Lex Diamond Story

Lex Diamond Story

Raekwon should be forgiven for his Immobilarity meltdown. Far greater emcees have crumbled under the task of following up near-perfect debuts, and Raekwon's 1995 debut Only Built 4 Cuban Linx remains tough to beat. This time around, Raekwon curiously comes out swinging again without RZA--or any other credible producers to back up his reliable street manifestos. Beat deficiencies notwithstanding, "All Over Again" works as a great signifier of sorts because it lays out the template for future hustler-cum-emcees looking to get over. And certainly, the rhyme chemistry between Raekwon and Wu buddy Ghostface works as well as it always has on "Missing Watch." Sadly, the same can't be said for the bushels of guest rhyme spitters. And why Raekwon would employ the same dated Mafioso motifs he popularized nearly a decade ago is anyone's guess. Likewise, tracks like "Robbery" and "Wyld In Da Club" do nothing to disprove the accepted posse-cut theory, which posits that most homies of A-list rappers would serve better as hype men or security guards, for example, as opposed to collaborators. While Raekwon's original slanguage creations are still amusing, it's hard not to think that he, like most members of the Wu, have overstayed their welcome. --Dalton Higgins

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