Raekwon’s 1995 debut studio album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… is one of Hip Hop’s most classic projects. The album helped introduce mafioso rap to the masses and put Raekwon and Ghostface Killah in the spotlight separate from their Wu-Tang Clan brothers.
In the latest segment from his ongoing conversation with VladTV, The Chef shed more light on his groundbreaking debut album and revealed how the New York Mafia played a role in naming it.
For those who don’t know, Raekwon is such a big fan of the Mafia and how they handle their day-to-day business that he often referred to him and his Wu brothers as “Wu-Gambinos.” Rae loved the name so much that not only did he record a song on the album under that name, but he also wanted that to be the official title of the project.
“They was like, ‘Yo, you can’t call no albums that,’” Raekwon said. “This was a conversation I had with [Steve] Rifkind, because Rifkind’s pops — rest in peace — he was connected. He had a lot of relationships. I remember me enforcing the title on Steve and saying, ‘Yo, this is what we want to call it. We want to call it Wu-Gambinos and he was like, ‘Yo, I’m gonna look into that.’
“And I remember him coming back to me and saying, ‘Yo, that’s not happening.’ And I was like, ‘You serious?’ And he was like, ‘It’s not gonna happen. They not having that.'”
The Gambino Family — one of the five organizations in New York City — didn’t appreciate Raekwon using their family name in that manner. Rae continued in the next segment explaining how they were pushing to name the album Wu-Gambinos when they already had the song recorded. He explained he was young and wanted to do it anyway, but soon understood the business side of things.
“At the end of the day, a song is a song, but when you start using somebody’s likeness or whatever on that level, it could’ve been a situation where now you gotta take a conversation or meeting behind this. How you just going to use a name like that and run with with it?” Raekwon said.
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“It was something funny to me because I wanted to do it anyway. But then it was something like, ‘Steve, you ain’t with it, so even if we wanted to bum rush and do it like that, we can’t because you wasn’t even down for it.’
“Back then, our mentality was to take the risk, fuck it. But like I said, being young and kind of immature and not understanding the business to the fullest, we had to second-guess that motion and be like, ‘You know what? Don’t do it.”
“but when you start using somebody’s likeness or whatever on that level it could’ve been a situation where now you gotta take a conversation or meeting behind this. How you just going to use a name like that and run with with it,” …. somebody tell that to the fake Rick Ross
Never liked how rappers idolize these Italian mobs as if these dudes cared for them at all. All these Black dudes wanting to ally themselves with mobsters who don’t give a shit about them. Love Rae and I’m glad this shit didn’t happen.
If you don’t get why it is inspiring to the world, we have the blueprint for how to form a militia (the origins of mafia) govern ourselves, acquire resources, maintain social stability, under slavery and foreign colonialism, and elevate and infiltrate our rulers. Look up Sicilian slavery and history of the mob and all that.
We don’t need to look up any of that bs you’re talking about. The treatment of the black community by the Italian Mafia in the US speaks volumes for itself. Foh with that romaticized crap about the Mafia, they are scumbags through and through, only focused on greed and bettering themselves at the misery of others. Look at all the innocent people they have murdered in Italy and worldwide, even children.
And black gangs differ how?
Totally agree
Agreed 100%. When you see how the mob referred to people of color as “mul**ans” etc. How they was happy to flood black neighbourhoods with drugs but not they own, talked about African Americans as being inferior on wire taps during sit downs , the race wars in the 50’s and 60’s. I always cringed at rappers calling themselves “Gotti” “Junior Mafia” “Black Soprano” etc. making mob references to themselves as if they would ever be really accepted into that organization as a real member. I find it pathetic that some black men will grovel at the feet of some mob guys to try and get some kind of recognition from them smh. We had our own mobs and shit, why look up to these assholes?
My guys the Wu, as much as I love em, would have got fucked off so easily if they pushed the issue. Especially in the 90’s. I always think it’s lame as fuck that rappers, black rappers, keep using mafia shit (Gotti this, Gotti that, ) like it’s something sweet. Murder INC? OK, name your group after a bunch of organized gangster ass white dudes, real creative. Ppsshhhh
Murder Inc wasn’t white, they was j00s. Also Benjamin Siegel, Meyer Lansky etc not white, j0oish.
They look pretty damn white to me lmao
Are dark skin indonesians black? No. Just like j0os aren’t white, idiot.
Ok, Shlomo. Blame whitey!
What’s funny to me is that a majority of the Mafia members were essentially racist, granted they were partial towards most ethnic groups outside of Italian/Sicilian but especially black people. John Gotti who everybody loves had no respect whatsoever for black people.