Raekwon

Born Corey Woods in Staten Island, New York, Raekwon is one of the great rap pioneers of the 1990s, making his name alongside other great hip-hop performers like Method Man, Ghostface Killah and Ol' Dirty B in Wu-Tang Clan. His was the first voice heard on the group's breakthrough single 'C.R.E.A.M' and played a key role on their groundbreaking 1993 debut 'Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)'.

The group's success accelerated following the release of their 1997 album 'Wu-Tang Forever', by which time Raekwon, like other members of the group, had signed a solo deal embarking on a career outside of the Clan. His first single 'Heaven & Hell' was followed by his debut solo album 'Only Built 4 Cuban Linx', produced by RZA, and reaching number four in the US charts and cemented his mutually inspirational partnership with Ghostface Killah. Nicknamed Raekwon the Chef, he also used a number of other aliases to make his music and worked with producers Dr Dre, Scram Jones, J Dilla, Busta Rhymes, Slick Rick, Jadakiss and others. He scored further success with 'Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt II' before releasing 'Wu-Massacre' an acclaimed trio album with his old collaborators Ghostface Killah and Method Man before entering Wu-Tang Clan territory again with the 2011 album 'Shaolin v Wu-Tang'. His distinctively lyrical style continued to maintain his popularity with the release of 'Fly International Luxurious Art' (2015) and 'The Wild' (2017).