Rappers always seem to deliver when you least expect it... Except for the Wu-Tang Clan, who have seemingly been living like gangsters for so long they can't help but be authentic, offensive, crude and disturbing.
The best of them when he's at his best? Raekwon.
With every member taking part (even ODB in sample form), it has the feel of a contemporary Wu album, and true to form, Raekwon and Ghostface Killah lead the way with their trademark storytelling.
Painting urban landscapes dreary and desperate on ""Cold Outside,"" ""They found a two-year-old / Strangled to death / With a ‘Love Daddy' shirt on in a bag at the top of the steps."" Reminiscing a criminal lifestyle, ""Heroin stirrers, the crib, cracked mirrors / Career thugs who serve only judges and jurors / Got to make my money this year, whether it's through rhyming or criming."" And finally boasting about the fact that they have not lost a step over the course of 17 years on the most accessible track, ""New Wu.""
Raekwon and friends yet again prove they still represent the grimiest lyricists and rawest deliveries in the game. In fact, the only thing holding Built for Cuban Linx... Pt. II from creeping up this list is that after almost two decades, fans have come to expect such quality. They've become presumptively stellar in a game that is presumptively phony on the surface; a compliment that should be startling, but following an album with Raekwon's name on it, it just feels obvious.
