Raekwon The Chef

Raekwon’s first solo album, titled Only Built For Cuban Linx…, was viewed as being the most influential album put out by a member of the Wu-Tang Clan.  The album followed a mafia based theme and the tracks were flooded with talk of crime, cocaine trafficking, and rising in crime organizations.  This narrative styled album influenced many other artists including Jay-z, Nas, Notorious BIG, among many others.  Despite receiving five out of five stars in every magazine imaginable, album failed to sell the numbers it deserved, only reaching gold in the United States.  The album would reach platinum world wide.

Rae’s sophomore album, Immobilarity, received mixed reviews for many of the same reasons as GZA’s Beneath The Surface.  Fans and critics didn’t want up-and-coming producers working on his album.  They wanted RZA.  Despite the reviews, Raekwon was able to reach gold status for the second consecutive time. 

The Lex Diamond Story, Rae’s most recent album, was released in 2003.  Critically the album generally received moderate reviews and the reviews from the public varied.  This was the first time Raekwon was unable to reach gold on a solo effort and blamed it mostly on his lack of promotion.