Contributed by Nasa.

Yo, before I say anything, this OB4CL2 LP is fire, you need to go get that....NOW.  What I wanted to do is combine a record review with a look at the hype that built up to the release in tandem.  Let's start with the promotion up until this day.

The fact that Rae was working on a follow up to Cuban was no secret.  This album as my memory serves was actually supposed to drop like a few years ago.  It seemed to be an album that was only a rumor and heading for "Chinese Democracy" territory.  It finally got a release date in August, but even then got pushed back one more month to September.  Did this help the record to reach a mythical status?

One of the smartest (an obviously so) things they did was flip nostalgia to their advantage.  The purple cover and references to the "Purple Tape" were a stroke of genius.  I dare to say had they called "The Lex Diamond Story" "OB4CL2" it would have done just as well.  Firstly because of that nostalgia factor, but also because that record was fresh too.  This isn't something that the run of the mill rapper can pull off per se, because Rae actually has hits, but heads on the come up can learn from the next few things:

For a dude that's been around for a minute, been on and off major labels and on world tours, he knows how to do his grass roots right.  The best thing about that grass roots promotion is it truly eminates from the artist himself.  You know he's doing his own Twitter updates- no fake intern stuff (@RAEKWONICEWATER) and he updates his travels on Youtube damn near daily.  He also does live video chats with fans at UStream.  In watching these videos and following his Twitter you also see the amount of grind that he's doing too.  From radio interviews in North Carolina, to park jams on Staten Island, to one off gigs in Montreal- all of it seemingly happening in days and hours not weeks and months.  You have to respect the game.

Below are some highlights from his various Youtube updates:

The thing about all those clips is that it's just him being himself, being hyped about his project and being real to his fans.  There's nothing special about them, their even a little awkward at times, but that's what's ill.  It brings the fans in and helps then identify with the music and the creator of it.  I think all artists should do behind the scenes stuff like this, not everybody is gonna get the views of it like Raekwon, but your fans, no matter the amount should have the chance to check it if they want to.  I think this is an incredibly smart strategy.  There was actually another video he did that's not on Youtube anymore where he's in a deli getting a sandwich after a session in the middle of the night.  In between him talking about Cuban Linx, he's telling dude how much mayo to put on the sandwhich and shit.

Of course, the internet shit turned dark too, when the beef with Budden popped off (literally).  I didn't really think that was a good road to go down because it hurt the positivity that you can see in the videos above.  All in all, it may have added to the hype of the release, but I think they smartly limited it once it was starting to blow up so that it didn't overshadow things.  I think the results of the record release would have been the same with out it.

What we saw with this record release was a combination of 3 things, extreme fan outreach and communication, a large cashing in of banked nostalgia and a hustle that can't be equalled right now.  I hope that those 3 things turn into what they should for Raekwon and for Hip-Hop overall.  Music aside, I think this is one of the most important releases ever released since 2000.

As for the record itself- it's hard to dispute it's place among the classics from the Wu catalog.  It's an easy contender for best record of this year.  The very first song that got dropped was "The New Wu" and that shit is a hit.  Even though I've heard it and seen a video it still pops on this record.  That may be Method Man's best verse in quite some time.  I think he deads any doubt in his skill (why there ever was one, I'm not sure) on this track.  Flows on top of flows.

Surgical Gloves, for at least tonight on my first listen, is my shit on here.  This beat is classic Alchemist (I'm willing to say that not even having a Producer track list, cuz I can tell it's him- the sign of a dope producer).  The super choppy sample play, clap and panned percussion elements are banging off the MPC and you can feel the machine through the beat.

10 Bricks is pretty fire, a perfect example of why I hate leaks.  I listened to this joint on repeat from some blog a few nights ago- so it was spoiled, but this shit reminds me of something that could have been on Supreme Clientele as much as OB4CL and had I not already heard it probably would have been even higher for me then "Surgical".

Black Mozart is ill to hear a reunion of the duo that did C.R.E.A.M. with Rae and Dek.  When that Chorus drops out and the verses drop, hit the deck.

It's ill to hear Raekwon on a Dr. Dre beat, that piano break down is nuts and Rae hits it perfectly each time it comes around.  Other standouts, cameo wise are Masta Killa's two verses on "Kiss the Ring" and "We Will Rob You", Dek is all over this record and seems re-invigorated being involved in it and of course Ghostface kills it on tracks like "Penetentiary" and "Gihad" among others.

I don't want to present it as a 100 percent perfect album though, I got pretty bored during "Catalina" and was even tempted to hit the skip button, but I didn't.  I also thought the intro was way too long, but maybe it's because I was so anxious to hear the album.  I would have loved to have heard the record start with "Sonny's Missing" instead of "House of Flying Daggers" even though I like both tracks a lot.  Finally as people that know me hear from me way too often, it was a little long.  I like albums that are 10-14 songs long.  No matter how good a record is, I like to have that fiending to hit rewind and play it again right afterwards.  But that's just me, I'm a weirdo when it comes to that and I'm sure I'm in the minority in wanting less joints from anyone.

If you didn't get the bonus for pre-ordering on Itunes "Badland" you lost out.  That shit is a banger, surprised it wasn't part of the main album, but glad I got it.  I'm sure it's not hard to track down.  Who's hooking me up with "Criminology Pt. 2" cuz that ain't on here!

I hope this album leads to a revival of some real shit.  M.O.P. and Ghostface also releasing an LP in September can't hurt this momentum.  For the more left leaning ear, Anti-Pop Consortium is scheduled too. 

All I can say is, the best emcees come from Staten Island.  Proud to be resting the head at Port Richmond tonight.  Peace to Raekwon for carving a gem and showing heads how to connect with they fans at the same time!