track on "8 Diagrams" where he's rapping about the greatness and grace of God, Allah, over a really dark, strange track without drums. This was in fact originally recorded and intended for inclusion on "Cuban Linx II" as some sort of intermission. That is why you'll hear Raekwon on the intro saying "It's fat man, it's fat!". Kind of strange how RZA wasn't sure about mixing the martial arts theme with drug rhymes, but Coke and the goodness of God works fine.

18. "Ason Jones"
Raekwon was at one point listed as one of the guest features on J Dilla's still unreleased (in official format) "Jay Loves Japan" release around 2005. That album is where the instrumental for "Ason Jones" belongs, titled "Believe in God", which makes it possible that "Ason Jones" would've appeared on "Jay Loves Japan". I don't believe that Raekwon would not have included such a personal song on his own album as well, however. A beautiful tribute to the late Russel Jones, this makes for a very powerful outro to the album, something that Raekwon too would agree with as early 2009 tracklists often placed this as the final cut.

00. "No Matter How Hard You Try" Ft. RZA & Inspectah Deck
The song which appeared on RZA's solo album "Digi Snacks" in 2008 had a long journey before ending up as a Bob Digi single. Originally mentioned as part of "OB4CL2" in the SCRATCH article, it was then moved over for inclusion on "8 Diagrams" before being exercised and resurrected for "Digi Snacks". If I remember correctly it also featured Ghostface but as their was quite some turmoil between RZA, Ghost and Rae around that time it's easy to see why their verses were cut. As those verses never have been made available to the public I decided against including it here, but I highly recommend including this somewhere in the middle of "8 Diagrams" whenever you listen to that in digital format.

So there you have it! My revisit of "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Part 2" which I personally think makes for an almost flawless album, and one that is more reminiscent of classic Wu albums - especially "Supreme Clientele". It has a cohessive sound created by having The RZA producing a large chunk of the album (producing eight of the eighteen records), while Jay Dilla and Scram Jones stick to the script by contributing beats that fits the project like a glove. Again bringing up "Supreme Clientele", RZA and Raekwon collaborated on "CL2" in much the same vein. As Raekwon explained to WaxPoetics - "We kept the same vibe. I ain't stupid. I went back and made sure that shit was compatible. RZA sat for hours and guided everyone through exactly what we needed" (WaxPoetics, 2008).' I would love to hear some comments on this to see if people appreciate this alternative version as much as I do, and while you're at it I would strongly recommend checking out my Raekwon compilation "Enter The Vatican". That's a great companion piece to this as it collects all of the, to me, illest mixtape songs by Chef from around 2005-2007. Last but not least, PEACE to Seamuz for the good discussions that led to this post and compilation.

[on the down low]

FAT JOE / BIG PUN / NAS / RAEKWON / JADAKISS - "John Blaze" [Original Mix]

Just an old classic for any music purists that might've missed this gem before. This is the original mix of "John Blaze", the blazing posse cut from Fat Joe's third (and last truly dope) album "Don Cartagena", recorded somewhere between '97 and early '98.  This demo version features a different, very scaled down beat that makes sure all the attention is kept on the immaculate wordplay of these five heavyweight lyricists. What's really interesting is the different Esco verse that sets off the session. The video up top is of course the music video for the album version while the original demo mix, ripped from a DJ Clue tape, is available to download. Shouts to the original ripper of this, and peace to SiccMade for the upload.

FAT JOE Ft. BIG PUN, NAS, JADAKISS & RAEKWON - "JOHN BLAZE" [OG MIX]

CAPONE-N-NOREAGA w. TRAGEDY & RAEKWON - "Foul 120"

Capone-N-Noreaga reunite with Tragedy Khadafi and Raekwon, their main collaborators from "The War Report" volume one and two, respectively. As expected Tragedy absolutely murders this beautiful hardcore beat, but they all came correct. Not sure who produced this but this beat got me HYPE! "Foul 120" is lifted from N.O.R.E.'s new EP "Militainment Presents DRINKS" which also features cameos from Busta Rhymes, Styles P, Mack Wilds, Troy Ave, Chinx Drugs and a bunch of singers and/or rappers that I've never hard of. Production is handled by The Alchemist, Scram Jones, Jahlil, SPK, etc. Check out "Foul 120" below, thanks to WTCFoLife Blog, and cop the nine track EP @ iTunes. You can also stream the project for free @ Spotify.

[Album] J-FORCE Presents "Cadillac Respect"

When people think about The Future Flavas show they obviously  gonna think about the nr. #1 DJ:s Marley Marl and Pete Rock, and probably all of the incredible exclusive remixes and on-the-air songs that was played on air almost weekly. The Future Flavas remixes always stood for high quality, but the fact is that it wasn't Marley and Pete that was responsible for all these goodies though they often get that credit in the internet generation. Of course both of them put in a lot of work and created some still unreleased classics, but they also had lesser known but incredibly skilled beat wizards up there with them that was also responsible for some terrific remixes and exclusives. One of these guys were J-Force, who was down with Marley Marl for a long time, and released two now very rare self-released 12":s between 1995 and 1996 with "Bullseye" and "For All Thoze". Since then he has scored music for a lot of hip-hop films such as the "Beef" series, "Rock The Bells" and Bling" among others.

With his long brown hair, he looked almost more like a punk rock kid than a highly talented boom bap musician but looks can definitely deceive as both his work on Future Flavaz and his own records was more than proof off. Following him leaving Future Flavaz he kind of faded into the shadows, but as of last year the producing spitter has dug deep into his archives, releasing some previously unreleased solo tracks on a self-released 12" and even more exciting a 22 track remix compilation called "Cadillac Respect". It's the latter that I'm going to focus this post on, as it is an incredible listen that features several of his rare Future Flavas remixes that has never been released anywhere else, a long with some other exclusive mixes that is sure as hell going to make you respect this kid and his SP1200. There's also a few cuts featuring J. Force showing off his rhyme skills, and once again he's no joke on the microphone either, The remixes include revisits of classics by Kool G Rap, Inspectah Deck / Pete Rock / Kurupt, AZ, Nas, Ghostface, Nas/Prodigy, Black Moon, The UN, Mic Geronimo and more.

You can order a copy of "Cadillac Respect" a long with a T-Shirt @ Cadillac Respect.com where you can also read a whole lot more about J-Force, his past and his future endeavour. Below you can also stream the entire project for free, either via DatPiff or J-Force's official site mentioned above. You can also download the entire project for free via Hulkshare. Don't miss out on this sickness!

GHOSTFACE KILLAH - "Love Don't Live Here Anymore"

Like I said in the post below, there's a lot of new Wu project to flood the market the coming couple of months. Only a few days after "A Better Tomorrow" hit stores, Ghostface Killah reveals that he is dropping his brand new full-length LP "36 Seasons" on December 9. Like he on his previous LP, the incredible "12 Reasons to Die", performed over music entirely composed and performed by Adrian Younge and his band Venice Dawn this time around the music is handled by the very talented The Revelations whom he previously worked with quite extensively on the albums "Legendary Weapons" and "Chamber Music". The guest list is quite heavy as well to say the least, featuring five apperances from AZ, Kool G Rap on three tracks, as well as cameos from Rell, Pharoahe Monch, Tre Williams, Kandace Springs and more. The first single is the soul infused groove "Love Don't Live Here Anymore", classic Ghost!

01. "The Battlefield" (Ft. Kool G Rap, AZ & Tre  Williams)

02. "Love Don't Live Here No More" (Ft. Kandace Springs)

03. "Here I Go Again" (Ft. AZ & Rell)

04. "Loyalty" (Ft. Kool G Rap & Nems)

05. "It's A Thin Line Between Love and Hate" (Ft. The Revelations)

06. "The Dogs of War" (Ft. Shawn Wigs & Kool G Rap)

07. "Emergency Procedure" (Ft. Pharoahe Monch)

08. "Double Cross" (Ft. AZ)

09. "Bamboo's Lament" (Ft. Kandace Springs)

10. "Pieces of the Puzzle" (Ft. AZ)

11. "Homicide" (Ft. Nems & Shawn Wigs)

12. "Blood in the Streets" (Ft. AZ)
13. "Call My Name"
14. "I Love You For All Seasons" [Instrumental]

In related news, Raekwon just dropped a remix to "All About The Money" which also features Ghostface. Check it out below, thanks to WTCFoLife Blog.

[Mixtape] RAEKWON - "We Wanna Thank You"

Much like Hus Kingpin and Roc Marciano, Raekwon seems to have a never-ending collection of new rhymes. While he doesn't always comes off at his best because of this massive output, at his finest, he's simply one of the most entertaining and illest emcees around. And that voice... Man!

So for the last 20 weeks or whatever it is Raekwon has continued building hype for his upcoming "F.I.L.A." album as well as Wu-Tang Clan's "A Better Tomorrow" by dropping freestyle type of joints over classic R&B and soul singles from the '60s to the '90s. To be honest I haven't even listened to that many of them, so now that The Chef is releasing the 20 tracks packaged as a free mixtape I will finally dig into this one. Available for free @ DatPiff. Thank you Rae!

RAEKWON - "WE WANNA THANK YOU"

Chris Skillz Ft. Raekwon - "Voices"

I'm not too familiar with Chris Skillz but this one goes hard, especially ill to hear Raekwon on some gritty hip-hop shit after his weekly soul series. "Voices" is the first single from Skillz upcoming retail debut album "Yesterday's Tomorrow" dropping this fall. Listening to some other joints from him via his  Soundcloud and he got some nice joints for sure. For some reason the track won't let me embed so for now just click on the link below.

CHRIS SKILLZ - "Voices" (Ft. Raekwon)

[Album] ASPECTS - "Grind Over Matter"

Over hardcore bangers from the production team of Snowgoons (DJ Illegal, Det, Sicknature, J.S., Kuster) Canada's ill spitting Aspects links up with a star-filled team including Ghostface, MOP, Raekwon, Killah Priest, Armageddon, Bizzy Bone, Sheek Lounch, Punchline, Hussein fatal and more. "Grind Over Matter" is in other words definitely an action-packing album which is out now on digital, while CD:s will follow on September 9 (pre-order @ UGHH). Snowgoons are offering heads a chance to stream the project in its entirety via Bandcamp where you can also cop the Mp3 version. Don't sleep!

[Mixtape] RAEKWON - "Picasso 2"

Raekwon has been dropping a lot of cool little gems here and there throughout the years but here he teams up with DJ Flipcyde  for a collection of the illest of his recent singles, collaborations, freestyles and new/unreleased music. The result is "Picasso 2", a 20 track prequel to Chef's upcoming "F.I.L.A." LP. Much of this you've probably heard before, but there's no question that Rae's in a very good place as an emcee at the moment. Features collabos with Talib Kweli, Ghostface, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Sheek Louch, Lil' Fame, Uncle Murda, Onyx, Freddie Gibbs, and many more. It's clear that Raekwon is looking for further commercial exposure but as long as the music got my head nodding I can't complain! 

 

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LL COOL J Ft. Raekwon & Murda Mook - "I'm Nice"

No matter how much wack albums LL Cool James keeps churning out he's always gonna be a true rap hero for me. Not only being responsible for two of the greatest hip-hop LP:s of all time in "Radio" and "Mama Said Knock You Out", his "B.A.D." album is generally recognized as a gem but I would make a strong case for the very overlooked "14 Shots to the Dome" and "Mr. Smith" as well (I will probably make an article about why the former really is a strong project).

However, there's no question that the majority of music LL puts out these days are pure garbage, despite his talents as an emcee, so whenever a banger is released it's always interesting. On the second single from his upcoming "G.O.A.T. 2" (!!), the Queens veteran hooks up with Raekwon and Murda Mook with Ron Browz on the beat.

RAEKWON - "Wishing On A Star"

Now this is what I wanna hear from The Chef, not that "Call Of Duty" single with Akon that apparantly was the lead single from his "F.I.L.A." proejct. Perhaps inspired by Jay-Z's '97 classic, Rae uses the original, true classic of the same name, as his platform which really sounds right in the hands of he Wu-Tang alumni - both deep, melancholy and banging. I wouldn't have minded another verse but it is what it is. Below you can also check out another recent Rae single which appeared during my internet absence - the old school flirting "Oh God" with Busta Rhymes and O.T. Genasis. Bad sound quality, sick track. Shouts to OkayPlayer for both joints.

TALIB KWELI Ft. RAEKWON - "Violations"

Get More: Talib Kweli, Violations feat. Raekwon, Music, More Music Videos

One of the many dope cuts of Talib Kweli's quite overlooked "Gravitas" LP, the Chef assisted "Violations" now get a visual release. Thaddeus Dixon on the beat!

[Mixtape] BIG TWINZ - "TG1" (Ft. Raekwon, Cormega, Killah Priest, FT, Nature, Marco Polo, Alchemist....)

The hoarse voiced QB legend Big Twinz drops his new mixtape "TG1" hosed by DJ Woool (one of Killah Priest's main producers of recent years) and the tracklisting is looking super ill for the most part. I don't have time to listen to the entire thing right now but I'm checking some of the early tracks and most on-paper standouts - "Can't Get Enough" (Ft. FT, Nature; prod. by Marco Polo), "Complex" [prod. by DJ Woool], "New Infamous Mobb" (Ft. Godfather Pt. III; prod. by Sid Roams), "Big Dreams" [prod. by DJ Wool], "Bigger U Are The Harder U Fall" (Ft. Alchemist & Planet Asia), "Poison" [prod. by DJ Skizz], and "QB Allstars" (Ft. Cormega, Craig G & Nature) . Great to see the homie DJ Duke getting some shine too on "Hypnotize", also DJ Woool who has never been one of my favorites when it comes to lacing Priest sounds a lot more organic/fresh on the beats I heard here. My first conclusion is that this might very well be the best mixtape of the year so far, though of course I need to listen to it in full several tmes before making such a statement concrete. "TG1" are presented as a free download and brought to you by DatPiff. Don't sleep on this... QUEENSBRIDGE IN THE HOUSE!

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