Raekwon

Beginning in 1995 with Built 4 Cuban Linx, Chef Raekwon reintroduced the family of Wu-Tang Clan rappers as New York crime team the Wu-Gambinos. Equipped with new names, the Wu-Gambino outfit blends images of life on the streets with slow-tempoed, piano-laden jams that reek of fear and violence.

Calling on fellow clan members RZA, Method Man, Inspectah Deck, U-God, GZA and Masta Killer -- whose names have been changed to Bobby Steeles, Johnny Blaze, Rollie Fingers, Lucky Hands, Maxmillion and Noodles, respectively -- Raekwon provides a new medium by which the Wu-Tang Clan continues to grow. He himself adopts the name Lou Diamonds and Ghostface Killa, his appointed accomplice, takes the alias Tony Starks.

Following the release of Built 4 Cuban Linx, Raekwon and the crew headed back to the studio to begin production on The Blood on Chef's Apron, the second in a series of Wu-Gambino adventures.

Four years after his solo debut, Raekwon released his follow-up, Immobilarity, in the fall of 1999