Raekwon

About

Also known as: C. Woods, Chef Raekwon, Corey Todd Woods, Corey Woods, Lex Diamonds, RAEK WON, Raekwon the Chef, Reakwon

One of the defining architects of New York rap in the 1990s, Raekwon built his reputation as a founding member of Wu Tang Clan before carving out an equally vital solo lane. His 1995 debut Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... remains the benchmark: a cinematic deep dive into street life, cocaine trafficking, and clawing toward something better, all over RZA's dense production with Ghostface Killah riding shotgun on more than half the tracks. Critics and peers still rank it among the greatest hip hop albums ever made, a "crime mafia story" that felt genuinely unlike anything before it. His follow ups Immobilarity and The Lex Diamond Story landed to mixed reactions, but the long awaited Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II arrived in 2009 and drew comparisons to The Godfather 2, a sequel that could actually stand beside the original. Known for street narratives that are, in his own words, "straightforward yet linguistically rich," Raekwon also founded the record label ICE H2O Records while continuing to contribute guest verses across the wider hip hop world.