Raekwon

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Raekwon's journey began in Staten Island, New York, where he was raised by his mother while his father struggled with addiction; the two met only once when Raekwon was six, a brief encounter where his father introduced him to his paternal grandmother before vanishing. After moving to Staten Island due to a robbery, Raekwon faced domestic turmoil, witnessing his mother abused and eventually being kicked out of their Park Hill home following an argument with her boyfriend. This period drove him into a spiral of hopelessness and violence until he became addicted to cocaine and crack. A turning point arrived after he was shot twice during a robbery or altercation, an event he described as an "important eye opener" that led to his sobriety and serious dedication to rapping. He has been a member of the Five-Percent Nation since his youth and attributes his stage name to the Five-Percent Nation; he has stated he is not Muslim but a Five Percenter.

In Their Own Story

In 1992, Raekwon joined the nine-member Wu-Tang Clan, initially rapping as Sha Raider before adopting aliases like Lex Diamond and Shallah Raekwon. His defining solo moment arrived on August 1, 1995, with Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..., a cinematic narrative of cocaine trafficking and emergence into wealth produced entirely by RZA. Although sales lagged behind Method Man's Tical initially, the album shipped 130,000 copies in its first week, debuting at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and earning gold certification within two months, eventually going platinum in 2020. Following mixed reviews for Immobilarity (1999) and The Lex Diamond Story (2003), Raekwon returned in September 2009 with Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II. Likened to The Godfather 2, the album secured him HipHopDX's "Emcee of the Year" award and saw MTV rank him as one of the hottest rappers that year.

Reader's Guide

Raekwon's discography includes his fifth solo LP, Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang (March 2011), which excluded RZA but featured appearances by Black Thought, Nas, and Rick Ross. He continued to release projects like the EP Lost Jewlry (January 15, 2013) and Fly International Luxurious Art (April 28, 2015). His 2017 album, The Wild, marked a return to form with positive critical reception from Pitchfork and Consequence of Sound, notable for being his first studio album without Wu-Tang Clan collaborations. Throughout his career, Raekwon has maintained a "street epic" style, writing lyrics in locations like Barbados and Miami, and collaborating frequently with Ghostface Killah. He founded Ice H20 Records in 2012 and remains an active figure in hip-hop.

Did You Know?

• Raekwon was shot twice during a robbery or altercation, an event he called an "important eye opener" that stopped his cocaine addiction.
• He met his father only once at age six; his father brought him to meet his paternal grandmother before sneaking out of the apartment forever.
• Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... was certified Platinum by the RIAA on December 9, 1997.
• Raekwon has been a member of the Five-Percent Nation since his youth, not a convert to Islam; he has stated he is not Muslim but a Five Percenter.
• The album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II was released on September 8, 2009, under Raekwon's label Ice H20 with EMI distribution.