It isn’t often that an MC can use the fact that he’d appeared on another MC’s album to big himself up, but that’s exactly how it worked for Ghostface Killah when he rapped, “The world can’t touch Ghost/Purple Tape, Rae co-host,” on “Mighty Healthy” from Ghostface’s sophomore album, 2000’s Supreme Clientele. The “Purple Tape” he refers to is Raekwon’s debut album, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, released in 1995 as a special purple-tinted cassette. Co-host is an accurate depiction of Ghost’s role here, the guesting MC appearing on 14 of Cuban Linx’s 18 tracks. “Me and Ghost, we was doing a lot of writing together,” Raekwon tells Apple Music. “One rhyme said something about ‘only built for Cuban links n***as who pull strings,’ so right there, it hit me. I'm like, 'That shit sounds like the biggest chain of them all.' It can't be broken. It’s the most gleamingest chain that comes in the party, and you know when you see n***as with those on, those ain't your everyday n***as. Those n***as is different.” Different is exactly what Wu-Tang was—a prodigious nine-member kung-fu-film-influenced rap group forged in New York City’s least recognized borough, Staten Island. The impact of their Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) album and the first of the crew’s critically and commercially successful solo outings (Method Man’s Tical and Old Dirty Bastard’s Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version) set the precedent that Rae made sure to uphold. “You got some dudes that got a lot to say, but don't really be passionate about what they feel and where they want to go in life,” Raekwon says. “When I made my solo album, I wanted to be one of the greats. Because I studied, I did my homework, I lived it.” Only Built 4 Cuban Linx is the by-product of collaborative brain trust Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, and producer and creative mastermind RZA. The album delivered the Abbot’s most dynamic and ornate production to date, over which Rae ...

You can call Supreme Clientele a master class in the art of rhyming. Released in 2000, the album showcases an adrenaline-pumped Ghost spitting with pure venom and showcasing his trademark lyrical non-sequiturs. Over blasting '70s horn samples, he tag-teams with Raekwon on the boisterous "Apollo Kids," drops deep science on the Golden Age-inspired "Mighty Healthy," pens a vivid storyline on the frantic "Saturday Nite," and even reminisces about playground crushes on the innocent, piano-driven "Child's Play."

Back in the mid-‘90s, when Wu-Tang was at the height of its powers, Raekwon unleashed Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (a.k.a. the purple tape), dazzling listeners worldwide with his complex crime narratives, narcotic trade exploits, and stylistic street slanguage. Produced entirely by RZA and co-starring Ghostface, it was an instant classic that often finds itself on "all-time top ten" lists to this day. Cuban Linx II has been speculated upon for many years, tracks leaked and release dates published, then always pushed back. Many feared it would never see the light of day, banished to come out in the fifth quarter of Nevuary. Finally, 14 years after the original, it's here, and it's well worth the wait. Cinematic drug-kingpin rap set to rugged New York beats as grimy as the Park Hill Projects on a cold winter night, it is exactly what we all hoped it would be. Rae's lyricism sounds just as raw as it did back in '95, proving that he hasn't lost a step when it comes to hyper-vivid storytelling. Just about every joint on here is outstanding; don't miss "The New Wu," "Sonny's Missing," and ODB tribute "Ason Jones."

Despite bearing the names of the most notable Wu-Tang Clan collaborators, the compilation Links to Poetry largely features Wu-Tang allies and affiliates. “Black Trump,” from the 1998 Cocoa Brovaz album Rude Awakening, runs a high-pitched whistle underneath the beat, with the Brovaz and Raekwon rapping in unison on the chorus. “Execute Them” is a classic RZA beat with haunting keys that leave atmospheric space for Masta Killa and Raekwon to spit comfortably. Ghostface shines solo on the soulful, Lyn Collins–sampling “Cobra Clutch.”

Running neck and neck with Ghostface as the most consistent member of the mighty Wu-Tang Clan, Raekwon has been treating fans to some amazing music recently, especially the universally loved, long-awaited Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2. On Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang, he continues the trend, unleashing felonious lyrical assaults over sinister production sprinkled with old school kung fu flick samples. Although the RZA was not involved in this project, Rae wisely chooses beats that closely mimic the Abbott's original blueprint, enlisting Scram Jones, Evidence, Alchemist, and Erick Sermon, among others. Fellow Clansmen Meth, Ghost, and Deck all appear, as do Nas, Busta Rhymes, Rick Ross, Black Thought, and Jim Jones. If you're a longtime fan of WTC, this will be right up your alley, check out "From the Hills," "Rich and Black," "Sliver Rings," and "Snake Pond."

Wu-Tang workhorse Raekwon has kept impressively high standards over the past 20 years, turning low-key street epics into a cottage industry. Toning down the slick production of 2015’s Fly International Luxurious Art, The Wild returns to the gritty boom-bap of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx—variations on a theme that the rapper still manages to make vivid and fresh, from the tense “M&N” to the touching “Marvin,” a tribute to Marvin Gaye.

There’s aging like fine wine, and then there’s Raekwon. The Wu-Tang Clan legend’s solo debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, is rightfully revered as one of the greatest rap albums of all time, a benchmark release for the mafioso rap that so many other MCs would attempt to emulate in the decades that followed. But aside from that, his albums from the late 2000s forward unlocked a sharper curatorial ear and are largely more consistent than his works that preceded them. Early Wu-Tang music had an indispensable feeling, and the rapper known as The Chef has found ways to recreate it without allowing it to feel stale. The Emperor’s New Clothes finds Raekwon delivering more of the lucid street raps that make him great: crystal clear portraiture of characters down to the details of their clothing or the amount of money in their pockets, fluid storytelling, and popping shit while depicting a life of luxury. He’s strongest here while flexing his skills alongside other elite MCs: He highlights multiple Wu-Tang Clan members, a change from his previous album The Wild. Along with strong verses by Inspectah Deck and Method Man, longtime comrade Ghostface Killah has three features, with their chemistry at its best on the luxurious album closer, “Mac & Lobster.” Raekwon and Nas (whose label, Mass Appeal, houses the release) both shine on “The Omerta,” and he welcomes coke-rap torchbearers Westside Gunn, Benny the Butcher, and Conway the Machine on “Wild Corsicans.” Rae also takes time for a couple moments of introspection. On “1 Life,” he employs a lush J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League soundbed while reflecting on his own experiences and offering a young’n advice about how to navigate a lack of integrity in the streets and the music industry: “This culture made me a man.”