Q&A: Raekwon Recovers Some Lost Jewelry

Do you remember your first chain?
Yeah I had a few pieces before I got in the game. But my first official link? It was a Figaro. Back then jewels was a big, big deal. It meant a lot. I remember when we got the long Cubans, we called them The Cobras, or rather the West Indians around my way called them The Cobras. You had to be stand up material because niggas would've been on yo' ass trying to yap them. Like I said jewels were a sign, a reward for a man of respect who earned it. He got it and he protected it. It meant a lot. Now everybody got a chain. But that's part of the rapper suit now [laughs]. It's all good, and done out of fun for everybody. Everybody on they Cubans and shit... it feels good to be mayor of that. But you know now I'm into skinny fly shit that light up from across the street.

What was your favorite piece of jewelry? Mine was that iced out tarantula you had. Shit was stupid!
Haha, word. Hard to pick a favorite but I was into a lot of the watches I've had. I would build my own shits. Like the Wu watch with the W... I copped a Rolex then customized it. We would go to 47th Street, the Diamond District to go get some authentic shit. This guy named Manny, Jacob the Jeweler and all a that. We used to fuck with them heavy but we'd snap on their shit because their designs were wack to us. The shit we were coming up with was better than their shit. So when we came around they started showing us shit and eventually it started to look like our shit, like our designs. We opened up a market for them but, you know, jewelers are hustlers so that's cool.

So here's something I've always wanted to ask you. Do you remember copping that Snow Beach and putting it on the morning of the video shoot?
Yeah I remember that. It was either Downtown Brooklyn or 34th in Macy's in the 'Lo section. I remember I saw it on the rack so I run over and start looking up close. I'm looking through the rack but all I kept seeing is size large. I kept looking and the last one was that XXL that I needed. I damn near boosted it like "Shhhhh...," just so my niggas couldn't get it. I put it on at the register so my niggas wouldn't get no funny ideas [laughs]. I was a like a little kid with that joint. That's what made shopping with ya niggas fun.
So comes time for the photo shoot. I decided to keep it basic. Just some new Airs and Levis on but I knew had the ill 'Lo joint, so I threw that on with the good baseball hat. I didn't know what I was gonna wear until that day. That shit inspired a lot of shit for some reason.

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