S. Samuel
Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon has offered some words of wisdom to rap veterans looking to make a comeback in hip-hop.
For the “Chef,” paying close attention to your records is vital to remaining relevant.
“Analyze the last s**t that you did that was hot; pay attention to it,” Rae suggested in an interview. “Study it like how a boxer studies their fights. My thing is just stay believing in yourself, and be relevant. You can’t make you’re a** relevant when you aren’t out on the street, if you not really around to be found. It takes a lot; a lot of dedication, and a lot of time, and the right staff and the men around you. If a ni**a tell you something is weak, or ‘No, I don’t get that from that,’ then be willing to take that criticism in a great way. I think that’s what I did, I had a lot of people around me that were determined not to let me do what the f**k I felt, and it had to make sense to everybody. If I had one person that was against that, that bothered me. I was like why did you feel like that? ‘Yo I feel like that because of this or whatever.’ And then they had a great thing that I had to pay attention to.” (All Hip Hop)
After a slight hiatus from music, Rae released his last solo project Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2 last September.
Wu-Tang Clan’s Raekwon has returned to store shelves with his long-delayed Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Part 2 landing at No. 4. The Chef’s new album has sold a total of 67,900 records after one week on store shelves. (SOHH Sales Wrap)
In addition to sales, Rae’s album was able to gain the attention of renowned singer Sade.
“I love Alicia Keys,” Sade said in a February 2010 interview. “I like some of the tracks off Rihanna‘s new album. I like some more heavy rappers like Raekwon’s album from the Wu-Tang Clan. I listen to just about anything that speaks to me.” (“Tom Joyner Morning Show”)
Staying busy as of late, Rae recently dropped his new “Runaway Love” Justin Bieber remix which features Kanye West.
“Kanye was just being Kanye,” Rae told MTV News about the session. “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…All I did was ride the beat and listen to what he was singing to…I can go basic when I want to. I can go rated R, I can go rated PG. I definitely didn’t give him anything that I thought was too hot to be spoken on by a 16 year-old. I know how to read beats, and listening to the record, I just complemented. At the end of my 16 [bars], when you do hear Justin coming, it fits and it’s a great sound. I didn’t go crazy. One thing people gotta recognize about me, I’m the Chef. I know how to make spicy food, I know how to make food that ain’t spicy. I made something that fit the criteria.” (MTV)
Check out some recent Raekwon footage below:
