The 7th Best Album Of 2009: Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt. 2

Since hiphop writing by white, suburban 20-somethings is frequently terrible and usually embarassing, I'm going to try and be as straightforward as possible: I really like this album. Like a lot of people, I waited a long time for it, expecting to be disappointed, but I wasn't. Isn't that amazing? It doesn't have the airtight mafioso storytelling of pt. 1, but I don't think anyone was banking on that. Instead it's simply a collection of (mostly) excellent tracks, with top-notch guest spots by (expectedly) Ghostface Killah and (less expectedly) Method Man, among others.

Without sounding too dismissive, Cuban Linx 2 is this years' obligatory top-10 Wu-Tang record. Any other year, it would be a Ghostface album, and in many ways it is, as Ghost is consistently the most engaging MC on this record in particular, and arguably in hiphop in general. Like (I'd imagine) most other music writers, I'm predisposed to enjoying Wu Tang albums--their whole mythology, combined with their superior storytelling, out sized personalities and penchant for obscure, frequently nerdy pop culture references make them a perfect storm of crossover whiteboy appeal. Any person who has ever seen the Wu live knows this--that shit is whiter than a sack of rice.

Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt. 2, the 7th best album of 2009!