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Cuban Links, Now and Then

Long awaited and highly anticipated, OB4CL2 has had Wu-heads across the globe salivating for a return to 1995, the year the first one dropped. After plenty of delays and rumors, The Chef kindly obliges, serving up 22 tracks of war stories, mob tales told behind dark glasses, and classic back and forth with his crime partner GhostFace Killah. These tales are told over a who’s who of production credits, from Dre to Dilla to Pete Rock, back to the RZA. The million dollar question as the needle hits the hard-drive: can Rae’s crime rhymes stand the test of time, or will he be the only cat on the block in 2009 rockin’ the Tommy rugby and yellow ski goggles?

After a quick intro by Papu Wu, OB4CL2 jumps off with the lead single, House of Flying Daggers. U-God goes in with a healthy dose of bravado followed up with classic swords by Rae, GFK, and Meth. You get the feeling of legends coming back onto the court. Not in that Gary Payton weak knees, step too slow on defense, way; more like Kobe coming in to snatch that next ring. Classic Wu beat complete with kung-fu sample and everything. I had to check twice that it was a J-Dilla, not RZA production.

One of OB4CL2’s most heartfelt moments comes on “Ason Jones,” a tribute to Old Dirty which does an effective job of capturing the many facets of the Drunken Master’s life. It’s a touching track which would have made a new verse by Dirty on the album all the more welcome. The track is followed up by “Have Mercy,” which has Rae and Beanie Siegel trading verses about incarcerated and lost friends. Siegel isn’t the only feature to shine; the album has prominent cameos from Wu-Tang, Busta Rhymes, Styles and Jada, and Slick Rick.

Of course Mr. GFK makes a strong showing, with his best, and most comical, verse coming on “Gihad,” which details a blow-job gone bad (if there ever were such a thing). Plenty of tracks on OB4CL2 give us Ghost and Rae expertly trading storytelling verses, which has Raekwon at his best. Other standouts here include “Cold Outside,” and “New Wu.”

Long story short, Wu Gambinos get exactly what they have been waiting for. A pow(d)er-packed album full of classic production, reading like a diary of “a typical day to get wiped out, broad day jungle, living with the rodents, where the goons will run through, blow a bag and hunt you,” and crew tracks by the bus load. However, as much as this writer appreciates the album, I get the sense that OB4CL2 will only appeal to Raekwon’s core audience. Not a bad thing considering this is the Worldwide Wu that we are talking about. Even with the Diddy co-sign, you get the feeling that OB4CL2 won’t break into the mainstream. The album will most likely just appeal to the hard core fans, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. The answer is yes, Raekwon is still rockin’ the red and yellow Tommy rugby, and yes, it still looks fresh.

4/5 only because the first one was so dope.