Chai Times with Raekwon

When we last left off with Wu Tang Clan’s resident Chef, I got him really baked, gave him a talking Scarface doll and he ended up professing his love for salmon. Since, the legendary lyricist has been on the hump promoting his Wu Gambino sequel, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II, via tons of gigwork. So while Rae journeys the globe for C.R.E.A.M., here are a few more nuggets of wisdom from our smokeout sesh …

… on his on-screen idol: I met Pacino. It was in the city, too. In one of the little steak and chop shops and all that. Somewhere on 39th or 40th. He was in the regular bar spot, just chilling. Really cool. He wasn’t with nobody. He knew who I was. We sat there for a second, talked for a minute. I didn’t clutter him. I am just watching him. He had a long black trench coat on. He was still in his lil’ zone or something.

… on dub: Joints is grown, you know what I mean? Blunts is, like, traditional.

… on bling: I don’t wear it like I used to, but I still love nice things. You get tired of it because everybody else is wearing it. You got all kinds of fake joints out there. so it takes away from anything that’s real. I’m not infatuated the way I used to be because, you know, that’s always going to be in the back of my mind, staying in my head, knowing that a lot of people sacrificed their lives [in the blood diamond trades]. I’m not here to sympathize with them because they wouldn’t want that. They strong, kings and queens over there.

… on how he sees himself: One who stands up heroic and these days with his family and got his mind focused and know where he’s coming from and knows where he’s going — that’s where I’m at right now. Everything is sharp and precise. If I feel a certain kind of energy, it’s coming amongst me, it’s gonna drive me to it.

… on youth: A lot of these kids haven’t had a full life. We used to ride skateboards, bikes, just have fun as a kid. Selling papers and all of that, you know what I mean? Baseball and sports. You barely see kids doing any of that anymore. I want to do animation television, like looking at Fat Albert again. It’s like when Bill was making that, he was a product of that. So I can see us making like a modern-day one. You know, with someone who could really give you the insights of things that take place in the hood. Cause we grew up and have been through every phase.

… looking back: I had a full life. I remember everything like yesterday, before I was high and we all ended up where we ended up, you know what I mean, cause you may have so many good things in you but have a bad heart or sometimes in it. It overshadows who you really are. I lost a lot of good friends.

… on whites obsessed with the Wu: They passionate about music. We all the same motherfuckers, it’s really only two colors. Everyone else is mixed, mixed in a fly way, you know what I mean? The melting pot is beautiful. For me to see a bunch of white people out there [in the crowd], it makes me feel more important, cause I’m saying ‘Yo, I built the audience that they can recognize.’ When you start seeing that, you start feeling like John Lennon– and you gotta hold em down. That’s a beautiful thing as an artist when you can attach a melting pot to a people, man. That’s when you know you conquered the land. You know what I’m saying? You conquered the land.

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What do you think?