With just two weeks left until the release of his highly anticipated Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Vol. 2, Raekwon debuts the album’s fist official video today (August 24).
IceH20 Entertainment has offered AllHipHop.com an exclusive first look at the clip for the posse cut “House of Flying Daggers,” featuring Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah, and Method Man.
The J. Dilla- produced track, named after the 2004 cult-classic martial arts film, was released online on July 31 as the last of several authorized leaks from the album.
Just last week, Rae raised the anticipation level by releasing an animated teaser for the video, illustrated by 1000styles.
Now, with the video’s official release fans can be assured that there would be no more delays until OB4CL2 hits stores.
“Just want y’all to know, we counting the days down with y’all,” Raekwon told AllHipHop.com over the weekend. “Shout out to everyone that’s been supporting the records we’ve been leaking. It means a lot to me, it means a lot to the crew. All I recommend is to have a strong system, have a clear quality system and it’s gonna work out for you.”
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II has been nearly half a decade in the making.
Back in 2005, six years since the release of his classic debut Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Raekwon announced that he was working on a second volume.
The album, which was originally executive produced by Busta Rhymes, was reportedly complete in January 2006, with RZA added as a second executive producer. Still the project did not see the light of day. In 2007, Raekwon explained that he was determined to set the release up properly.
“I did a lot of hard work on this record,” Raekwon said during an interview. “And I refuse to throw it out and people be like, ‘Yo Rae, I ain’t know your s**t was out.’ Nah, I can’t afford that to happen no more. That happened to me on The Lex Diamond Story. That happened to me on Immobilarity. I’m not going for it on this one.”
Despite having lost the support of Aftermath/Interscope Records, as well as executive producers Busta Rhymes and Dr. Dre, OB4CL2’s independent release has garnered a great deal of fan and media support.
The 21-track album features production by Pete Rock, Marley Marl, Dr. Dre, and longtime Wu-Tang collaborator Scram Jones, and appearances by Beanie Sigel, Lyfe Jennings, Jadakiss, and Styles P.
The album also features contributions by six of the surviving original members of the Wu-Tang Clan: GZA, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, Method Man, Masta Killa, and of course, production by RZA.
