Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt. II

I've said it before and I'll say it again - 2009 is a great year for hip-hop. Sure, it's hit a few snags: Jay-Z's new record was a train wreck, Kanye further ruined his reputation by being a moron at another awards show, and the Beastie Boys' new record was delayed indefinitely due to Adam Yauch being diagnosed with cancer. Despite these setbacks, we have a solid Mos Def album, a stunner from The Dream, and a long-delayed masterpiece from Q-Tip. Not too bad.

But now it gets better. Raekwon finally released the long-awaited sequel to Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, one of the most fondly remembered underground rap records of the 1990's. With so many delays and so many hands in the pot (almost every track has several guest rappers and a different producer), it seems almost impossible that this album would be as good as the first, but somehow it's better.

After a brief but haunting intro, "House Of The Flying Daggers" sounds like a 120 mile-per-hour thrill ride with no less than four Wu-Tang Clan members pitching in. Ghostface Killah is on most of the album's tracks and is often the star of the show - he gets the most unsettling verse in the emotional orchestral highlight "Cold Outside". Some of the more upbeat party tracks are produced by Dr. Dre, who makes beats that could be Chronic (has it been almost 20 years already?) outtakes work with the Wu-Tang's sound - "Catalina" has an island "Big Pimpin" vibe to it but still sounds dark.

Like the best Wu-Tang alumni records - Ghostface Killah's Fishscale and GZA's Liquid Swords included - this album hits you with so many ideas so fast that it requires repeated listens. 22 tracks in 70 minutes is a lot to take in, but without any skits or bad tracks to break the momentum you can't get bored. This might be the decade's last rap masterpiece and it proves that hip-hop has a lot left to accomplish in years to come.