Four years after it was first announced, Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II , the sequel to his (and Ghostface’s) 1995 masterpiece, will finally be released this summer on EMI.

At one point, the project was rumored to be executive produced by Busta Rhymes (whatever that means).  Then, it was slated for release on Aftermath Entertainment before Dr. Dre pulled a Cartman, it seemed like the album was destined for Chinese Democracy Detox status.  Still with no concrete release date, though, there’s still no guarantees it’ll see the light of day.

It’s been fourteen years since the release of the original, often mentioned as one of the most cinematic/best conceptual hip-hop albums ever made—second to perhaps only Mobb Deep’s The Infamous… but that depends on whether or not you care if those art school kids from Queensbridge lived a lick of what they spit. Not saying that Raekwon was the Mafioso he claimed to be on the first Cuban Linx, but I wouldn’t put it past him to pump some crack in his day.

As for the the sequel, it seems rather promising, with production credits from The RZA (making his first appearance on a Rae solo album since the original), J Dilla, and Dre, and guest spots from Busta, Bun B, Jadakiss, and the usual Wu heads (Meth, Starks, Deck). But you know how the story goes with sequels.  Hopefully it’s a Chronic 2001 and not a Carter II (or III for that matter).

-Devin Chanda