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"FacebookPinterest\n\nFacebookPinterest\n\n In 1993, Wu-Tang Clan entered the rap galaxy from the strange planet of Staten Island, and proceeded to revolutionize the genre with their blend of filthy, merciless, and apocalyptic rhymes. The crew had its hams (Method Man, Ol\u2019 Dirty Bastard) and its cagey mastermind (RZA), but nearly two decades later, none has proved as steadfast and technically skilled as Corey Woods AKA Raekwon the Chef. With each syllable carefully selected, each bar exhaustively sharpened, his flow falls in seamless lockstep with the beat\u2014rapping\u2019s platonic ideal. Here, Raekwon, 41, talks about Wu-Tang\u2019s beginnings, and his continuing collaborations with soul mate and fellow Clan vet Ghostface Killah.\n\nGQ: From the very start, Wu-Tang always had critical support. How important has that been for the group?\n\n Raekwon: We grew up on the critics paying attention to us and saying, Yo, ya\u2019ll got it. We peep the spark somewhere. When I sit here and see that the eight brothers from the neighborhood that I grew up with still have success, it had to be magical. I doubt if you get another Wu-Tang Clan. That might be harder than getting the new Jackson Five. Certain groups you only get one time, and we just happened to be that group.\n\n\n\nYour browser does not support iframes.\n\n |||\n\nGQ: Even with the success that Wu-Tang has had, have you had any low points as an artist?\n\n Raekwon: In the early 2000s I was going through a lot. I didn\u2019t have my head screwed on right. Where I was at as a man, I was still growing up. We had success quick, we didn\u2019t have an opportunity to look at a lot of things that really we had to look at. My world was caving in for a minute, and it took a lot of people to come at me, like, Yo, we gon\u2019 get you right, but you gotta get you right. All I did was take my time, figure out where I made a lot of mistakes and try not to make them no more.\n\nFacebookPinterest\n\nGQ: Do you think that you and Ghost have influenced each other\u2019s styles over the years?\n\n Raekwon: Definitely. Ghost tells me every few years, Yo, you showed me this style ... I\u2019m like, man, we the same style. At the end of the day, he\u2019s one of my favorite rappers, I\u2019m one of his favorite rappers, and we just do it. We identify with each other\u2019s worlds when it comes to rhyming. This\u2019s something that niggas peep. It\u2019s like, Yo, it\u2019s time to take the dog outside. You know what I mean? We got this all day. Easy.\n\nGQ: Do you have a favorite collaboration?\n\n Raekwon: Nah, to be honest with you, I don\u2019t have one track that I consider better than the next because all I\u2019m trying to do is still grow as an artist. I got way better since the early nineties, as far as putting words together. My best energy probably was the \u201990s, because I was new. But as you keep shooting the ball, you become a better basketball player. I don\u2019t think we ever gonna get weak when it comes to lyrics. That really was an inheritance with us.\n\nGQ: Have you and Ghost had personal disputes that haven\u2019t made it to the public eye?\n\n Raekwon: I mean, we men, men gon\u2019 go through things. But we for each other. The main thing I look at is: Is it from the heart? If I know that you down with me, then we always gonna be down through whatever the thick and thin. I know where he going and he know where I\u2019m going. When we sit on the bus, we play us some soul music, we reminisce, we eat some good food, and just sit down and talk as brothers.\n\nFacebookPinterest"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.gq.com/story/raekwon-gq-music-issue>