Raekwon to Release Vinyl 'Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...' Instrumental Album

Raekwon and Ghostface Killah will also discuss the album on Instagram live on Friday, July 31.

This Saturday marks the 25th anniversary of Raekwon's debut album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... In honor of the milestone, Raekwon is releasing the album's full set of instrumentals on vinyl. The 2 LP 12-inch vinyl reissue comes in partnership with Certified Classics and Get On Down.

Produced, mixed, and engineered solely by RZA, the album debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 chart and number two on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. In its first week, the album sold 130,000 copies. The album is RIAA certified gold, selling over a million copies in the United States. The album is critically-acclaimed as one of the pillars of the 'mafioso rap' sub-genre.

"I was just trying to make something worth purchasing and worth respecting," Raekwon said of the album, which is colloquially known as The Purple Tape. Pre-order the vinyl LP now at Get On Down.

According to RZA, the album and Liquid Swords were two albums masterminded solely by him. "No engineer, no assistant engineer," he said. "I did everything on that shit...I was on a mission."

Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (Instrumentals) - Tracklist

DISC A

1. Striving For Perfection (Instrumental)
2. Knuckleheadz (Instrumental)
3. Knowledge God (Instrumental)
4. Criminology (Instrumental)
5. Incarcerated Scarfaces (Instrumental)

DISC B

1. Rainy Dayz (Instrumental)
2. Guillotine (Swordz) (Instrumental)
3. Can It Be All So Simple (Instrumental)
4. Ice Water (Instrumental)

DISC C

1. Glaciers of Ice (Instrumental)
2. Verbal Intercourse (Instrumental)
3. Wisdom Body (Instrumental)
4. Spot Rusherz (Instrumental)

DISC D 

1. Ice Cream (Instrumental)
2. Wu-Gambinos (Instrumental)
3. Heaven & Hell (Instrumental)