Rap Meets Mafioso Alter Egos: Raekwon and Ghostface Killah Reveal Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Documentary Trailer
Raekwon and Ghostface Killah have officially unveiled the trailer for a highly-anticipated documentary centered around *Only Built 4 Cuban Linx*, the landmark 1995 album that redefined the genre.
Clocking in at just under three minutes, the trailer for *Purple Tape Files* showcases heavyweights like Kendrick Lamar, Wu-Tang Clan titans, Nas, and Method Man as they share what made the record an absolute game-changer in hip-hop.
Empires rose from this genius project. The importance of alternate identities and monikers to rap culture can’t be overstated—and, as RZA highlights in the teaser, “*Cuban Linx* ushered that in.” Kendrick Lamar echoes the lasting relevance of the album, saying, “To this day, there are flows and ideas from that record that feel like undiscovered terrain—completely groundbreaking.”
On top of this praise, Snoop Dogg describes *Cuban Linx* as nothing short of a style manifesto. Credit goes to the relentless trailblazing machine that was Wu-Tang, with Snoop calling the record, “a clinic on craftsmanship merging with storytelling.”
The voice of the man at the nucleus, Raekwon, comes through powerfully in the footage—delving deep into how committed he was to making something unique. “It was about building a storytelling masterpiece. I needed this record to beam above the noise,” Raekwon says.
A key visual hallmark of *Only Built 4 Cuban Linx*, its striking “purple-tinted” casing, also wasn’t born from random luck. Raekwon calls purple a symbol of majesty—a perfect projection for what he was bringing to music. Thus, *Cuban Linx* went on to be pop-culturally known as the “Purple Tape.”
Raekwon further opens up about the pivotal choices backing triumphs like his record-shattering release. As he explains in the trailer, becoming serious about his craft meant disengaging from high-stakes street life: “It came to making one critical decision. Did I want to keep running the streets holding guns—or stay alive long enough to make my mark in the world with music?”
The film features prominent figures such as podcast veterans Charlamagne Tha God and Peter Rosenberg, enhancing this cinematic scrapbook of memories into a time capsule. It presents honest reflections while offering nostalgic glimpses through years-old perspectives.