Raekwon performs “Catalina” and “House of Flying Daggers”

Last night was one of those perfect hip hop moments….Raekwon (and his brothers Kay and Don) and the Capitol staff (hey Chris Green) set up a listening session for Only Built for Cuban Linx 2 (Sept 8, 2009) on the rooftop of the Capitol/EMI building in NYC. This being the first time a hip hop event has been held on the roof (last week, a rock act threw a drumstick off the roof and has since been banned, lol), everything fell into place: the weather, the crowd (including my old pals Angela Yee, Reef, Hawaii Mike, Mel, and more), the food/drink, and of course, the music.

The sequel to Rae’s holy grail, that Purple Tape 1 (called that because the original cassettes were  purple plastic), holds true to the feel of the original…never chasing a 2010 sound, but because of that, sounding unforced and still fresh. It doesn’t recreate the instant hits of OB4CL1 but nothing ever will. (Maybe only The Chronic was successful in hitting twice on the same level?) Needless to say, next week, I hope people support, because this is artisanal rap, not conglomerate rap. And seeing Rae and his brother Kay up on that small stage, with the Empire State Building on the left….reminded me that the music and the fans can grow up and not just apart.

RELATED: “House of Flying Daggers” video, Raekwon’s Noisemakers interview, Rae on Nas

PS: Saw Dallas Penn there, and we discussed how the listening session looked like a Rochesters sale. (Dallas, was the one girl with the double-wide that same chick Bucky from Flavor of Love?)
Peep Dallas’ and BDot’s RapRadar footage of Rae performing after the jump….

RAEKWON – ONLY BUILT 4 CUBAN LINX 2 PROMO CONCERT from dallas penn on Vimeo.

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(I have this weird pained expression on my face for some reason…but seriously, I was a very happy camper. Thanks to Eddy Shades for sending over the pic : )