Rap mafioso Raekwon proves Wu-Tang is still for the children at Mission Creek Festival

Legendary Wu-Tang emcee Raekwon rocked a multigenerational crowd at the Englert during the final night of Mission Creek Festival 2025, where he performed his classic 1995 solo debut Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…

The Englert is no stranger to members of the Wu gracing its stage, having welcomed fellow clansmen GZA last year (and in 2009’s MCF) and Ghostface Killah for the 2017 Mission Creek.

Early in the set, he asked the crowd, “How many ’70s babies do we got out there? OK, how many ’80s babies are there?” 

Those two got loud responses, but so did all the decades he covered, up through this century. Based on some of the teenagers I witnessed in front of the stage wildly rhyming along to this 30-year-old album, Wu-Tang is still for the children. And this classic hip-hop group is also for old folks like me. (I was born a few months after the Wu-Tang rapper, in 1970, so I guess that makes him “old” as well.) 

Keeping it simple and old school, Raekwon was accompanied onstage by a sole DJ. The DJ made a point of showing off the Caitlin Clark jersey they were wearing, which drew another big reaction from the crowd, as one could imagine.

The duo stuck to beats, rhymes and crowd participation while maintaining a party vibe throughout the whole performance. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… is packed with back-to-back bangers, but the crowd’s investment didn’t dip after the album’s last track, as it was followed by several Wu-Tang classics like “Bring da Ruckus,” “C.R.E.A.M.” and “Protect Ya Neck.”