Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...

Raekwon asked for photographer Daniel Hastings, who had already shot the cover of Wu-Tang Clan's Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). For his solo debut, Raekwon wanted the moment shared: he put himself and Ghostface Killah together on the front, two men in a haze of warm orange light, since Ghost was being introduced to listeners through the record.

Hastings said Raekwon "wanted a Last Supper where all the Wu-Tang members are there," and he claims to be one of the only photographers to get the whole Wu family into one picture. The session was tense, with the group's success already straining relationships. "Not everyone was happy," Hastings recalled, and he tried to let that friction show.

The packaging gave the album its nickname. The original cassette was moulded in solid purple plastic, which Raekwon chose as a reference to the way drug dealers marked their product, and fans have called the record "The Purple Tape" ever since. It was released on 1 August 1995. Miguel Rivera designed the package, and Christian Cortes built the set and designed the logo.