Raekwon spoke with the Wall Street Journal at the most recent Rock the Bells concert. He talked about a possible “Cuban Linx III”, a collaboration with Kanye West and his feelings about one-hit albums versus traditional albums that focus on taking the listener somewhere.

On the possibility of “Cuban Linx III”:

He has suggested that a “Cuban Linx III” is in the works. “The fans are really calling for this album, so we still deciding,” he told me. “Everything’s gonna happen when it’s time. Right now I’m just trying to continue to move forward in a great way. The next project that I drop out as an album will be powerful.”

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On a collaboration with Kanye:

Raekwon, based in Atlanta, has also been in talks with Kanye West about collaborating on a project. “You’re gonna see something soon with me and that guy. That guy’s on fire right now and he respects real hip-hop, he respects me,” he said. “And he’s like, ‘Yo Chef, I wanna be down and I’m like, you down, you down, [laughs] so let’s just make it happen!’”

On making complete albums:

Creating whole albums is important to Raekwon as an artist. To him, while there still is great music being made, the nature of the business is different nowadays. “As far as the creative side of making great, great albums and really trying to go down in history? I don’t see that happening lately, you know what I mean? You have a lot of guys is talented, but at the same time, timeless music is more important to me.”

He emphasized that he’s not out to judge artists (“if you’re doing your thing, hey, do it”) but for him, it’s not just about having a one-hit record. “I remember I heard it in an interview with Michael Jackson one day, saying the art is gone, everybody makes records just to make a record,” Raekwon said. “See I always want the artist that try to build a whole body of music on one album, so you can enjoy it. So you could say I went with him here, I went with him here. Other than just one record. Today’s music is one-hit wonder records.”

As a person who loves journalism, I was shocked/giddy when I found this piece. Raekwon in the Wall Street Journal? Absolutely. I hope he does “Cuban Linx III” and I love his thoughts about making complete, timeless albums.

via [WSJ]

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