If reissues aren’t your thing then chew on this: Wu-Tang Clan‘s Raekwon has announced that, in addition to a bonus edition of last year’s solo effort, Only Built for Cuban Linx Pt. II, he’ll be releasing an album of brand new solo material called Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang in September.
The album is already slated to feature other members of the Wu-Tang Clan — including Method Man and Ghostface Killah — and The Roots’ Black Thought will also be joining the party. But what you won’t find within the album’s offering are tracks produced by Wu-Tang’s de facto leader, Mr. Bobby Digital (aka RZA). Chef Raekwon told Vibe that leaving him out of the mix isn’t personal, and that “it’s not about beef,” adding that, “RZA doesn’t have to be on every album. I wanted to give other producers a chance.”
One of those producers is Scoop Deville, who hit the studio with Rae as recently as Sunday. Furthermore, the rapper has admitted that he has been “scheming and plotting” with Eminem and recently tweeted that he met up with Nas on July 9th.
The news comes fresh off what has been reported as a bad-turned-good performance at this weekend’s Pitchfork Music Festival. The malfunction-plagued set led the emcee (whose real name is Corey Woods) to ask the crowd to “put one hand up if this shit is pissing you off;” however, Raekwon recovered and ended the show with break dancing middle-school kids spinning on their heads as he blasted through “Protect Ya Neck” and “New Wu”. Despite the minor live setbacks, the 40-year-old rapper told Fader that he’s releasing his second album in two years because he’s “in the zone” and that he’s “dialed in and found his youth again.”
“Ever since I dropped Cuban Linx II, I’ve been in that zone to get in the booth and have fun again,” he said. “Being a part of Wu-Tang Clan, we became this machine that really worked extra, extra, extra hard. Sometimes it gets stressful tryin’ to bust your brain to write the best rhyme or come up with the best shit.”
An exact release date hasn’t been set, but ‘Kwon has some advice on getting ready for the new album, which he says is “on the level” of Cuban Linx II. “Like I said, anybody who really wants to know what time it is, go check out the Shaolin vs Wu-Tang karate flick and smoke a couple of blunts, get your drink on, and if you ain’t into none of that, then just go check it out.” Thanks, Rae — sounds like a plan.
Image via Riverfront Times
