Constant Elevation

11/18/1999 4:00 AM, LAUNCH
Soren Baker

Releasing what is widely considered a classic album can be both a blessing and a curse. But Raekwon hopes on using the esteem he earned with 1995's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... as a springboard for his new album, Immobilarity, as well as his expanding list of pursuits.

Rather than retread on the one-sided crime capers that thrust him to the top of hip-hop's food chart with his first album, the Staten Island, N.Y. rapper instead shows dramatic artistic and lyrical growth with his second set.

"I know that if I have a little kid looking at me, I have to be able to deliver to him so he can understand what the f--k I'm talking about, so he's not just like, 'That's Raekwon the rapper,'" he says. "Then I got my other big n-ggas that's still caught up in the struggle that look at me as a stepping stone as well as a mentor. I've got to keep it visual for them. This is all part of my initiative to rhyme. I think about all of the levels of rap. What separates me from other n-ggas is that I'm able to understand that. You can keep talking about the same sh-t over and over, but at the same time, you do have to drop a message. You have to be able to see a n-gga grow."

To that point, the Wu-Tang Clan member mixes life lessons with the normal, intense, street-level politics of the day. "F--k Them," a duet with Method Man, proves that thugs aren't necessarily the best role models for kids; "The Forecast" shouts out all the locales giving Rae love; "All I Need Pt. 2" is a worthy, touching follow-up to Ghostface Killah's first installment.

In addition to Raekwon's expanded lyrical scope, fans are sure to notice a decidedly different musical sound on Immobilarity. RZA, who supplied each of the beats on Rae's debut, has been replaced by up-and-comers such as Infinite Arkatechz and Triflyn, as well as veterans Pete Rock and Carlos "Six July" Broady.

"I had producers extraordinaires around me--RZA and anybody who's down with us on that level. We're all working," Rae says. "We all know that we've got to save ourselves as well as the foundation. Everybody's blessings were there [to seek other beat-makers]. All I did was see who had talent out there on the music level and know what I could to help them as well as they could help me. There's a lot of motherf--kers out there that can't get a chance. That was my sh-t, I'm willing to give a n-gga a chance--just give me what I need from you and I'm going to give you what you need from me. It's all Immobilizing." By building on his past, Raekwon demonstrates that he has graduated from the street corner to worldwide influence.

"A n-gga got to think about taxes now," he says. "I want to see my moms, when she gets older, have health care and all that she needs. That's the level that I'm on right now. It ain't just about trying to look good, because I'm going to do that regardless."