THE PURPLE TAPE

PHOTO CREDITS:  STRICTLY CASSETTE

Ahhh...the "Purple Tape..."  The household name for Raekwon's debut solo album "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx."  If you are on this page then you already know the time.  Even Wu heads who were rockin' diapers in 95 know the math.


You won't have a hard time finding people's stories regarding the famed cassette.  Finding an actual copy of the tape for under a C-note would probably be more of a task.  Who would have known that something as simple as releasing a cassette in purple would have given the tape so much recognition?  All bullshit aside, OB4CL is arguably the best Wu-Tang solo album of all time.  Who wouldn't want a copy of the illustrious cassette?


Big shout to my older cousin Joanna in New Jersey.  She copped this tape AND a black and yellow Wu-Tang shirt for me during a visit in 95.  I rocked that shit proudly in High School as the first kid with the shirt on and the Purple tape my the walkman.

We found some cool shit on the web regarding one of the most sought after Hip Hop tapes of all time...

*CLICK ON PHOTO TO VIEW J-CARD ART

We couldn't get a hold of Raekwon to explain the reasoning behind the Purple tape.  All good though cuz somebody already beat us.  When asked about the idea behind the tape by Allhiphop.com here is the Chef's response:

It's clear that the tape was Raekwon's certified dope on plastic.  A colored cassette was inspired by colored dope vials from the days of "slingin."  We found more sources of Raekwon's take on the proven timeless concept via Rawreport.com , The Jumpoff.tv , and Hip Hop Official.










There have been countless tributes to the ominous cassette.  Recent hype (especially amongst the new streetwear generation) came from the brand known as Rocksmith.  Their "Purple Tape" T-shirt was a simple but appealing graphic.  For some, it was probably their first and only sighting of the OB4CL's magnetic format.

*CLICK ON PHOTO TO PURCHASE T-SHIRT

Aside from all the hype surrounding the tape, there is no question that the appeal of it is simply from the music.  Classic joints from the album like "Criminology" "Wu-Gambinos" and "Ice Cream"  will always be timeless Wu-Tang standouts.  For me, it mostly had to do with Rae's ability to create slang that became a secret code amongst other fans.  

The production was some of the rawest shit from Rza's vast catalog.    It was the whole package that made this album what it is.  I'm quite sure that folks could write novels about their experiences with this tape.  We'll leave you off with this great story that we found from THE MEANING OF DOPE.  

*THIS POST CONTAINS EXCERPTS FROM:  ALL HIP HOP.COM, RAWREPORT.COM, HIP HOP OFFICIAL,THE JUMPOFF.TV & THE MEANING OF DOPE