The legendary "Purple Tape" - a Wu-Tang cornerstone and the blueprint for cinematic mafioso rap.
Artist: Raekwon
Label: Loud Records
EAN: 8718469537754
Format: 2xLP, Black Vinyl
Tracklist
Side A
1. Striving For Perfection
2. Knuckleheadz
3. Knowledge God
4. Criminology
5. Incarcerated Scarfaces
Side B
1. Rainy Dayz
2. Guillotine (Swordz)
3. Can It All Be So Simple (Remix)
Side C
1. Shark N***** (Biters)
2. Ice Water
3. Glaciers Of Ice
4. Verbal Intercourse
5. Wisdom Body
Side D
1. Spot Rusherz
2. Ice Cream
3. Wu-Gambinos
4. Heaven & Hell
Released in 1995, Raekwon's debut solo album turned the Wu-Tang Clan's grimy Staten Island aesthetic into full-blown crime cinema, built around RZA's soul-and-kung-fu-soaked production and the constant presence of Ghostface Killah as co-star. Raekwon and Ghostface adopted mafioso alter egos (Lex Diamonds and Tony Starks) and populated the record with coded slang and vivid street narratives, on tracks like "Criminology" and "Verbal Intercourse" with Nas. Widely regarded as one of the greatest hip-hop albums ever made, it remains the gold standard for the "C****** rap" subgenre it helped invent.