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| recorded =
| studio = RZA's basement studio, New York City
| genre = * [[East Coast hip-hop]]
* [[mafioso rap]]
| length = 69:30
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}}
}}
'''''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...''''' (commonly referred to as the '''''Purple Tape''''') is the debut studio album by American rapper and [[Wu-Tang Clan]] member [[Raekwon]], released on August 1, 1995, by [[Loud Records]] and [[RCA Records]].
Upon its release, ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...'' debuted at number four on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] chart, and number two on the [[Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums]] chart, while selling 130,000 copies in its opening week.
''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...'' has received acclaim from music critics and writers over the years, with many lauding it as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time. With its emphasis on [[American Mafia]] insinuations and [[organized crime]], the album is widely regarded as a pioneer of the [[mafioso rap]] subgenre. It is considered to have been highly influential on hip hop music over the next decade, being heavily referenced and influential on acclaimed albums such as [[Jay-Z]]'s ''[[Reasonable Doubt (album)|Reasonable Doubt]]'' (1996) and [[The Notorious B.I.G.]]'s ''[[Life After Death]]'' (1997). Along with [[GZA]]'s ''[[Liquid Swords]]'', ''Cuban Linx'' is the most acclaimed solo Wu-Tang work.
== Background ==
[[Raekwon]] released ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...'' as his first solo album, and the third seen from the Wu-Tang Clan after the release of their debut album ''[[Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)]]'', with [[Method Man]]'s ''[[Tical (album)|Tical]]'' and [[Ol' Dirty Bastard]]'s ''[[Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version]]'' released prior. The song "[[Can It Be All So Simple]]", from ''36 Chambers'', marked the first recorded exhibition of Raekwon and Ghostface Killah as a duo, as the two would further establish this alliance on ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...''. Much of the content on the album deals with real life topics and situations that both Raekwon and Ghostface Killah commonly encountered and experienced while growing up in [[Staten Island]], [[New York (state)|New York]].<ref name=XXL/> In an interview with ''[[Wax Poetics]]'', Raekwon explained "I grew up in the street, so I talked about the shit I knew and saw. We did the hustlin' thing, we did the crime thing; we did all the things that made us feel like mobsters or Mafiosos in some way."<ref name="WP1">Ma, David. [http://www.waxpoetics.com/2009/07/cuban-linx-revisited-interview-with-raekwon/ ''Cuban Linx'' Revisited (page 1)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206005821/http://www.waxpoetics.com/2009/07/cuban-linx-revisited-interview-with-raekwon/ |date=December 6, 2010 }}. ''[[Wax Poetics]]''. Retrieved 2010-07-27.</ref> In a different article, Ghostface Killah recollected "Back then I was punchin' a lot of rap niggas in their face, and niggas was getting beat up in the clubs. We were banned from everything. They wouldn't even let me in the [[Tunnel (New York nightclub)|Tunnel]]. Niggas was scared to death when I was out there wilding. I was fucking niggas up, robbing niggas, fucking a lot of bitches, just doing dumb shit."<ref name=XXL/>
In regard to his and Ghostface's partnership, Raekwon later commented "Ghost and me, especially at the time, had this identical-twin effect on each other. We would joke about the same things and laugh at the same shit. We were into the same clothes and shit. We were like the [[EPMD]] of the crew."<ref name=WP1/> Producer [[RZA]] also commented on the duo's congruency:
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''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...'' is often commemorated for its introduction to a distinctive [[slang]] individual to Raekwon and Ghostface;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wutang-corp.com/news/article.php?id=302|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070810201754/http://www.wutang-corp.com/news/article.php?id=302|archive-date=August 10, 2007|date=October 2, 2003|title=Raekwon @ Apollo Theater|url-status=dead}}. wutang-corp.com. Retrieved on 2010-03-01.</ref> heavy use of the [[Supreme Alphabet]] and [[Supreme Mathematics]], as often used by the Wu-Tang Clan, blended with terms picked up on the inner-city streets of New York, as well as several songs based around detailed, loosely-connected stories.<ref>{{cite web|url=
In keeping with this loose storyline, the album opens with the introduction track "Striving for Perfection", in which Raekwon and "co-star" Ghostface converse about visions and goals.<ref name=XXL/> On the proceeding track "Knuckleheadz", Raekwon and Ghostface divide money in the song's intro, and then engage in a [[robbery|heist]], with [[U-God]]'s character being killed off at the end of his verse.<ref name=XXL/> The reason for this elimination is because U-God was sentenced to serve several months in prison, which prevented subsequent participation on ''Cuban Linx''.<ref name=XXL/> U-God, however, recruited his lyric mentor and childhood friend [[Cappadonna]] to take his place later in the album.<ref name=XXL/>
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|description = The RZA-produced track has an uptempo beat and features a verse by Ghostface Killah, the album's "co-star".<ref name="RapReviews">Mr. S (February 3, 2001). [http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/BTTL_cubanlinx.html Raekwon the Chef :: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... :: Loud/RCA] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408023522/http://rapreviews.com/archive/BTTL_cubanlinx.html |date=April 8, 2016 }}. RapReviews. Retrieved on 2011-05-31.</ref>
}}
Though several songs, such as "Glaciers of Ice" and "[[Incarcerated Scarfaces]]", received radio play
Serving as the album's most radio-friendly track, "[[Ice Cream (Raekwon song)|Ice Cream]]", the album's third and final single, was released on September 25, 1995, with "Incarcerated Scarfaces" as its B-side. This proved to be the most successful single off the album, as it
== Commercial performance ==
Released on August 1, 1995, by [[Loud Records]] and [[RCA Records]],<ref>{{cite journal|date=March 2006|page=84|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8CYEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA84|title=What's Love Got to Do With It?|journal=[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]]|___location=New York|access-date=September 23, 2013}}</ref> ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...'' debuted at number four on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] chart, and number two on the [[Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums]] chart, while selling 130,000 copies in its opening week.<ref>DeRosa, robin. "Toppin' the Charts". [[USA Today]]. August 10, 1995.</ref> The album was certified [[RIAA certification|gold]] by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA) on October 2, 1995, and later platinum on February 24, 2020.<ref>{{certification Cite|region=United States|type=album|artist=Raekwon|title=Only Built 4 Cuban Linx|access-date=2010-07-28}}</ref> According to [[Nielsen Soundscan]], it has sold 1.1 million copies in the United States alone as of 2009.<ref name="Concepcion">Concepcion, Mariel. [http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/268596/raekwon-announces-linx-2-date-says-budden-copied-method-man Raekwon Announces 'Linx 2' Date, Says Budden 'Copied' Method Man]. ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]''. Retrieved 2010-08-28.</ref> Although it failed to acquire the same initial sales success as previous Wu-Tang solo albums, ''Cuban Linx'' achieved greater critical praise, with many complimenting its cinematic lyricism and production.
== Critical reception ==
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''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…'' was well received by contemporary critics. ''[[The Source (magazine)|The Source]]'' magazine's Nicholas Poluhoff said, "Raekwon has always brought his own special flavor to the Wu cipher: he sprays out lyrics like gunfire, forming vivid tales. What truly sets ''Cuban Linx'' apart is the sheer abundance of well-written, complex lyrics."<ref name="Poluhoff"/> Poluhoff also praised RZA's production, viewing it as his best yet: "The tracks are suited to the distinct flow of the Chef, who weaves in and out between beats."<ref name="Poluhoff"/> [[Cheo Hodari Coker|Cheo H. Coker]] from ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' magazine found Raekwon to be as vivid a lyricist as [[Kool G Rap]], "so vivid you smell the gunpowder and wipe the blood on your shirt", while crediting RZA for "taking the art form of production to new heights".<ref name="H."/> ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' said the songs with other Wu-Tang Clan members are as good as anything on ''Enter the 36 Chambers'' and wrote of the music: "RZA's production sensibilities, sometimes minimal, other times symphonic, pull the listener in despite the chaos. In a genre characterized by [[Single (music)|singles]], ''Cuban Linx'' is a full-blown album where the big picture is just as moving as the compositional stylistic elements."<ref name="Coker"/> In ''[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]]'' magazine, [[Dream Hampton]] was impressed by Raekwon and Ghostface Killah's use of [[cultural appropriation]] (as a type of "sweet vindication") in their lyrics and said they "bring the best in each other."<ref name="Hampton">{{cite magazine|last=hampton|first=dream|author-link=dream hampton|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aywEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA180|title=Raekwon the Chef: ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx''|magazine=[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]]|volume=3|issue=7|date=September 1995|access-date=September 6, 2009|page=180}}</ref>
Considered along with [[GZA]]'s ''[[Liquid Swords]]'' as the most acclaimed solo Wu-Tang work,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/wu-tang-clan-mn0000959876/biography|title=Wu-Tang Clan : Biography. AllMusic|access-date=2016-04-20|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|work=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...'' has since been ranked by critics and publications as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time.<ref name="rap.about.com">Adaso, Henry. [http://rap.about.com/od/toppicks/ss/Top100RapAlbums_10.htm About.com's 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405151731/http://rap.about.com/od/toppicks/ss/Top100RapAlbums_10.htm |date=April 5, 2015 }}. about.com. Retrieved on 2010-03-01.</ref> ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]'' (2004) called it essential listening for anyone interested in the Wu-Tang Clan,<ref name="Hoard"/> while Steve Huey from [[AllMusic]] said Raekwon is "arguably the Wu's best storyteller", crediting him for "translating epic themes and narratives of a mafia movie into a startlingly accomplished hip-hop album". Huey argued the record was possibly the "best Wu-Tang solo album", along with GZA's ''[[Liquid Swords]]'', and wrote that like that album, "''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx'' takes a few listens to reveal the full scope of its lyrical complexities, but it's immensely rewarding in the end."<ref name="Huey"/> [[Spin (magazine)|''Spin'']] magazine labeled ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx'' as the 83rd-best album of the 1990s, describing it as an "epic, cinema-scale crime drama" that was "far ahead of hip-hop's conceptual curve".
In 2012, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine ranked the album number 480 on its list of [[The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]], saying that "the best Wu-Tang solo joint is a study in understated cool and densely woven verses" and that "Raekwon crafts breathtaking drug-rap narratives; it's a rap album that rivals the mob movies hip-hop celebrates.<ref name=":0">Wenner, Jann S., ed. (2012). Rolling Stone – Special Collectors Issue – The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. USA: Wenner Media Specials. {{ISBN|978-7-09-893419-6}}</ref> In the 2020 reboot of the list, the album's rank shot up to number 219.<ref name="rollingstone.com"/>
== Legacy and influence ==
=== Gambinos ===
''OB4CL'' popularized street-related, [[Mafioso rap]]
=== Cristal ===
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| rev8Score = A−<ref>{{cite web|last=Hull|first=Tom|author-link=Tom Hull (critic)|url=http://tomhull.com/ocston/nm/get_gl.php?n=raekwon|title=Grade List: Raekwon|website=Tom Hull – on the Web|access-date=August 9, 2022}}</ref>
}}
Ironically enough, despite Raekwon and Ghost's warning on "Shark Niggas (Biters)" to "be original", ''OB4CL's'' influence spawned a countless number of albums with many of the adopted principles that it set in place. The year following its release, in 1996, [[Jay-Z]] released his debut album ''[[Reasonable Doubt (album)|Reasonable Doubt]]'', which describes a lavish, Cristal-drinking mobster persona and deals with the subjects of street crime and getting out of drug-dealing and into the rap game, much like the topics covered on ''OB4CL''.<ref name=XXL/>
The same year, highly acclaimed rapper Nas released ''[[It Was Written]]'', revising his image to incorporate the Mafia posturing of Raekwon; adopting the Mafioso moniker "Nas Escobar" bestowed upon him by his guest appearance on ''Cuban Linx''.<ref
=== Sequel ===
After two solo projects that were both critically and commercially unsuccessful, Raekwon announced a sequel to ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...'' in late 2005.<ref name="AHH1">{{cite web|last=Fresh|first=Remmie|date=March 18, 2005|url=http://allhiphop.com/stories/news/archive/2005/03/18/18129838.aspx|title=Busta Rhymes To Executive Produce Raekwon's Album|website=AllHipHop|archive-date=May 3, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503191051/http://allhiphop.com/stories/news/archive/2005/03/18/18129838.aspx}}</ref> The sequel was highly anticipated for nearly four years since its original announcement and fourteen years after the release of the original, appearing in ''XXL''{{'}}s top 10 list of most anticipated albums in 2007.<ref name="xxl2007">
=== Upcoming documentary ===
On June 10, 2025, on its 30th anniversary, Raekwon and Ghostface Killah released a trailer to ''The Purple Tape Files'', a documentary that examines ''Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...''.<ref name="HOT97film">{{cite web|last=Grove|first=Rashad|date=June 10, 2025|url=https://www.hot97.com/news/raekwon-and-ghostface-killah-drop-only-built-4-cuban-linx-trailer/|title=Raekwon And Ghostface Killah Drop 'Only Built 4 Cuban Linx' Trailer|website=Hot 97|access-date=July 4, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250704145456/https://www.hot97.com/news/raekwon-and-ghostface-killah-drop-only-built-4-cuban-linx-trailer/|archive-date=July 4, 2025|url-status=live}}</ref> As Raekwon speaks of the album, "I put myself into a serious mindframe, a serious storytelling album. I had to make this product stand out. I knew that purple represents royalty, and that’s exactly what I was looking for. We had to make a conscious decision, either we want to stay here and keep holding guns and want to run around playing this game, or did we want to go for the American dream and get on this rap shit."<ref name="HOT97film"/> Other music figures such as [[Nas]], [[Kendrick Lamar]], [[Snoop Dogg]], [[Busta Rhymes]], [[The Alchemist (musician)|The Alchemist]], [[DJ Premier]], [[Charlamagne Tha God]], [[9th Wonder]], [[Fat Joe]], [[N.O.R.E.]], and [[Peter Rosenberg]], are confirmed to appear in the documentary.<ref name="BEfilm">{{cite web|last=Thorton|first=Cedric|date=June 17, 2025|url=https://www.blackenterprise.com/raekwon-only-built-4-cuban-linx-doc/|title=TRAILER RELEASED FOR 'THE PURPLE TAPE FILES' DOCUMENTARY ABOUT RAEKWON'S 'ONLY BUILT 4 CUBAN LINX'|website=Black Enterprise|archive-date=June 18, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250618041511/https://www.blackenterprise.com/raekwon-only-built-4-cuban-linx-doc/|access-date=July 4, 2025|url-status=live}}</ref>
== Track listing ==
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! Year
! Rank
|-
|''[[Exclaim]]''
|[[Canada]]
|100 Records that Rocked 100 Issues<ref>{{cite web|title=100 Records That Rocked 100 Issues of Exclaim!|date=2000|website=Exclaim Canada|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/100_records_that_rocked_100_issues_of|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928221216/https://exclaim.ca/music/article/100_records_that_rocked_100_issues_of|archive-date=September 28, 2015}}</ref>
|2000
| align="center" |*
|-
|''[[NME]]''
|[[United Kingdom]]
|Top 50 Albums Of The Year 1995<ref>{{cite web|title=NME's best albums and tracks of 1995|date=October 10, 2016|website=NME|url=https://www.nme.com/features/1995-2-1045368|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417152810/https://www.nme.com/features/1995-2-1045368|archive-date=April 17, 2021}}</ref>
|1995
| align="center" |29
|-
|''[[
| rowspan="12" |United States
|Top 100 Favorite Records of the 1990s<ref>{{cite web|title=Top 100 Albums of the 1990s|date=October 10, 2016|website=NME|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/5923-top-100-albums-of-the-1990s/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305141329/https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/5923-top-100-albums-of-the-1990s/|archive-date=March 5, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
|2003
| align="center" |99
|-
|''[[
|The A's, B's and Kilos of Coke Rap<ref>Mosi, Reeves. [http://blog.rhapsody.com/2010/07/cokerap.html The As, Bs and Kilos of Coke Rap] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120831203023/http://blog.rhapsody.com/2010/07/cokerap.html |date=2012-08-31 }}. [[Rhapsody (online music service)|Rhapsody]]. Retrieved 2010-07-27.</ref>
|2010
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|-
| rowspan="4" |''[[Rolling Stone]]''
|''The Essential Recordings of the 90s''<ref>{{cite web|title=The Essential Recordings of the 90's|date=April 21, 1999|website=Rolling Stone Magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/the-essential-recordings-of-the-90s-215987/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808104240/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/the-essential-recordings-of-the-90s-215987/|archive-date=August 8, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
|1999
| align="center" |*
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| align="center" |62
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]]<ref name="RS">The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. ''[[Rolling Stone]]''. Page 113. Special Collectors Issue (2012). Retrieved 2012-04-24.</ref><ref name="rollingstone.com">{{Cite magazine|url = https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/raekwon-only-built-4-cuban-linx-3-1063014/|title = The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|magazine = [[Rolling Stone]]|date = September 22, 2020|access-date = June 6, 2021|archive-date = June 6, 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210606212847/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/raekwon-only-built-4-cuban-linx-3-1063014/|url-status = live}}</ref>
|2012
| align="center" |480
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|2020
| align="center" |219
|-
| rowspan="2" |''[[The Source (magazine)|The Source]]''
|100 Best Rap Albums<ref>Columnist. {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060214200158/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/source.htm The 100 Best Rap Albums]}}. ''[[The Source (magazine)|The Source]]''. Retrieved on 2010-03-01.</ref>
|1998
Line 444 ⟶ 382:
| align="center" |20
|-
|''[[
|Top 90 Albums of the 90s<ref>{{Cite web|title=The 90 Greatest Albums of the '90s |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bGjsvmNt8UgC&pg=PA162 |publisher=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]] |date=September 1999}}</ref>
|1999
| align="center" |83
|-
|''[[Stylus Magazine|Stylus]]''
|Top 101–200 Albums of All Time Top 101-200<ref>{{cite web|title=Favourite Albums Ever: The Stylus Magazine List|date=March 22, 2004|website=[[Stylus Magazine]]|url=https://www.spin.com/2021/12/greatest-90s-albums/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250704040020/https://stylusmagazines.com/feature_ID_898.html|archive-date=July 4, 2025|url-status=live}}</ref>
|2004
| align="center" |123
|-
|''[[Village Voice]]''
|Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll<ref>{{cite web|title=The 1995 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll|date=February 20, 1996|website=[[Village Voice]]|url=https://www.spin.com/2021/12/greatest-90s-albums/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020321174300/https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pjres95.php|archive-date=March 21, 2002|url-status=live}}</ref>
|1996
| align="center" |15
| |||