Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), a.k.a. Raekwon (/ɹeɪˈkwɒn/), is an Ame… Read Full Bio ↴Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), a.k.a. Raekwon (/ɹeɪˈkwɒn/), is an American rapper, one of the nine Wu-Tang Clan members. Raekwon joined Wu-Tang Clan, a hip hop group based in Staten Island, New York in 1992. When the time came for him to release his first solo album, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (1995), hip-hop, once again, underwent a momentous transformation. The album moves from track to track like a film moves from scene to scene. With its invigorating instrumentals and dramatic lyrical tales, Raekwon painted vivid pictures and presented powerful imagery through his enchanting verbal expression.

Rae's groundbreaking debut album helped to bring the flavour of flossing to wax as well as the use of the moniker among Wu brethren and other prominent emcees. The single "Verbal Intercourse" featured the first appearance of Nas Escobar, Nas' alter ego. Similarly, Raekwon and Ghostface Killah, who served as Rae's partner in rhyme throughout the entire Cuban Linx album, also developed a slew of other identities. Identities like Lex Diamond, one of the flashy, witty and intellectually stimulating personas of the multifaceted Raekwon.

In the years after the release of Cuban Linx, Raekwon continued to record several albums with the Clan including the platinum Wu-Tang Forver (1997) and The W (2000), as well as the gold Iron Flag (2001). He also starred in the critically acclaimed film Black and White, before releasing his second solo album, Immobilarity in 1999. Four years later, it's time for another masterpiece from Raekwon.

The Lex Diamond Story, Raekwon's forthcoming third solo album is that desperately needed effort. This new LP is as much a reflection of his first musical triumph Cuban Linx, as it is a manifestation of the future and what is to come from this great emcee. Raekwon is like the E.F. Hutton of hip-hop: when he speaks, everyone listens. The current void in hip-hop is filled with this rap veteran's
crafty verbal gymnastics and artistic form of storytelling. The Lex Diamond Story takes the top shelf elements of the Wu's first album and the finest sentiments of Raekwon's debut and joins them together to deliver another classic album to the masses.

A lyrical gourmet meal, The Lex Diamond Story shows that The Chef still possesses the recipe to cook up a jambalaya of words with the main ingredient being superior skills. Animated and intense, Raekwon's stealth delivery is filled with emotion, skilled cadence and an array of diverse stories, hooks, and topics. The track, "All Over Again (The Way We Were)" touches on the flavour of "Can It Be All So Simple" with its tale of street survival. Meanwhile, "Pit Bull Fights" is reminiscent of the ferocious lyrical beating inflicted on "Incarcerated Scarfaces." Raekwon is indisputably at his creative beast. Unchained and uninhibited, he is assertive with his music and focused on his goals.

Guillotine
Raekwon Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴

Allow me to demonstrate the skill of Shaolin
The special technique of shadowboxing (check it out)
Poisonous (word, word, word)
Slap (poisonous)
Yo, I should slap all y'all niggas for comin' in my fuckin' face with that shit
(Shh, shh, aight, soon, soon)
Yo, man, ain't that-
Ain't that Ghostface right there?

Ain't that nigga Ghost?
Poisonous

Poisonous paragraphs, smash ya phonograph in half
It be the Inspectah Deck on the warpath
First class leavin mics with a cast
Causin ruckus like the aftermath when guns blast
Run fast, here comes the verbal assaulter
Rhymes runnin' wild like a child in a walker
I scored from the inner slums abroad
And my thoughts are razor sharp
I slice the mic from the cord
First they criticize
But now they have become mentally paralyzed
With hits that I devise
Now I testify, the rest is I
Rebel INS, Your Highness
Blessed to electrify with voltage of an eel
Truth that I reveal'll
Crush the amateurs who scream they keep it real
Caesar black down, hoodied up in fatigues
Part-time minor leagues receive third degrees
Attack like a wolf pack, once I pull back
Then guard you, and bust through like a fullback

Yo, you fourteen carat gold slum computer wizard
Tappin' inside my rap vein causes blizzards
The wildlife that kills for ice trife, like by the digits
Gorillas injected with strength of eighty midgets
The earth spins ruins, rap exotic blends
Let my peeps in, niggas gaspin', swallowin' aspirins
What a dosage. You overdosed in rap
High explosives, my posters hypnotize with hypnosis
I sell goods, my whole clan is on the run like natural born killers
Record-breakin' the album Thriller
Got access to teargas, bombs and rocket launchers
Flow like dope, killer bees is what I sponsor
Your entrepreneur, pens and gear like Shakespeare
When I fuck I grab hair, collect drawers as souvenirs
Fuck yeah, my crew down German beers
My career's based on guns, throwin' cats in wheelchairs
Etcetera, damage any lame ass competitor
Who try to front, get broken in fast like leathers
Whatever, hot hard-heads get shattered like mirrors
Beretta shots splatter your Goose, scatter ya feathers
Say never poetry chumps crumbs deal with graphic
Flew my family overseas, I'm maxin'
If rap was crack, fully packed, I'd be tall caps
Taxin' kingpin of the rap drug traffickin'
Village niggas get slapped in Manhattan
For rappin, big Ghost steps off laughin', ha

(Were you just using the Wu-Tang school method against me?
I've learned so many styles, forgive me)

Sit back, relax, fake niggas don't get turns
Watch me massage ya brain with slang that's king
Projects filled with young men cause threats
Who has that? Thousand dollar chains and TECs
Focus, the brokest niggas of life shit
These mics is like cocaine, son
Check the suicidal hype shit
Exchange mad blunts, tapes for sweepstakes
Peepin' up on fakes, outta state for cakes, no doubt
Plus nobody amount, we makin' dough off
Puttin' fifty on the Land and Allah, it's like that
Pull ya shoes up black, matta of fact just adapt
Tie up, ya black Nike's and tight hats
Corners, stay surrounded with foreigners
What up, dread? Feds caught you grudgin' for his bread
But regardless, peace to jail niggas with charges
Unify, layin' in the guard with la
My clan done ran from Japan to Atlanta, with stamina
Slingers and gamblers, and gram handlers
Tical, like the Owl cigar, let's get steamed
Infrared guard yo' beam, so seek nuff respect
Rude bwoy, you bet
Keep it movin', Mashallah, pro black like tar
Designin' the fly shit and stay shinin'
The RZA pour more beats than Cristal's fine wine
Concrete raps go to bat
With fifty other niggas on the other side of the map
'Til it's all good and all done what we want some
Mike Tyson of this rap shit, pullin' out MACs for fun

The nigga don't get mad, I got mad styles of my own
And it's shown when my hands grip the chrome microphone
Verbally I catch bodies with cordless shotties
Intriguin' MCs, I keep em trained like potties
I bomb facts, my sword is an axe
To split backs invisible, like dope fiend tracks
Sky's the limit, niggas are timid, and nobody knows
How we move like wolves in sheep clothes
Producin' data, microchips of software
Underground and off air, the land of the lost

Notorious henchman from the North
Strikin' niggas where the Mason-Dixon line crossed

Overall Meaning

Raekwon's song Guillotine is a rap anthem that showcases the lyrical prowess and storytelling abilities of the artist. The lyrics speak of the gritty realities of life in urban areas, with themes of violence, drug trafficking, and crime woven into the lyrics. The opening lines, "Allow me to demonstrate the skill of Shaolin, The special technique of shadowboxing" serve as a metaphor for the artist's ability to take on anyone who challenges him, using his words as his weapon. As the song progresses, the lyrics become more intense, with lines like "if rap was crack, fully packed, I'd be tall caps, taxin' kingpin of the rap drug trafficking."

Throughout the song, Raekwon employs a variety of rhyming techniques, using slant rhymes, internal rhymes, and multisyllabic rhymes to create a flow that is both smooth and aggressive. The language used in the lyrics is filled with slang and street vernacular, which makes the song relatable to those who are familiar with the urban lifestyle.

Overall, Guillotine is a powerful song that showcases Raekwon's skills as a lyricist and storyteller. The song is a testament to the realities of life in urban areas and a reflection of the survival mentality that is required to thrive in such environments.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Corey Woods, Robert F. Diggs

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS