Raekwon is currently preparing to embark on yet another era, and its only weeks away. Recently, the Wu-Tang Clan legend announced his eighth studio album, The Emperor's New Clothes. The project is slated for release on July 18 via Mass Appeal.
The Chef isn't going in alone either. The album boasts a long list of high-profile features from the likes of Griselda mainstays Westside Gunn, Benny The Butcher, and Conway The Machine. His groupmates Method Man, Ghostface Killah, and Inspectah Deck will also make appearances, along with Nas, Stacy Barthe, and Marsha Ambrosius. As for production, he's enlisted the help of Swizz Beatz, Nottz, J.U.S.T.I.C.E League, and Frank G and Roadsart.
The Emperor's New Clothes will follow Raekwon's 2017 LP The Wild, and is available for pre-order now. At the time of writing, he's yet to preview the project with any singles.
Raekwon The Emperor's New Clothes
A new album isn't all Raekwon fans have to look forward to these days, however. He's also gearing up to release a new documentary with Ghostface Killah about their 1995 album, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. They dropped a trailer for it last month to give fans a taste of what's to come, building even more anticipation for the anxiously awaited film. The trailer, dubbed The Purple Tape Files, features Kendrick Lamar, Method Man, and various other Wu-Tang Clan members.
“It ushered in the alter egos, the aliases," RZA explained. “Still, to this day, it’s flows that you haven’t heard before, saying the most wild sh*t," Kendrick added.
In the trailer, Raekwon also discussed proving himself as a rapper. “We had to make a conscious decision,” he said. “Either we want to stay here and keep holding guns and want to run around playing this game, or did we want to go for the American dream and get on this rap sh*t.”