The Raekwon song “too emotional” for RZA
The Wu-Tang Clan is legendary precisely because it draws on the skills and talents of each of its many members. But central to it all is the RZA. His leadership and vision allowed for the whole project to function.
While RZA relinquished some control over the years, he was at the heart of everything the Clan did during the early days. He produced pretty much all of 36 Chambers and the Wu solo records that came immediately afterwards, including Method Man’s, GZA’s, Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s, Raekwon’s and Ghostface Killah’s.
It was only with the group’s second collective album, Wu-Tang Forever, that RZA started to take a slightly less hands-on approach to the Clan’s production. But, even then, with a less central role in the group members’ music, he still tended to jump onto albums to produce songs here and there. The Clan’s sound derives from him, more than any other single figure.
But of all the music that the Wu-Tang Clan has produced over the years, be it as a collective or through their respective solo efforts, RZA has a particular soft spot for a track from Raekwon’s album, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, which came out in 1995. The RZA-produced record is a classic, helping to shape mafioso rap forever.
The song ‘Rainy Dayz’ was RZA’s favourite from Cuban Linx, as he explained to XXL in 2005 for a piece celebrating the album’s tenth anniversary. This track details the trials and tribulations of living as a hustler, with Rae, Ghostface Killah and Blue Raspberry creating a vivid narrative over RZA’s cinematic beat.
RZA loved ‘Rainy Dayz,’ and he felt a particular emotional connection to it that meant it took a long time to finish. “This was too emotional and too real for me, too close to my personal situation,” he admitted. “This was the life we was living, just talking and rapping and hoping.”
Even though the Clan had become stars by the time of Cuban Linx, they were still struggling to receive their dues financially. As RZA pointed out, even though they were blowing up and selling lots of albums, the royalties they were owed didn’t always flow in as they should have. The music industry was selling them short.
“Record royalties take too long to come,” RZA said. “We had a platinum album, but we waiting on the cheque to come fast, like babies wanting they food.”
‘Rainy Dayz’ evoked RZA’s memories of this period, when the Clan felt they weren’t getting what they were owed on time. The track struck him as especially emotional because of that fact, and so it became his favourite from Cuban Linx.
But during an appearance on the Power 106 radio station in Los Angeles in 2017, he actually went further than that. Not only was ‘Rainy Dayz’ his favourite song from Cuban Linx, but he actually proclaimed it to be his favourite Wu-Tang song full stop.