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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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"[[Criminology (song)|Criminology]]", along with "Glaciers of Ice" as the [[A-side and B-side|B-side]], was released on June 26, 1995, bringing notable chart success, as it peaked at number 43 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]], number 34 on the [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs]] chart, number 5 on the Hot Rap Singles chart, and number 2 on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart.<ref name="singles100"/><ref name="singlesR&B"/><ref name="singlesrap"/><ref name="singlesdance"/> Producer RZA later illustrated, "That was me trying to produce like a DJ, produce a breakbeat. Ghost actually asked me to make one of those beats. You listen to old DJ tapes. That's how I made that song, and he wanted this shit to sound like a breakbeat. He had a rhyme that he knew was going to change the game - that was the verse that got him recognized. [[Cypress Hill]]'s [[DJ Muggs]] called up and was like 'Yo, he killed that shit. He ripped that shit.'"<ref name=XXL/>
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 peaked at number 37 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts, and number 5 on the Hot Rap Singles and Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales charts.<ref name="singles100"/><ref name="singlesR&B"/><ref name="singlesrap"/><ref name="singlesdance"/> The song uses different flavors of ice cream as a metaphor for various racial groups of women.<ref name="raekwonicecream"/> Raekwon later commented, "we wanted to reach out and let the women know that we respected them as queens. And queens, much like ice cream, come in all different flavors."<ref name="raekwonicecream">
== Commercial performance ==
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=== 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 [[
== Track listing ==
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