EMCEE OF THE YEAR - RAEKWON

No one can deny what Raekwon accomplished in 2009. After a grueling four years in the making, "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II" hit the streets on September 8th and single handedly brought golden era, New York Hip Hop back.What was different this time around was that Raekwon owned this album. His chamber came through on the entire record. He didn't have the RZA in his prime on every single beat or Ghostface's charismatic rhymes on practically every song. On the tracks that do have featured artists, Raekwon out-shined his comrades almost 100% of the time. Raekwon is the Hip Hop heavy weight that made the comeback that everyone wished Mike Tyson had made in the ring. He stepped right back in the ring and "Debo-ed" the whole fucking game (as Sticky Fingaz would say).

He made us WAIT and WAIT and WAIT, to the point where I would look at the back of my red "Classics" t-shirt I bought in 2006 and become disgusted that it advertised Cuban Linx 2 as "coming soon" (refer to pic on left). I couldn't take it anymore. Rumors were all over the internet. First he signed with Aftermath and I knew that was a mistake. Just look at how long it took Busta to drop an album on that label. Look at Joell Ortiz, Rakim or even Eve. Everybody gets dropped on Aftermath because the Doctor can't smoke weed and focus on more than one album at a time. SMH. Then Rae left Aftermath and released a bunch of mediocre mixtapes that truly started to worry me.

Was he gonna drop another "Lex Diamonds Story"??? Was Ghost even gonna be on this shit??? Finally, he leaked "Criminology 2" and "New Wu" on the radio. Then... The album cover. GAME OVER. Hype was at an all time high for me. I remember listening to Cuban Linx 2 three times in a row in my headphones on my couch until 3:00 AM. The smile on my face made my cheeks hurt for three days.

Raekwon dropped a pure classic. His second true classic Hip Hop album. Most emcees never reach classic status in their whole careers, let alone do it twice (and 14 years apart at that). The album consists of 24 bangers (if you bought the iTunes pre-order version). Raekwon didn't care about radio airplay, critics, new music trends, or even record sales. This album was more than all of that to him. This album was about proving to himself, his Wu-Tang brothers and his fans that he was still capable of creating special, timeless music. Josh Tyrangiel of Time Magazine said it best: "The reason it works, like all of Cuban Linx, Pt 2, is that Raekwon is a poet of grime, a storyteller who understands that rap is less about an easy hook than the collision of carefully chosen words. He's also a melancholic who prefers replaying the circumstances of growing up in hell ("All my life around drug niggas, villains who want millions/ Niggas with them hoodies on with Teks in the building") to celebrating the trappings of success." 

Time Magazine ranked "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II" number 7 on it's Top 10 Albums of 2009. It was the only Hip Hop album on the list, despite Jay-Z's New York anthem hittin' airwaves in unison with the Yankees winning the World Series. iTunes voted Cuban Linx 2 the best Rap Album of 2009. Regarding the Time Magazine accolade, Raekwon told MTV in an interview: "We know Time is one of the most real magazines you can get on any level — politics, whatever is going on. That blew my mind right there. Even when we glanced at it, it didn't have no rappers on it. I was like, 'I must've been competing with a lot of different types of music, whether it be pop, alternative, country or whatever.' That blew my mind. To be in the top-10 list with everybody, it was crazy."

I believe Raekwon absolutely deserves to be awarded the coveted Hip Hop & Bullshit "EMCEE OF THE YEAR" award (haha, some day it'll be coveted). He is 39 years old and stayed true to himself and his fans. With a family to feed, it's very difficult NOT to "sell-out." What's remarkable in this instance and what other rappers should take note of, is that making real Hip Hop from your heart will ultimately add a lot more icing to your cake. Just ask Fat Joe. He sold the fuck out this year with his version of a sequel "J.O.S.E. 2" and sold 8,000 copies. As Raekwon nears 150,000 copies (which is quite amazing in the free download era) and is currently on his second tour for the album, other rappers should learn from Rae's "against-the-grain" approach. In fact, some emcees already are (i.e. AZ making "Doe or Die 2" and Capone-N-Noreaga currently recording "The War Report 2" and both heavily promoting their albums on Twitter).

What Raekwon managed to do for himself, his brand, Wu-Tang, his fans, and for Hip Hop this year, is extraordinary. He changed the way emcees will think about making and marketing albums now. The internet is the way to go and Raekwon and his Ice Water Inc. brand have taken full advantage of the web's benefits. The Chef is reportedly back in the lab with Method Man, Ghostface Killah, and the RZA, cooking up some new crack for the streets to consume. His momentum is at an all time high and I look forward to hearing new shit from Lex Diamonds.

Can I get a SUUUUUU?!?!?!

'NUFF RESPECT DUE!!!

Follow Raekwon on Twitter at: www.twitter,com/RAEKWONICEWATER

Raekwon's MySpace Page: www.myspace.com/raekwon

PEEP THE 2ND VERSION OF "THE NEW WU" MUSIC VIDEO BELOW: