Illustration: Chris Bachalo; Art Direction & Graphic Design: Alex Haldi

Raekwon spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the fans’ reception of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II, the new album with Meth and Ghost as well as his next solo album, Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang. Some highlights:

How did you decide to make an album with those two guys specifically?
It was something that was going to happen sooner or later. Us three, we always work good together throughout the years. On a lot of records, me, Ghost, and Meth was always next to each other. If you look at [the Wu-Tang Clan] as being the Lakers, we are the MVPs of the team. We are the ones that everybody may feel like takes us to the championship. Everybody else is going to play their position, but these three are definitely going to have to control the ball at some point. This is what the fans been wanting, man…You know, I work for the fans.

From your perspective, what do you three bring to a project? How do you balance each other out?
When we get together, it’s a lot of energy in the building, because everybody knows Meth, Rae, and Ghost for being super-lyrical, but still got that great character inside their rhymes. I guess that’s why people really is excited about this record. They’re saying, “Yo, these dudes put the Wu where they need to be at.” I don’t look at it like that. I look at us all as being one, still. I understand some may have a little bit more special gift than others, but it’s still a team effort. I love to get on tracks with brothers like Inspectah Deck, Masta Killa, the GZA. The whole crew is golden, man. When you think of us, you gotta say, “Yo, these are the Jacksons of hip-hop.” But for me to get in a room with Meth and Ghost and do an album, it’s serious to me. I know it’s going to be a lot of lyrics in there, it’s going to be a lot of great energy, stories. We all master these different departments of rhyming. So you’re just going to get a great album.

Link: Raekwon on ‘Wu-Massacre,’ the future of the Wu-Tang Clan, his label dreams, and more [EW’s Music Mix]

Wu-Massacre is dropping on March 30th. Pre-order it now on Amazon.

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