"In 1993, Wu-Tang Clan entered the rap galaxy from the strange planet of Staten Island, and proceeded to revolutionize the genre with their blend of filthy, merciless, and apocalyptic rhymes. The crew had its hams (Method Man, Ol' Dirty Bastard) and its cagey mastermind (RZA), but nearly two decades later, none has proved as steadfast and technically skilled as Corey Woods AKA Raekwon the Chef. With each syllable carefully selected, each bar exhaustively sharpened, his flow falls in seamless lockstep with the beat—rapping's platonic ideal. Here, Raekwon, 41, talks about Wu-Tang's beginnings, and his continuing collaborations with soul mate and fellow Clan vet Ghostface Killah.
GQ: From the very start, Wu-Tang always had critical support. How important has that been for the group?
Raekwon: We grew up on the critics paying attention to us and saying, Yo, ya'll got it. We peep the spark somewhere. When I sit here and see that the eight brothers from the neighborhood that I grew up with still have success, it had to be magical. I doubt if you get another Wu-Tang Clan. That might be harder than getting the new Jackson Five. Certain groups you only get one time, and we just happened to be that group.
GQ: Even with the success that Wu-Tang has had, have you had any low points as an artist?
Raekwon: In the early 2000s I was going through a lot. I didn't have my head screwed on right. Where I was at as a man, I was still growing up. We had success quick, we didn't have an opportunity to look at a lot of things that really we had to look at. My world was caving in for a minute, and it took a lot of people to come at me, like, Yo, we gon' get you right, but you gotta get you right. All I did was take my time, figure out where I made a lot of mistakes and try not to make them no more.
GQ: Unlike a lot of MCs, you're better known for albums than singles—have you ever been talked into chasing a hit?
Raekwon: Yeah, and that was around of the time of my slump. I'm not an artist that makes singles, I'm an artist that makes albums, and it's a totally different thing. People judge you whether your record is hot on the TV, and I happen to not be in that situation. These A&Rs is so backward sometimes, they think they know everything: Yo, do this, you need a radio record. My thing was always—When you say that, that's when you fu*king me up. When we came into the game it was all about what the people felt. They made the decisions. [During the slump] I had to really sit back and think of all the mechanics of how can Rae get better. And I'm always gonna stick my head out to what the masses want.
I doubt if you get another Wu-Tang Clan. That might be harder than getting the new Jackson Five.
GQ: In 2009, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II really rejuvenated your career. Before its release, how confident were you that it'd be a success?
Raekwon: I mean, I felt like I gave ya'll a great album. My heart was like, Yo, if they don't get this? I might go into gospel. [Laughs] I wasn't trying to out-do the first Cuban Linx, I was trying to go back to that great chemistry. I gave ya'll what I felt I had. And I know I'm better than that, too, so get ready for some more.
GQ: You and Ghostface have one of the best collaborative relationships in hip-hop. What was it like working together in the early days?
Raekwon: A lot of times, we would be the first cats at the studio. Me and him were like the kids that sat in the front of the class. I might come in and he already hogging the mic, and I'm like, Yo, that's where it need to be at! And I just touch it because I'm there to touch it. Me and Ghost sat around and wrote multiple songs together. We did [the song] "The Watch" together, the children's one where he's talking about Wilma and Woody Woodpecker ["The Forest"]. We sat around and wrote many joints together. When I first came into Wu-Tang, I was just a team player: Nah, say this word, or, He just said that word, so we gon' say another word. We was always heavily in tune with the darts.
GQ: Do you think that you and Ghost have influenced each other's styles over the years?
Raekwon: Definitely. Ghost tells me every few years, Yo, you showed me this style ... I'm like, man, we the same style. At the end of the day, he's one of my favorite rappers, I'm one of his favorite rappers, and we just do it. We identify with each other's worlds when it comes to rhyming. This's something that niggas peep. It's like, Yo, it's time to take the dog outside. You know what I mean? We got this all day. Easy.
GQ: Do you have a favorite collaboration?
Raekwon: Nah, 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. But as you keep shooting the ball, you become a better basketball player. I don't think we ever gonna get weak when it comes to lyrics. That really was an inheritance with us.
GQ: Have you and Ghost had personal disputes that haven't made it to the public eye?
Raekwon: I mean, we men, men gon' go through things. But we for each other. The main thing I look at is: Is it from the heart? If I know that you down with me, then we always gonna be down through whatever the thick and thin. I know where he going and he know where I'm going. When we sit on the bus, we play us some soul music, we reminisce, we eat some good food, and just sit down and talk as brothers."
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