You might think we've gone a little crazy over the Chef Shallah Raekwon in recent times but i make no excuses, dude's been droppin' heatrocks like no one's business lately. First there was OB4CL2, then there was his scene stealing appearance on the otherwise mediocre BlacRoc album and now i here he's teaming up with the Kool Genius of Rap for a full length, alongside yet to be released guest spots with Evidence and Sean P.
This more than welcome news got me thinkin' about prior appearances from The Chef, and more to the point, the finesse with which he graced the mic alongside some truly great MC's.
So here we go, first up;
Mobb Deep ft Raekwon- Nighttime Vultures
Rae appeared on the Mobb's first three albums (technically their 2nd, 3rd and 4th but i don't really rate Juvenile Hell as it never saw an official release) but it's his appearance on Hell On Earth that wins for me. Havoc's mellanchollic strings provide the perfect bed for P and Rae to kick their own brand of nihilism over.
Cocoa Brovaz (aka Smif N Wessun) ft Raekwon- Black Trump
For a brief period in the mid to late 90's Smif n Wessun changed their name due to law suits filed against them by gun manufacture Smith and Wesson. During the Cocoa Brovaz period their out put was less than spectacular, several sub-par compilation tracks and a mediocre long player. Though amongst it all they managed to record this certified banger for which they also made a video. From 1998's The Rude Awakening and produced by Ron Beatz.
Big Pun ft Fat Joe, Raekwon and Armageddon- Firewater
A spectacular head-nodder produced by Showbiz. Rae more than holds his own alongside the lyrical titan that Pun was as well as an in form Joey Crack and Terror Squad alumni Armageddon. This track (to my knowledge) can be found originally as the B-side to Fat Joe's absolutely horrid Envy 12" and later on the posthumous Big Pun release Endangered Species. I'd personally take Firewater over the more well known John Blaze off Fat Joe's Don Cartagena any day.
La the Darkman ft Raekwon- Az The World Turns
Whats a Rae post without a story telling joint, and this one comes courtesy of Wu affiliate La's 98 debut Heist of the Century. Funny thing is i own the promo only 12" of this track released by Fo'Real Records in 1996, pre-dating Heist of the Century released on Supreme Team Entertainment by two years. A masterful writer of narrative equalled only by the legendary Slick Rick, Rae brings his A-game to this cut and generally out-shines his counterpart.
Of course i haven't even scratched the surface of such a prolific MC, but in the coming days i'll post up part two where we'll take a look at some of Raekwon's collaborations with artists outside the Tri-State area (NY that is).
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