Raekwon Breaks Down 9 Songs From His New Album

"Being called a legend can be a gift and a curse," Raekwon says, settled into an armchair at Music Choice's Manhattan offices on the west side of 34th Street. "It can be an easy way for people to push you aside. 'Oh, because I'm legendary I ain't got it no more?'"

He's hours away from the official release of his sixth solo LP, the long-awaited Fly International Luxurious Art, and the Wu-Tang MC seems as relaxed as possible. After all, it's not like this is a new thing for him; Rae's been in the game for more than two decades as part of Shaolin's finest, while this August will mark the 20th anniversary of his classic solo debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..., which he's celebrating with a documentary film a la Nas' Illmatic last year. But first up in this packed 2015 is F.I.L.A., his LP that has been repeatedly delayed by production issues and Wu-Tang considerations.

"My thing is to never change but to grow," Rae says in conversation with Combat Jack before turning on the LP for the few dozen assembled. "Everybody know Rae come from the projects, he speaks with pain in his voice; I was just givin y'all insight into my life... And now what more could I ask? [When fans tell me that I'm a legend] it just inspires me to give them more, because that's what they want."

F.I.L.A. is made up of 13 tracks that bring together the old school New York of Ghostface Killah and Busta Rhymes as well as the city's younger crop of talent in French Montana and A$AP Rocky, the international flavor of Melanie Fiona and Assassin with hip-hop heavyweights like Snoop Dogg, 2 Chainz and Rick Ross. The result is an eclectic and diverse body of work, one that marries his penchant for mafioso styles and coke rap with the trappings of the good life and the flashiness of living on a luxurious plane.

"I just try to stay true to the game," Raekwon says before introducing the album. "I couldn't ask for nothin' else... I'm just better now." —Dan Rys