Raekwon
Raekwon
Corey Quontrell Woods, better known by the stage name Raekwon, is an American rapper and a member of the Wu-Tang Clan. He released his solo debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... in 1995, and has since recorded numerous solo albums, as well as continuing to work with Wu-Tang and providing an extensive number of guest contributions to other hip hop artists' works. He is the founder of his own label ICEH20 Records...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionRapper
Date of Birth12 January 1970
CityStaten Island, NY
CountryUnited States of America
I've been living. I've been doing the writing thing. I've been being the family man. I've been traveling the world. I been to, like, 18 cities last year. I've been getting my thoughts together, trying to figure out what's going on with hip-hop itself.
I'll tell a young kid in a minute, 'If you don't know how to read, then what good is trying to be an MC?' Like, you can MC, but if you're not trying to be a better person, learn and apply that to your MCing, then how far do you think you're really going to go?
As far as the creative side of making great, great albums and really trying to go down in history? I don't see that happening lately, you know what I mean? You have a lot of guys is talented, but at the same time, timeless music is more important to me.
To be honest with you, I don't have one track that I consider better than the next because all I'm trying to do is still grow as an artist. I got way better since the early nineties, as far as putting words together. My best energy probably was the '90s, because I was new.
I don't have one track that I consider better than the next because all I'm trying to do is still grow as an artist.
When you devote yourself to being an artist, you have to stay on your craft and always try to get better and better.
The better you get, the more your legacy shines. I always just try to go hard. If you don't want do it for real, don't do it at all.
All I did was take my time, figure out where I made a lot of mistakes and try not to make them no more.
In a nutshell though, it's just all about opening up to the people that really care about my career and really listening to everybody who is listening to me. It's just made me stronger, to really be able to open up that door and listen to everybody else's opinions.
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.'
I stay excited 'cause for me, this is something I love to do. I'm like Coca Cola with it. I been here for a long time, I just gotta keep it nice and stay up to date and also give them that quality taste that they been looking for. It's nothing to me. When you built for it, you born for it, you do it cuz you wanna do it, not cuz you have to.
So for me, I had to get something going to promote the new project that I got. I decided to come with the 'Lost Jewelry' EP, which is a mixtape but it's more sexier because it's all fresh music.
I'm a storyteller - that's my chamber, that's my box. I'm always tryin' to give you the best story from our side of the table that you could really relate to quick. I understand where I wanna be at, but sometimes the production takes me where I need to go.
I'm always gonna be compared to the greatest cats that's in the game, but I lack a little bit less when I'm not as visible as other guys. So I live with that thought right there - yo, you still gotta work, still got more to do. One thing where I come from you gotta remember is, don't get souped up.