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Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon recently spoke about working with Dr. Dre on his Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2 track, "Catalina," and revealed how Busta Rhymes was originally slated to appear on the hook.

Replaced by Lyfe Jennings, Raekwon spoke on the track's overall success.

"'Catalina' was a vicious record, and we always knew that was going to be a hit," he explained in an interview. "I remember when I actually sat in the studio with Dr. Dre and he first played it for me. I looked at his face and I could tell that he really loved the beat. I loved it because it's my kind of beat. It was still hip hop, but it had savoir faire to it...At first we didn't have the hook. Believe it or not, the first hook had Busta Rhymes. Busta's the one that put me and Dre together. The first hook had a little reference from Busta Rhymes. He was singing and having fun. I liked his hook too, but we decided to change it because we don't want people to start thinking Busta's a singer. He's not that kind of artist, plus he was having fun. It wasn't nothing that he was banking on doing. We knew that record was going to the top." (Artist Direct)
Raekwon previously discussed his chemistry with Dre.

"He's the type of dude [who] only f*cks with his. When you think of through the years how many people can say they have a Dre beat is rare. I guess he really respect what we did and I respect him for what he did because he's the O.G. He was in it before me. He was just excited with the album. He heard it. He had to hear it first...You can't make a motherf*cker do something he don't wanna do. I already knew what kind of dude he is. Once he heard the album, he wanted to be a part of it...Dre actually gave me around four or five beats to work with." (LoveSoul TV)
Originally rumored to be joining Dre's Aftermath roster, Raekwon previously explained why the deal was never solidified.

"The Aftermath thing was definitely something that people wanted to go down, I wanted to go down as well," Raekwon explained in an interview. "We never inked the situation and we was going back and forth. From what I knew is that Dre's time wasn't really going to be there for me to really get what I needed to get out of him. So right then and there I knew that it was going to be a problem and being that he had so much to do and then you know the terms of agreement wasn't coming together as far as from his side. It wasn't actually him that was really making that call. It was people above him that was really telling him like, 'Yo you got to do this first.'" (XXLMag)
The rapper's latest album made it into the Top 5 last September.

Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon has returned to store shelves with his long-delayed Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Part 2 landing at No. 4. The Chef's new album has sold a total of 67,900 records after one week on store shelves. (Sales Wrap)




http://www.sohh.com/2009/12/raekwon_dropped_busta_rhymes_from_dr_dre.html