Raekwon

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Lore & Background

Raekwon's early life was marked by hardship. Born in Brownsville, Brooklyn, he was raised by his mother and moved to Staten Island after she was robbed. He only met his father once, at age six. Growing up, he witnessed his mother being abused, an experience that "affected [him] a lot." After being kicked out of home, he became addicted to cocaine and crack cocaine until the crack epidemic's impact made him stop "automatically." He attended junior high with Ghostface Killah and New Dorp High School with Method Man and Inspectah Deck. After being accidentally shot four times in a crossfire, he began rapping in earnest, calling it an "important eye opener."

In Their Own Story

Raekwon first rapped as Sha Raider before joining the Wu-Tang Clan in 1992. The group's debut album *Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)* (1993) was certified platinum, with the single "C.R.E.A.M." reaching No. 8 on the Billboard rap chart. His solo debut *Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...* (1995) debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, shipping about 130,000 copies in its first week. It was certified gold by October 1995 and finally platinum in 2020. RZA produced the entire album, calling it "like a crime mafia story," and Ghostface Killah rapped on over half the tracks. Raekwon explained the lyrics were about "trying to get out the hood."

Reader's Guide

After mixed reviews for *Immobilarity* (1999) and *The Lex Diamond Story* (2003), Raekwon's fourth album *Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II* was released September 8, 2009, through his label Ice H20 under EMI distribution. It was likened to *The Godfather 2*. In September 2009, MTV ranked Raekwon tenth among "hottest" rappers. HipHopDX named it album of the year, calling it "the Hip Hop equivalent to The Godfather 2." Raekwon won Emcee of the Year. His fifth solo LP *Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang* (March 2011) excluded RZA as originally planned. In 2012, he launched Ice H20 Records. *Fly International Luxurious Art* released April 28, 2015. *The Wild* (March 24, 2017) was his first album without Wu-Tang Clan features, receiving positive reviews.

Did You Know?

• Raekwon was accidentally shot four times after being caught in a crossfire, which he called an 'important eye opener' that led him to start rapping in earnest.
• He attributes his stage name to the Five-Percent Nation, an offshoot of the Nation of Islam, when he was a 'young kid.'
• Raekwon converted to Islam in 2009.
• His debut solo album *Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...* was certified gold two months after release (October 1995) and finally certified platinum in 2020.
• Raekwon and Ghostface Killah attended junior high school together on Staten Island.