Emilio Sparks - The Charlie Rose of Hip Hop

Last night, Wu Tang’s Raekwon, returned to Shaolin to perform a free show in Mahoney Playground. Raekwon, who’s highly anticipated album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II is set to release on September 8th, played a short set  featuring recognizable songs from his group’s debut, Enter The Wu Tang,  as well as a few of his own tunes from 1995′s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. It was surprising he chose to perform only one track from his upcoming album.  The crowd didn’t seem to mind though. They were just happy Rae was there, repping Staten Island to the fullest.

For those wondering if the beef with Joe Budden was addressed. Raekwon had the following to say about it…”We love Joe Budden.” Whatever that means.

Security was a little tight at the show. There were many Police officers about, and they used metal detectors on everybody before entering. Barricades were set up to keep the crowd about thirty feet from the stage.  At one point, The Chef stated “I feel like the people are too far away from the stage, can we get them in closer? For real yo.” The big wigs behind the concert didn’t give him the green light, so Raekwon just decided to come to the people instead. He hopped off the stage and rushed to the front of the guardrail, and shook hands with his fans as he performed their favorite songs. It was easily the highlight of the show. Shortly after, he closed the set with a peaceful message, and claimed that Staten Island changed the Hip Hop game forever.