Ten years ago, some men with rhymes changed the face of hip-hop music. In the shadow of fellow Wu-Tang Clan stars Method Man and Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Raekwon and his lyrical accomplice, Ghostface Killah, created Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, a criminology rap classic that hustlers worldwide could relate to.

Builders: Raekwon the Chef, a.k.a. Lex Diamonds • RZA, a.k.a. Bobby Steels • Ghostface Killah, a.k.a. Tony Starks • Method Man, a.k.a. Johnny Blaze  • Inspectah Deck, a.k.a. Rollie Fingers • Masta Killa, a.k.a. Noodles • GZA, a.k.a. Genius, a.k.a. Maximilian • U-God, a.k.a. Golden Arms, a.k.a. Lucky Hands  •  Cappadonna, a.k.a. Cappachino 

Blue Raspberry, guest vocalist  • Nas, guest rapper

Hov and Kris can claim albums they’ve christened as blueprints. But if any recording from rap’s modern age has earned the title, it’s Raekwon the Chef’s colossal Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Released on August 1, 1995, behind solo efforts from Method Man and Ol’ Dirty Bastard, the Chef’s showcase broke new ground, deviating from past Wu-Tang efforts, which emphasized nimble verbal jousts, and bringing something completely unexpected: a narrative-driven concept album that followed two ambitious street hoods (Rae and, in a star-making performance, partner-in-rhyme Ghostface Killah) along their rough road to the riches. Cinematic in structure, infused with Rae’s personality and humor and Ghost’s indelible wordplay, and supported by some of Clan svengali RZA’s finest production work, Cuban Linx inspired hip-hop hustlers everywhere to chronicle their own grimy paths to glory—from Jay-Z, with Reasonable Doubt, to 50 Cent, with Get Rich or Die Tryin’.

“I was straight up into a drug zone vibe,” Raekwon recalls of making his autobiographical opus. “It was almost like a tablet of my life, where I wanted to go, and all the shit I seen. We was just showing niggas that we master all sides of the streets when it comes to trying to get to the top.”

Although East Coast rap gangstas like Kool G Rap and Mob Style (the late-’80s Harlem outfit that included Pretty Tone Capone and famed crime lord the original AZ) had covered similar subject matter, Cuban Linx’s gritty vignettes elevated such storytelling to another level, portraying a slice of underworld life where Five Percent Nation theology, gangland robberies and recreational cocaine bumps commingled freely. The album also kick-started several trends within the rap game: Cuban Linx was the first instance of rappers adopting mafia-inspired aliases (“Wu-Gambinos”); songs like “Incarcerated Scarfaces” and “Ice Cream” initiated slang like “politic” and “butter-pecan Rican” into the hip-hop vernacular; and Cristal became the bubbly of choice for the ghetto-fabulous set, thanks to Rae and co.’s endorsement in various song lyrics.

Nothing, however, was more indicative of Raekwon’s allegiance to the street soldier aesthetic than the LP’s intended full title, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Niggaz—as much a declaration of its musical potency as a forewarning to those not prepared for the uncut raw contained within. (Eventually, and understandably, the N-word was dropped.) Rae also cosmetically distinguished his product from those of other artists, insisting on a purple-tinted cassette and CD case instead of a conventional clear version.

“I wanted to portray an image that if I was selling cracks or dimes in the street, [you would] recognize these dimes from other niggas’ dimes,” he explains. “Recognize that I’m putting myself in another class, where this might not reach everybody table, but for the niggas who table it do reach, it’s like, Yo, that’s some hip-hop bible to the streets.”

Ultimately, this uncompromising approach remains Cuban Linx’s most enduring legacy. Raekwon and Ghostface could create their own slang, devote skits to Wallabee Clarks, use entire dialogue passages from their favorite films as interludes, and invite just one guest star to their coming-out party (Nas), because they didn’t give two shits about fitting in with what other rappers were doing. As the duo spelled out on the controversial skit “Shark Niggas (Biters),” the whole key was to “be original.” In this spirit, XXL also breaks form—from devoting our expanded Classic Material tributes to groundbreaking works of the dearly departed. On the 10-year anniversary of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...’s release, we spoke with Raekwon and his collaborators for their reflections and insights on the creation of this hard-boiled hip-hop classic. —Chairman Mao

1 “Striving for Perfection”              

Raekwon: When we sat down and did “Striving for Perfection,” we knew how important the intro to an album is. We were coming in as young, scrambling niggas. We had visions—goals and dreams. And when we was saying certain things, shit was relating to niggas’ lives for real. But at the end of the day, we was just trying to let it be known that, Yo, we gonna do this and we ain’t gonna stop. If we fall off, we fall off. But if we get on, this is only the beginning. It was just something like, Yo, if this shit don’t work right here, gotta go another route. Probably gotta go get on some robbin’ some bank shit. Some ol’ other shit. So, we felt like we was just striving to get recognized in the game as those dudes that really repped the streets hard. And basically let niggas know: We will be rich in the next year—I guarantee you that.

RZA: 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. They’re tired of doing what they doing, but they’re trying to make this last quarter million. That’s a lot of money in the streets. We gonna retire and see our grandbabies and get our lives together.

       Being that Rae and Ghost was two opposite guys as far as neighborhoods was concerned, I used John Woo’s The Killer. [In that movie] you got Chow Yun Fat [playing the role of Ah Jong] and Danny Lee [Inspector Li]. They have to become partners to work shit out.

Mostly everything [of the spoken interludes] is from The Killer on that album, that or personal talking. I met John Woo that same year. He sent me a letter. He was honored that we did it. I felt confident we could settle anything that came up. You can usually settle that shit. It’s part of the budget, man. But John Woo didn’t want nothing, never no money for that. We actually became friends. He took me and Ghost to lunch and dinner many times. He gave me a lot of mentoring in film.

Method Man: In RZA, you got a guy that watched karate flicks most of his childhood. He has that type of mind; his imagination is crazy. So when he put those [early Wu] albums together, he was like a kid in a candy store—like, Now I can finally make my own karate movies. So when the solo albums dropped, mine took up where Wu-Tang left off, so it was good for me to come then. Dirty’s still had the kung fu element, but it was more twisted; it was like screwed music because it was seen through Dirty’s eyes this time. When Raekwon’s album came, since he was on some mobster shit, that’s how the nigga structured his album. Every gangster movie he could find, every quote—it’s like the way he put that album together.

2 “Knuckleheadz”

Featuring Ghostface and Golden Arms           

Raekwon: That’s a track where we runnin’ around. We doing what we do, getting paper. We smackin’ niggas up. The beat just had us feeling like, Who the knucklehead wanting respect?! That was just one of them tracks where we felt like we just got finished robbing a bank and we got home and broke that money up. See this knucklehead nigga try to get slick with that paper: “One for you, two for me.” It’s like, “What are you, stupid? Tom-and-Jerryin’ me, nigga?”

RZA: My idea was besides them rapping the verses, after they talking all this brotherhood shit, they splitting the money up and he cheating them. The idea is that U-God gets killed in “Knuckleheadz.” It’s like a movie. One dies, two others go on. To me, the album is a movie and shit. You get to hear U-God come in. After that song, I had to give Rae a few back-to-back solo joints.

U-God: I was like two days out of prison. I just came out the penitentiary. I’d just come home on [Wu-Tang’s debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang] 36 Chambers, too. I did two years in prison. I came home on parole–work release right before the first album was done. That’s why I’m only on two songs on the first album. Then I got violated. Knucklehead cats out in the world, you know how we do. So I got violated for another eight more months. Then I came back home and got on Rae and Ghost’s album. When I did my verse for “Knuckleheadz,” it was a come-up time, everybody trying to come up and get into the game. I ain’t get a chance to do my vocals over. When I did that, I got locked back up again.