Raekwon and Ghostface Killah of the Wu-Tang Clan held a concert Wednesday night in Silver Spring, MD. The Daily Caller spoke with Raekwon afterwards about the importance of style, how he views rapping as a hobby, and how being a father influences him.
The concert was in honor of the 20th anniversary of Raekwon’s legendary album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… and was held at the Filmore. After a couple opening acts, Rae and Ghost graced the stage at 10:30 P.M and proceeded to keep the crowd amped up, not only by playing most tracks off the “purple tape”, as the album is affectionately known, but also performing Wu-Tang classics such as “C.R.E.A.M”, and even fan favorite “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” from the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard.
The on-going 31 date tour is not the only celebration of the 20th anniversary of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, Raekwon is also releasing a commemorative Linx Beach jacket. This jacket is in reference to the now famous Snow Beach polo jacket he wore in the “Can It Be All So Simple” video.
(youtube screenshot/ WuTangClanVEVO)
TheDC asked Raekwon about the importance of style when he was coming up with the Wu-Tang, “It was always important, because what you wear is a definition of who you are. I came from a block where the hustlers they wore black all the time, because black meant it was a statement. So gear always played a part in a nigga’s character because if you looked like money you felt like money.”
Raekwon is now an established legend in the rap game, with Pusha T crowning him as having one of the most timeless flows in hip-hop. Rae told us though that this legendary status doesn’t change anything, “All this shit is a hobby, this shit come from my block, where they were mad niggas on the block rhyming. They believed in me and I’m the voice for them…Anything you hear me talk about I heard that off my block.”
Even though Raekwon is now a father, this won’t be a new influence for future work, “At the end of the day, I kinda separate the fatherhood from my job, because my job is just to entertain and paint pictures.”
This doesn’t mean though that Rae doesn’t take his fatherhood seriously, “I didn’t have my father, he got his father, so its important for me to advice him and let him know he can be whatever he wants to be. My son doesn’t want to be an MC, cause he is kinda shy, I just support his goals, whatever he wants to do.”
“I mean creatively there ain’t a lot that still doing it, I still count on the dudes that came from my era to be really witty and creative,” said Raekwon talking about the current lyricism in rap.
He sees a sharp difference in current rap than from when he started, “Right now its a party millennium, everyone is partying and making simple music. We come from the struggles of writing and really making artistry be what it is.”
Raekwon wouldn’t confirm any new Wu-Tang project or one of his own, though he does have the Purple Tapes Files documentary in the works.
The Wu-Tang Clan was inspired heavily inspired by martial arts movies, so we asked Rae if there are any movies currently he is a fan of, “I like that movie with Sean Penn, I forgot the name of it though, its some ill shit though.” Something makes us doubt he was talking about “Milk.”