Raekwon

With Wu-Tang’s 8 Diagrams on the table, the Chef gives his recipe for handling a kitchen full of cooks.

As told to Richard “Treats” Dryden
Photograph by ALEXX HENRY

1 Find strength in numbers.
There’s been plenty of times when I felt like I wanted to do my own thing. But when I heard the family was gonna move forward, I had to take interest in that. Seventy percent of the realness from us is wanting to cater to fans, but the other 30 percent is knowing that if I could get 10 fucking birds, why would I only want one bird? 

2 Say no to “yes” men.
I’m not here to make a nigga laugh, all I can do is be honest with my dudes. I put the facts on the table and separate fiction from nonfiction. We don’t allow a “yes man” mentality around us. If you wrong, you wrong. There’s always three sides to a story: yours, the other person’s, and the truth.

3 Have friendly competition.
We never dictate who gonna be first or last on a track. You just have to be ill. We stay competitive. It’s about uplifting your sword and adding techniques. I been asked to calm down the wordplay a little bit, but I can’t make baby food; I can’t rhyme weak. I don’t like everything I hear from a nigga either, but I can dig it.

4 The show must go on.
Like any other normal crew, we all go through shit, but we got a certain amount of love to move on and live out tradition. I experienced good times and other times. I could never say not having everyone here don’t affect us. It’s real hard. But you gotta understand that that person makes his own decisions. All you can do is love ’em, and that’s what it is. You need strong faith when these things hit the fan. I learned how to cope and understand that nothing lasts forever.

5 Stay loyal to the team.
Be loyal to whatever you reppin’. You could have chemistry problems with too many cooks in any kind of kitchen. There’s been arguments; sometimes we say, “Fuck you, muthafucka,” and as men we deal with it accordingly. That shows loyalty to your brotherhood. But sometimes it’s better to have a couple of fucking waiters and shit.