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

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

Ghostface Killah
Photo: Roger Kisby/ Getty Images

Fire Starter: Trife Diesel

Better known by fans of Ghostface Killah's Theodore Unit as Trife Da God, Trife Diesel is finally getting his own thing off with the just-released Better Late Than Never.

"My brother Ghost is on there, my brother [Shawn] Wigz is on there," Trife told us earlier this week. "It's a nice classical album. It's not a mainstream album, but it's more me, Trife Da God."

"My brother put me on to Trife," Ghost said of how the two crossed paths. "This little dude, he had an ill swag, he was clean-cut. He was ahead of his time, up to date, and his darts were clean. His darts were illmatic. I sent him down to Florida with me when we was doing Bulletproof Wallets. Ever since Wallets, he's been on tour with me."

Trife said his experience with Ghost has been indispensable.

"I'm not ashamed to say, he's like a father figure," Trife said. "He taught me in rap. I'm very appreciative, and that's why when I go out there and do what I do, I gotta make great music. I can't let him down or my fans down."

The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From The Underground

If the great Ghostdini got his wish, he'd do a duets LP with one of his most popular collaborators: Mary J. Blige.

"We got the ill chemistry together," said Ghost, on the set of his "Baby" video in Harlem. "I love Mary. I hope one day we could ... get together and just make an ill classic. Some Peaches & Herb. [Hip-hop editor's note: Google that group!] We just hop in real quick. Just one go-round, a one-off. That's just fly."

Sitting in his tour bus, parked across the street from Rucker Park, Ghost was also thinking about collaborating with some other R&B greats. His past R&B collaborations are highlighted on the new J-Love mixtape The Wizard Is Coming.

"That was when we was in Cali at that time," Ghost thought back to his guest appearance on Mary's "Your Child" remix. "I remember Mary wanted me to do that for her real quick. I did two of them [verses]. The other verse wasn't all right. I think [the verse that made the song] might have been eight bars. Those were the days. I was stuck a little bit."

Tony Starks' eyes were as bright as Iron Man's suit with a fresh coat of candy-red paint when he talked about the "Freek'n You" remix he did with Jodeci.

"We smashed that out in two or three hours," he said of the song. "They was drinking that red shot, some red liquor. [Jodeci] was in there singing, doing their own parts. Me and [Raekwon] was in there sitting down writing our part. Then Rae went in and did his part. I laid mine after Rae. That's when our pens were going off fast and did what it did. Connected the dots. [Jodeci] were some good brothers. They was drunk, but they were doing it like it was nothing."

Ghost is putting out his Wizard of Poetry later this fall, featuring duets with John Legend, Estelle, possibly Blige and definitely Raheem DeVaughn on the first single "Baby."

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

• Mixtape Daily: Plies, Ghostface, Soulja Boy, Diddy, More

• Ghostface Killah
• Mary J. Blige
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Wu-Tang Clan's Method Man performs during the 2009 Rock the Bells at Jones Beach in Wantagh, New York on Sunday
Photo: Astrid Stawiarz/ Getty Images

WANTAGH, New York — It was musical, it was nostalgic, but most important, it was not violent. Guerilla Union held their annual Rock the Bells show Sunday at Nikon at Jones Beach Theater as part of the yearly tour. Going into the show, there had been heavy tension involving two of the acts, the Wu-Tang Clan and Slaughterhouse.

Slaughterhouse's Joe Budden had been involved in a back-and-forth with Method Man and Inspectah Deck for weeks. Although Deck and Meth were not officially on the Rock the Bells bill, it was no surprise when both appeared at Jones Beach to support RZA and Raekwon, who were slated to perform.

The Clan brought the ruckus, not the ignorance. They rocked the theater with a catalog of hits and didn't waste time dissing Slaughterhouse. At the end of the performance, Meth told the crowd no one in the rap game could touch him or his brothers.

	Nas, Wu-Tang, More 'Rock The Bells' At Jones Beach

"Can't nobody touch the legacy," Meth boasted. "Our track record speaks louder than any of them mutha----as."

Between the end of Wu's set and the beginning of Slaughterhouse's, Method Man and Joe Budden were seen walking together in the parking lot. The two took their time quashing the beef.

When Slaughterhouse, which also includes Royce da 5'9", Joell Ortiz and Crooked I, took the stage, they publicly announced the end of the short-term feud.

"It will never be a beef with Wu-Tang clan," Royce said. He then revealed the convo between Meth and Budden, saying the situation was "squashed."

But Rock the Bells wasn't just about them. Other performers included Big Boi, Common, Black Star, the Roots, Buckshot and headliners Nas and Damien "Jr. Gong" Marley.

Nas started his set with classics like "N.Y. State of Mind," then shared the stage with Jr. Gong. Nas kicked familiar verses (his rhymes off "The Message" and reggae-inspired hip-hop tracks like Shyne's "Bad Boyz"), and Jr. Gong came back doing his reggae chats over some of Nas' beats, including "Represent."

The rapper also brought out AZ for "Phone Tap" and "Life's a Bitch." Then he let D-Block have their own mini-set, highlighted by "Good Times," "Wild Out," "Who's Real" and Jadakiss' duet with Nas, "What If."

• Nas, Wu-Tang, More 'Rock The Bells' At Jones Beach

• Wu-Tang Clan
• Slaughterhouse
• Nas
• Joe Budden
• Damian Marley

Raekwon
Photo: MTV News

The years-long delay on Raekwon the Chef's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II had nothing to do with the music.

Rae kept his sword sharp, rapping over tracks produced by Dr. Dre, the RZA and the late J Dilla, among others. The Staten Island sergeant had to get his business right and find a recording home. After failing to solidify with Dre's Aftermath over at Interscope, the Chef shopped around, and on Wednesday (April 15), it was announced that he will release the follow-up to his 1995 classic on his own ICEH20 Records through EMI.

"The wait is finally over," Raekwon said in a statement. "Words cannot describe how extremely happy I am to work with EMI Music to put out my album."

Rae's new LP is slated for this summer, and guests include Busta Rhymes, Jadakiss, the Game, Bun B and, of course, the Wu-Tang Clan. Rae also has a mixtape coming soon called Staten (We Go Hard), dropping with his new crew the Brinks Brothers. Putting out music for the almost-two-decade vet is nothing to get nervous about.

"I don't worry too much about the pressure, because this is something I love to do," he said. "All I could say is, I'm a veteran, and I love hip-hop. I'm a veteran at hip-hop, so when it comes to making an album with that much pressure, it's fun. I built my life behind pressure. Like I said, I'm just gonna get out there and be the best I can be and give y'all what I feel that y'all want from me, that y'all ready for.

"Pressure?" he continued. "Nah. I get more pressure going home dealing with family. That's more pressure than being here doing what I want to do. The fans made me who I am. All I can do is be me. Maybe some of the newer generation may not catch it. It may be too quick for them. Maybe my fans that's been there from the door, they'll catch it."

The Chef will be on this summer's Rock the Bells tour, along with Wu's RZA, KRS-One, Buckshot, Crooked I, Pete Rock, Murs and headliners Nas and Damien "Jr. Gong" Marley. Rae promised to perform a few new songs from Cuban Linx II, like "House of Flying Daggers" and "Wu Oh"; mixtape masher "State of Grace"; and classics including "C.R.E.A.M." and "Protect Your Neck."

• Raekwon
• Wu-Tang Clan

Nas, Wu-Tang, More 'Rock The Bells' At Jones Beach

• Nas
• Wu-Tang Clan
• RZA
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