Raekwon

Raekwon的綽號是CHEF,因為他總能做出美味的食物,做為WU-TANG的一名正式成員,他并不如其它成員,如Method Man或Ol' Dirty Raekwon那樣引人注目.但他與GZA和Ghostface Killah合作的坐品卻受到了好評. by Steve Huey Raekwon may not have achieved the solo stardom of his fellow Wu-Tang Clan mates Method Man or Ol Dirty Bastard, but along with Genius/GZA and frequent partner Ghostface Killah, hes done some of the most inventive, critically acclaimed work outside the confines of the group. Born Corey Woods and also nicknamed the Chef (because hes cookin up some marvelous sh*t to get your mouth watering), Raekwon joined the Staten Island, NY-based Wu-Tang collective in the early 90s and played an important role on their groundbreaking late-1993 debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Although the groups contract allowed its individual members to sign with whatever label they chose, Raekwon stayed with Loud when the first round of Wu-related solo projects began to appear. Following his 1994 debut single, Heaven and Hell, his own solo debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, appeared in 1995; while it didnt sell on the level of Method Mans Tical, singles like Ice Cream and Criminology earned him a reputation in the hip-hop underground. Moreover, the album received near-unanimous critical praise for its evocative, image-rich storytelling and cinematic Mafia obsession (on some tracks, he adopted the guise of gangster Lex Diamonds). Also notable was Raekwons crackling chemistry with heavily featured collaborator Ghostface Killah, who enjoyed something of a coming-out party with all the exposure (he hadnt been nearly as much of a presence on Enter the Wu-Tang). Raekwon returned to the Wu-Tang fold for the groups 1997 sophomore effort, Wu-Tang Forever. That LP was followed by a second round of solo albums, and Raekwons Immobilarity was released in late 1999, this time on Epic. This time around, neither RZA nor Ghostface Killah contributed to the album at all and perhaps as a result, reviews were more mixed. Raekwon recorded with the Wu on their subsequent albums The W (2000) and Iron Flag (2001), and announced plans to reteam with Ghostface Killah for a sequel to Cuban Linx.