Littles and Raekwon at his <i>Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II</i> album-release party
Photo: Jerritt Clark/ Getty Images

NEW YORK — Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon the Chef will be forever lauded, not just because of his lyrical exploits on proper Wu-Tang Clan LPs, but because his solo debut, 1995's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx is one of the greatest rap albums ever.

But nostalgia can only take you so far; you have to live in the here and now eventually. Over a decade later, Raekwon finds himself a relevant MC again after cooking up that great product once more. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II was released on Tuesday, and some have already certified the album as a classic. With RZA sharing production with J. Dilla, Dr. Dre and others, and the Chef opening up the recording session to Beanie Sigel, the LOX and his Clan, the LP takes off where the last album ended.

	Raekwon's Cuban Linx II Album Release Party

On Tuesday night, Rae, in conjunction with former Mobb Deep manager turned DVD producer Littles, threw an album-release celebration at Santos Party House that featured the likes of Ice-T, Q-Tip and host Diddy.

"Attendance is mandatory," Ice-T said onstage early in the night. "Hip-hop is on life support. Raekwon is gonna try to bring [it] back to life."

Ice then blasted part of the hip-hop hipster movement. "F--- that happy-ass rap they doing," he ranted. "If you do not have power, you should not hold the mic."

Marley Marl, Q-Tip, Redman, Erick Sermon and the Brand Nubian also joined the celebration. Craig G got on the mic and spit his verse from "The Symphony." Later, Redman started to perform "Tonight's Da Night."

Ghostface officially kicked off the Raekwon show with "Bring Da Ruckus."

Ghost then shouted out the new album. "Cuban Linx, n---a. Make some noise for the album. Tell 'em, Puff."

Diddy then took the mic. "New York, stand up! Hip-hop, stand up. We all started together. Wu-Tang, Bad Boy, Big," Diddy said. "We're gonna get real buck f---in' wild in here. We're gonna take it back to the tunnel. Are y'all ready for Raekwon the Chef?"

Ghost then went into "Fish" and was followed by a snow flurry of big hits by Raekwon, Ghost and Cappadonna (who was also onstage). The new Wu-Banger "10 Bricks" was sandwiched in between the classics "Ice Cream" and "Daytona 500." Later came "Camay" and the most popular record of the night, "C.R.E.A.M."

Diddy then realized he never properly introduced the man of the hour and put the spotlight on Rae. "Make some noise for a living legend, Raekwon the Chef!"

Rae took the opportunity to address the doubters. "They say that n---a's washed up," he said. "Look what happened."

The Staten Island general moved onto the new album's Dr. Dre-produced "Catalina," then threw it back to "Incarcerated Scarfaces" and "Heaven and Hell."

After the "Wu Oh," Rae compared his battle to sell records against Jay-Z, who also dropped The Blueprint 3 this week, to David vs. Goliath.

"Good luck with your album, sir," he openly addressed Young Hov and wished Jay the best of luck from the bottom of his heart.

"Flying Daggers" was the last Clan record before Rae gave up the mic to Melle Mel and Grand Puba.

"Shout to MTV!" the Chef yelled.

Rae's party is the first of many in New York that coincide with MTV's week-long VMA celebration. Check back at MTV News for the latest from all the parties and high-profile concerts going on up until the big show this Sunday night at 9 p.m. ET.

The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards will take place this Sunday, September 13, at 9 p.m. ET. Stay tuned all week long for news on additional performers and celebrity presenters.

• Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, More At Cuban Linx II Listening Party At Santos Party House

• Diddy
• Wu-Tang Clan
• Raekwon

Raekwon, Mobb Deep and Nas
Photo: LOUD

Cornerstone Credentials   We heard the album last night, son. Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II is a certified gem. That very last song on the LP, "Kiss the Ring," is amazing. He's has those mafia war stories, the sharp wordplay, Wu-Bangers and even some Dr. Dre G-Funk. What the Chef was unable to get was Nas. One of the main show-stealers from the original Only Built 4 Cuban Linx never gave Rae a verse for the new LP. So much for nostalgia.  

"He committed to it," Rae told Mixtape Daily. "I knew dude be busy. However it goes down, it's cool with me. My thing is, I sacrificed to even ask because of the fans. But if dudes be too busy in their own minds, they don't have to do it. Because Rae continues to do Rae anyway. Y'all came to see me. It's the Rae show anyway."

The Chef does have a couple of non-Wu-Tang castmembers — Beanie Sigel and The Lox's Jadakiss and Styles P — participating on the CD.   "I had to go back and deal with brothers I felt was really next to me, like a Sigel," Chef said. "The way he came across, y'all gonna know he's nothing to play with. He's a vicious MC. When me and him get on a track, everybody gotta sit down. I got Kiss on the album. He's like another one of me. I'm like him. We seen the same things. We share the same stories. I'm just a little older than Kiss, but we're compatible. I wanted to keep it real Cuban, where people be like, 'That's how they talk.' Jeezy would have been a good dude for the album, but maybe I'll get him for [Cuban Linx III]. I wanted to keep it light on the features. I didn't want everybody to [feel] like I'm looking too hard and leaning on features. I put Wu all over the joints because that's how we made the first one."

According to Rae's camp, he definitely has enough quality material to put out an Only Built 4 Cuban Linx III at the top of the year.

The Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II track listing:

"Return of the North Star," featuring Papu Wu, produced by BT (interlude)
"House of Flying Daggers," featuring Deck, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, produced by J-Dilla
"Sonny's Missing," produced by Pete Rock
"Pyrex Visions," produced by Marley Marl
"Cold Outside," featuring Suga Bang, Ghostface Killah, produced by ATL
"Black Mozart," featuring Inspectah Deck, produced by RZA
"Gihad," produced by Necro
"New Wu," featuring Method Man, Ghostface Killah, produced by RZA
"Penitentiary," featuring Ghostface Killah, produced by BT
"Baggin Crack," produced by Eric Sermon (explicit version only)
"Surgical Gloves," produced by the Alchemist
"Broken Safety," feat Jadakiss and Styles P, produced by Scram Jones
"Canal Street," produced by Icewater
"Ason Jones," produced by J-Dilla
"Have Mercy," featuring Beanie Sigal, produced by Icewater
"10 Bricks," featuring Beanie Sigal, produced by J-Dilla
"Fat Lady Sings," produced by Icewater
"Catalina," featuring Busta Rhymes, produced by Dr. Dre
"We Will Rob You," featuring Slick Rick, GZA, Masta Killah, produced by Allah Justice
"About Me," produced by Dr. Dre
"Mean Streets," featuring Inspectah Deck, produced by Allah Mathematics
"Kiss the Ring," featuring Inspectah Deck, Masta Killah, produced by Scram Jones

For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines.

• Mixtape Daily: Jay-Z, Raekwon, Lil Wayne, Drake And More

• Raekwon The Chef

• Nas
• Raekwon

Jay-Z
Photo: Roc Nation

Today was one of those days that you might call a "new music frenzy": Two new joints from Jay-Z, two new records from Raekwon the Chef, and Whitney Houston's whole album leaked. Wow!

Of course, Sir Hov of Brooklyn made the biggest headlines, with the record "Off That" leaking late last night. It's the big collaboration with Drake everyone's been talking about for months. Jigga and Drizzy! Drake doesn't rap on the chorus, but he does spit a hot, boastful chorus, though. The other Jay song is called "Reminder," where Hov runs down his résumé. There's a line in there you'll have to rewind a few times, where he says "ordinary Joes" have to button up. Was that a subliminal jab at Joe Budden? Hmmmm ...

A classic line from the song reads: "I crushed Elvis in his blue suede shoes/ Made the Rolling Stones seem sweet as Kool-Aid too." Hov went in on that one!

On Rae's side, he dropped "10 Bricks" and finally gave us a collaboration with Dr. Dre, "Catalina." While Jay's vibe seems international, the Chef is taking it back to the gutter. You gotta love the fact both elder statesmen are still lyrically rugged.

Check out the video, where my partner in crime, Rahman Dukes, and I go back and forth about all this new material.

Whitney — we didn't forget you! We love "Salute" from your new album — R. Kelly's pen on that one is amazing. He has Whitney giving a real "Waiting to Exhale"-ish vibe.

• Raekwon
• Jay-Z

Ghostface Killah
Photo: Roger Kisby/ Getty Images

Celebrity Favorite: Ghostface Killah

Last week, we brought you Ghostface Killah talking about making an album with Mary J. Blige. This week, Ghost gets more in form with what you're used to: He's down to do an LP with his brothers.

While there's no word on an LP featuring the entire Wu-Tang Clan, Tony Starks has high hopes for a trio opus starring himself, Raekwon and Method Man.

"We ain't got no title for it, but they been wanting to do that for a while, maybe like the past two years," Ghost said recently in New York. "I was always with it. I think that right now, everybody is in that position to do it now. I think within the next two months, everybody will start collecting beats. Everybody goes in — he's got four songs, I got four songs, [Meth] has four. Start coming around like that and seeing what we can do. Make a little phat tight one. I told Meth the other day, 'It's gotta be phat and tight. We don't need 16, 19 joints on there. Nah, nah, nah — 12 phat bullets. We do it like that, and that's it.' That's gonna happen soon. It will probably be out by the end of the year or January, and that's that."

You will get a preview of what Rae, Ghost and Meth can do on the upcoming Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II LP. Ghost recorded around 10 songs for the album. (It's still not confirmed how many of the records will appear on the final LP.)

"Rae got darts," Ghost promised. "His beats were up to par. He was doing what he gotta do. It's good, man. People wanna see that. Rae's been like, 'Cuban Linx coming, Cuban Linx is coming' for years. Mutha----as was like, 'Yo, when is it coming, B?' Now he's finally finished it, and he's gonna put it out September 8."

Ghost's The Wizard of Poetry is coming out this year, but he doesn't have a concrete date yet.

"If it's not steaming," he said of his buzz, "we can't put it out until it's right."

Ghost worked with some of his favorite R&B stars from Estelle to John Legend on his new disc. The first single is "Baby" with Raheem DeVaughn.

For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines.

• Mixtape Daily Video: Drake Ghostface, Joe Budden, More

• Ghostface Killah
• Raekwon
• Method Man
• Wu-Tang Clan

Raekwon
Photo: MTV News

Tension between the Wu-Tang Clan and Joe Budden reached a boiling point on Saturday at the San Manuel Amphitheatre in San Bernardino, California. According to Joe Budden and up-and-coming MC Mickey Factz, Raekwon the Chef and five of his friends assaulted Budden in his dressing room prior to performing at the Rock the Bells tour stop.

Budden and Factz were doing a live Internet stream from their dressing room when Raekwon came in.

"Them n---as came in here with a goal," Budden said during the webcast. "The goal was to catch the blog king slippin' and have the big 6-foot-4, 300 ... n---a punch me in my eye. I guess it makes me look soft? I don't really know. My thing is ... no comment man. Maybe the n---a watches Joe Budden TV. But I'm all right, I'm safe — still sexy, I think. Eye is a little swollen."

Budden was then seen asking a friend for some ice before continuing, "Them n---as came in here like this was Staten Island," he added. "Do they know where we are? I guess in Rae's mind, they gonna come in here, punch me in the face ... shake my hand, force an apology. Then they gonna go off of that and perform and do a show? Is that what's supposed to be taking place? I am a little confused by that."

Factz did a Web show of his own Sunday, detailing his account of the incident.

"We was just chillin' ... Rae came in on some peaceful sh-- at first, he dapped everybody," Factz explained. "He dapped Joe — he was dumb peaceful. He took a seat. When he took a seat, everything changed."

"What happened between Joe Budden and Raekwon is their business," said Chang Weisberg of Guerilla Union, one of the organizers of Rock the Bells. "They definitely did not want anything between them to impact the show and shared their regret that it could have had a negative outcome. In the end, I'm glad that cooler heads prevailed and that they were able to work out their differences and continue their participation with Rock the Bells. We are grateful for their efforts to keep things moving in a positive direction. It could have been very ugly and I'm proud of their willingness to put their differences aside and handle their business professionally."

However, Factz said the point of contention backstage was that the Chef was not too pleased with a video clip that he and Budden shot in Boston on July 18. In the vlog, Budden apologized to Method Man but warned any of Meth's affiliates not to speak his name. "I'm done talking about the entire Method Man/ Slaughterhouse/ Wu-Tang everything," Budden said. "Joe Budden is washing his hands from this point forward. If anyone of them n---as say my name in a negative light, the peace treaty is over and the no-comment movement is over.

"I'm no chump," he added. "It's not gonna continue to happen. Everybody else associated with that n---a, or just feels like my name should roll out their f---in' mouth the wrong way like I can't rap a f---in' circle around them, do it from this point on."

Budden was apologizing to Meth for comments he made several months ago regarding a Vibe article asking fans to vote for the best rapper alive — Budden took exception to not being in the top spot and singled out Meth, who placed higher on the list. The two went back and forth in interviews and earlier this summer, the Clan's Inspectah Deck jumped into the fold, dissing Budden on a track called "House N---a."

Ironically, both Budden and his Slaughterhouse crew were booked on Rock the Bells along with Raekwon and others. During a tour stop in mid-July, Deck came out as Rae's special guest and dissed Budden onstage.

"Number one homie — nobody ain't worried about nothing, man," Rae told us on July 17. "Everybody knows this is hip-hop. Keep it hip-hop. Nobody wants to throw their lives or their careers away for somebody who's not really near our legacy of what we built. [Budden] could never crush any buildings. He knows that. As far as Slaughterhouse — I know them, they are true-blue friends. This is a Joe Budden and Method Man altercation. Deck got involved, that's these three's altercation. For me, the Wu is not even thinking about it on that level — this is not that kinda party. Number one, it doesn't even match up.

"I already know what it is, because Joe Budden looked me in my face and apologized," Rae added, addressing a private meeting he and Budden had. "As a man, I look a n---a in his eyes and make sure you being genuine. I guess he feels that he has no beef with me. As far as Wu-Tang, we're not like how we used to be back then, as far as, like, jump up and do something negative. Cats caught cases like that. Nobody wanna be going through cases, get lawsuits and whatever. You can't sacrifice when you got children. If they gonna keep it on wax, MC to MC, if that's what they want to do, then take six paces and draw. As far as anything else, I feel nobody is a threat over there to me. I got Royce Da 5'9" calling me everyday trying to calm everything down."

During the New York tour stop at Jones Beach Theater on July 19, Budden and Method Man squashed their differences, but Factz and Budden say Rae was anything but calm on Saturday.

"I didn't even see the punch, I just heard it," Factz said in his vlog. "I was like, 'It looks like n----s is gonna be fighting today. I'm gonna be fighting a n---a I grew up listening to.' It was six of them. They was asking us questions. They was just on some 'Prove to us the video was done before Jones Beach.' Rae was in another zone, he didn't want to listen. I feel like that was a bad move on some real sh--. I did think that was a sucker move. Joe did not get knocked out — he barely felt it."

"My eye's swollen," Budden said in his live stream. "I don't think it will get black later. It wasn't my eye, it was the side of my eye. I think Rae didn't [punch me] himself. They were recording, they had a camera on. I don't think it would be the smart thing for him to do ... I didn't think it was a smart thing to do period. ... You guys think this was a tough-guy move? You guys think this was dope? I personally don't. I think it was a f----t move, personally. ... This is what happens when people lack common sense."

After the confrontation, Raekwon went on and performed his show. Slaughterhouse came out later on and took to the stage. Although Budden didn't mention it, his Slaughterhouse mate Crooked I referenced the incident. "Don't believe everything you see on the Internet," Crook said. "Nobody gonna disrespect one of my n----s on the muthaf---in' West Coast."

Raekwon could not be reached for comment at press time.

• Joe Budden
• Raekwon
• Wu-Tang Clan

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