A Quick Hit: Cuban Linx Anniversary
1995, Interscope
Thirty years ago, Wu-Tang legends cooked up a dazzling album.
There are dozens of well-known gangster flicks. Several of them are considered classics. You know them. The Godfather I and II. Scarface. Goodfellas. These movies depict the highs and lows of the lifestyle, and they have become ubiquitous in American pop culture. They even served as inspiration for some rappers in the mid-to-late 1990s, when mafioso aesthetics briefly crept into hip-hop. East Coast emcees, like Nas, Jay-Z, and the Notorious B.I.G. created some of their best work in the vein of this subgenre, but none of those albums brought the cinematic experience of gangster movies to music the way Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… did. In 1995, Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA and Raekwon, with a scene-stealing guest role from Ghostface Killah, served rap fans with this universally beloved hip-hop album. It descended in style and substance from Kool G Rap, the godfather of mafioso rap, but what made Cuban Linx… distinct in its style and sound was what RZA, Rae, and Ghost were able to bake in the lab.
The narrative theme of this album centers around the stars of the show, Rae and Ghost, who play Lex Diamonds and Tony Starks. These dudes are two hustlers who take us along with them as they rise up through the ranks in the world of cocaine trafficking. They are Tony and Manolo without Gina in the way to ruin everything. Rae and Ghost have a natural chemistry together, a bond stronger than a Cuban link. Rae and Ghost are kindred Wu souls; the Simon and Garfunkel of this hip-hop shit, whose lyrics are dense with cryptic slang. Peep these examples:
“With the green leathers, hundred-pound snakes and cakes,
Fiends found in lakes, jealously jakes we shake.” - GFK, “Verbal Intercourse”
“Who’s the Wallabe kid, dress down, could never be Son.
Ricochet daily, hit the deli for a cold one.” – Raekwon, “Spot Rusherz”
You might think you need the Urban Dictionary to figure these lyrics out, but you can pick up their context within the song with the skillful way Ghost and Rae use their rhymes to set a scene. They dance on tracks the way Ali did in the ring, offering punch and counterpunch with contrasting styles. On most tracks, Ghostface hits the beat like the Tasmanian Devil while Rae offers the measured approach to his lyrical murder. This duo is two-thirds of the reason why Cuban Linx… is a masterpiece. The final third is the producer.
As strong as Rae and Ghost’s lyrical performances are on Cuban Linx…, the enduring appeal of these tracks start with RZA’s production. I’ve said this before in articles I’ve written about the Wu-Tang Golden Era between Enter the Wu-Tang… and Wu-Tang Forever. RZA was on top of his game, and Cuban Linx… is peak Wu from this era. He created a multi-layered work of art that drew its inspiration from Blaxploitation and Mafia movies and the harsh realities of street life in Staten Island. The creative synergy of Cuban Linx… principal artists is what makes this album a masterpiece of modern music, and also what makes it impossible for those artists to replicate, try as they have.
Cuban Linx… themes of crime, aspiration, and the complexities of loyalty still resonate with audiences, solidifying the album’s status as a timeless classic and a pivotal work in the evolution of hip-hop.
Favorite Tracks
“Criminology”
This song inspired me to watch Scarface for the first time. There’s something hypnotic about this beat, and both Ghost and Rae rap like the are shooting up the track.
“Verbal Intercourse”
Nas naturally fits into the Rae and Ghost mafioso dynamic. He was about to embark on his own cocaine kingpin creative experiment with It Was Written.
“Spot Rusherz”
It’s one of the few songs without Ghostface that would have been better with Ghost, but Rae goes in and tells a story about spoiling a hit on him.
