Raekwon - Unexpected Victory

Your boy Raekwon has lurked on the periphery of success for almost two decades now. Sure The Purple Tape and Wu have served him well, but with lyrical skills as sharp as he maintains, you would have figured some big time cross-over was in order. The most recent rumblings concerned some work with Dr. Dre and last year's Shaolin -vs- WuTang, neither of which diminished your Uncle Rae's worldwide presence. I'm most stoked for the upcoming Wu-Block project, but in the interim the god has blessed us with the new mixtape Unexpected Victory. It's pretty ok, packed to the gills with guest spots ranging from the likes of Mobb Deep and CL Smooth to a gang of up-and-comers. The M.O.B.B. track is kind of a banger, as is This Shit Hard. Not going to get a ton of spins, methinks, but a solid release that will no doubt make Chef obsessives happy.

R