Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...

Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...
Studio album by
Raekwon
ReleasedAugust 1, 1995
StudioRZA's basement studio, New York City
Genre
Length69:30
Label
ProducerRZA
Raekwon chronology
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...
(1995) 		Immobilarity
(1999)
Wu-Tang Clan solo chronology
Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version
(1995) 		Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...
(1995) 		Liquid Swords
(1995)
Singles from Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…
  1. "Heaven & Hell"
    Released: October 24, 1994
  2. "Criminology"
    Released: June 26, 1995
  3. "Ice Cream"
    Released: September 25, 1995
  4. "Rainy Dayz"
    Released: 1996

Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (commonly referred to as the Purple Tape) is the debut studio album by American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon, released on August 1, 1995, by Loud Records and RCA Records.[2] The album was loosely composed to play like a film with Raekwon as the "star", fellow Wu-Tang member Ghostface Killah as the "guest-star", and producer RZA as the "director".[3] It features appearances from every member of the Wu-Tang Clan. The album also features debut appearances from affiliates Cappadonna and Blue Raspberry, and an acclaimed guest appearance from rapper Nas, which marked the first collaboration with a non-affiliated artist on a Wu-Tang related album.

Upon its release, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 chart, and number two on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, while selling 130,000 copies in its opening week.[4] The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on October 2, 1995, and later platinum on February 24, 2020.[5] According to Nielsen Soundscan, it has sold 1.1 million copies in the United States alone as of 2009.[6] Although it failed to acquire the same initial sales success as previous Wu-Tang solo albums, Cuban Linx achieved greater critical praise, with many complimenting its cinematic lyricism and production.

Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... has received acclaim from music critics and writers over the years, with many lauding it as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time. With its emphasis on American Mafia insinuations and organized crime, the album is widely regarded as a pioneer of the mafioso rap subgenre. It is considered to have been highly influential on hip hop music over the next decade, being heavily referenced and influential on acclaimed albums such as Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt (1996) and The Notorious B.I.G.'s Life After Death (1997). Along with GZA's Liquid Swords, Cuban Linx is the most acclaimed solo Wu-Tang work.[7] Rolling Stone magazine placed it at number 480 on their The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list in 2012, and at number 219 in the 2020 reboot of the list.[8][9]

  1. ^ "50 Greatest East Coast Hip-Hop Albums of the 1990s". The Boombox. October 20, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  2. ^ "What's Love Got to Do With It?". Vibe. New York: 84. March 2006. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
  3. ^ Ma, David. Cuban Linx Revisited (page 1). Wax Poetics. Retrieved 2010-07-27.
  4. ^ DeRosa, robin. "Toppin' the Charts". USA Today. August 10, 1995.
  5. ^ "American album certifications – Raekwon – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
  6. ^ Concepcion, Mariel. Raekwon Announces 'Linx 2' Date, Says Budden 'Copied' Method Man. Billboard. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
  7. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Wu-Tang Clan : Biography. AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  8. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 22, 2020.
  9. ^ The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Rolling Stone. Page 113. Special Collectors Issue (2012). Retrieved 2012-04-24.