30 years in the past at the moment, one of many biggest conceptual albums in Hip Hop historical past dropped. Raekwon the Chef launched his solo debut Solely Constructed 4 Cuban Linx, co-starring his Wu-Tang brother-in-arms, Ghostface Killah aka Tony Starks.

Launched on Loud/RCA Data and produced solely by The Abbott himself, RZA, the album got here in a purple cassette shell that gave rise to its legendary nickname, The Purple Tape. Its affect on different basic LPs of the period, comparable to Affordable Doubt by Jay-Z and It Was Written by Nas, can’t be overstated. With cinematic mafia themes, high-end champagne references like Cristal, and the profound utilization of the 5% Nation’s teachings, Supreme Arithmetic and the Supreme Alphabet, Raekwon and Ghost constructed a lyrical world that felt bigger than life.

Solely Constructed 4 Cuban Linx additionally marked the debut of the Wu-Tang Clan’s aliases: RZA as Bobby Steels, Ghost as Tony Starks, Inspectah Deck as Rollie Fingers, Methodology Man as Johnny Blaze, Masta Killa as Noodles, GZA as Maximilian, and Rae as Lou Diamonds. Collectively, they had been the “Wu-Gambinos,” named after the basic posse lower on the album’s sixteenth observe.

With a cinematic really feel drawn closely from samples of John Woo’s The Killer, the 4-and-a-Half Mic basic (per The Supply, written by Nicholas Poluhoff) performed like a film on wax. It spawned timeless singles like the road anthem “Criminology,” the graceful and sultry “Ice Cream,” and “Glaciers of Ice”—an inspirational observe that also provides chills. The album additionally included the controversial “Shark N****s (Biters),” the place Ghost took a subliminal shot at The Infamous B.I.G. over his use of a kid picture for Able to Die, claiming he bit Nas’ Illmatic idea.

All of it wraps with a heartfelt construct from the late Popa Wu aka Freedum Allah on “North Star (Jewels),” reflecting on Rae’s journey from a lifetime of crime to divine elevation.

This platinum-selling gem is required listening for all true Hip Hop followers, aficionados, and historians. Salute to Rae, Ghost, RZA, and all the Wu-Tang Clan for gifting the world Solely Constructed 4 Cuban Linx. We are going to at all times be in your debt for The Purple Tape.