Raekwon Raps: Ice Water, Wu-Tang, 'Cuban Linx'

[Elano]

With the unveiling of his proteges Ice Water, Wu-Tang Clan and solo albums on the horizon, and a run on the Rock the Bells tour, Raekwon can make a case for being the hardest-working man in hip-hop these days.

"One things about the Chef -- I'm constantly working, man," the Staten Island MC tells Billboard.com. "If I'm not doing one thing, I'm doing another thing. I'm trying to wear all these hats right now as far as being an artist, a writer, a businessman, a producer. I constantly stay on my job."

Make that jobs. Raekwon has actually put his next solo album, "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II" -- which he says is "99 percent finished" -- on "freeze" while the Wu-Tang Clan finishes its new album, "The 8 Diagrams," which is set for release on Nov. 13, the third anniversary of group member Ol' Dirty Bastard's death.

"I guess (Wu-Tang leader) RZA stressed to the people he had to about how much that date meant to us," Raekwon (real name Corey Woods) says. "It's like just thinking about our brother, just wanting to keep him around us mentally, y'know?"

Raekwon describes "The 8 Diagrams," Wu-Tang's first studio set since 2001's "Iron Flag," as "authentic and hot," adding that the album will feature several guests -- including producers -- he declined to name them as yet. Raekwon did confirm that the track "Gently Weeps" samples the Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and features the late George Harrison's son Dhani and the Red Hot Chili Peppers' John Frusciante.

"We're still debating about certain tracks as far, as will the people understand or will they be able to ride with it," Raekwon says. "If you're a real Wu fan then you know what to expect from Wu-Tang. But if you're trying to expect anything close to anybody else, you don't really know us."

"Built 4 Cuban Linx II," meanwhile, will be 14 or 15 tracks of "raw hip-hop," with production he says is "a little deeper." Collaborators on the album include Dr. Dre, RZA and the late J. Dilla, the latter on what Raekwon calls "a brother and sister track" to "Triumph" from 1997's "Wu-Tang Forever." He may also be looking for a new label home for the album, as Raekwon says he and Interscope "didn't come to a complete understanding about the project."

Before any of that, however, comes the Aug. 28 release of "Raekwon Presents ... Ice Water: Polluted Water," the first album by the Staten Island quartet the rapper has been training and nurturing for several years. "I always knew they had potential but had to grow to that level of coming into the business on my strength," explains Raekwon, who recruited guests such as Method Man, Busta Rhymes, Three 6 Mafia, Jagged Edge and others to appear on the album.

"The guys had to figure out what they wanted to do before I could actually give them the opportunity to be heard, and it just finally arrived," he continues. "The dudes got their heads together and the music is flawless. I'm just trying to be more of a businessman and bring in some talent. The game needs that right now, man."

[StevenQBosell]

..."If you're a real Wu fan then you know what to expect from Wu-Tang. But if you're trying to expect anything close to anybody else, you don't really know us."

Damn right, Rae

...He may also be looking for a new label home for the album, as Raekwon says he and Interscope "didn't come to a complete understanding about the project."

This is why people are just disgusted with Aftermath, Jimmy, and Dre. They just can't give the people what the fuck they want.

You mean to tell me Dre and Rakim couldn't put out the dopest, hardest hip hop album, ever recorded?

And now this with Raekwon... why would any established star EVER want to sign to Aftermath? It's almost like "If your name's not 50, G Unit, Em, Dre, or Bus, you're never gonna drop your album on Aftermath."

Rakim, Rae, Hittman, and thats just off the top of my head...

[Elano]

Busta rhymes's record on aftermath was a MAJOR FLOP to me,i don't know how many copies has sold but that record is horrible.
Interscope is not the right label for somebody like Raekwon,he should try with Atlantic

[baysavage]

Yup, makes me misty to think of what could have happened with Ra...the cut from the 8 mile soundtrack was O.O

[Matty]

i dunno if the busta record was horrible the album was actually really good with a lot of quality album cuts. however, the promotion of the album (singles in particular) was a complete mess up. busta's style is and has proven to be more commercially accessible than a lot of your less regular sound rappers. if a major record label can't drop a huge single to sell a busta rhymes cd while still retaining his credibility and style (easy, right?) then there is 0 chance that someone like raekwon is gonna get a release handled properly by the same label...

i'm surprised that even 50 cent is having issues at interscope. give him a smoking hot dr dre beat to rip up for a single and you've got your album sales and 50 doesn't have to go the uber-pop route with timbo and jt. something really dodgy going on over there...

[Elano]

i dunno if the busta record was horrible the album was actually really good with a lot of quality album cuts.

We are talkin about dr dre and busta rhymes together,i was expecting one of the most incredible collaborations but at the end it was just a flop