Born Felix Delgado in Havana, Cuba, in 1974, Cuban Link has come a long way to fulfill his dreams. In 1980, Cuban eventually settling in New York City - South, South Bronx to be exact. He made neighborhood friends and soaked up the local hip-hop culture until he began writing lyrics at age 15. Soon after, he met Triple Seis and Big Punisher, his future partners in rhyme, and everything snapped into place.
First heard alongside Pun on the Beatnuts smash "Off the Books" in 1997, Cuban subsequently cultivated buzz with memorable appearances on Pun’s platinum Capital Punishment ("Glamour Life"), Fat Joe’s Don Cartagena ("Bet Ya Man Can’t (Triz)") and the eponymous Terror Squad LP ("Tell Me What You Want"). His raw lyricism, edges rough enough for the streets, and pretty boy appeal made him a valuable commodity.
But when Christopher Lee Rios (Big Pun) died suddenly on February 7th, 2000, everything fell apart. "Flowers for the Dead," Cuban’s premier solo single and tribute to Pun, couldn’t begin to relate the loss. Without Pun to mediate, Cuban began arguing with Fat Joe over managerial decisions and this - together with bootlegging - meant his original album debut, 24K, was cancelled.
Cuban ultimately bought his way out from under Fat Joe & the Terror Squad and retreated to launch his solo career properly. Around the same time, Cuban was sliced in the face at a popular New York night club. Having regrouped and resurfaced with independent M.O.B. Records (Men of Business), Cuban views his revamped debut, Chain Reaction, as an opportunity to make things right and fulfill a promise to Seis and the greatest rapper of all time: Big Pun..
Still mourning the loss of his close friend, Cuban recorded "The Letter to Pun a.k.a. Letter to the Better," a touching message he sends to Pun over Air Supply’s "Making Love Out Of Nothing at All’s" airy piano. If Pun is watching over from above, as he is imagined in the song, he’ll be pleased to find his friend working hard to make good on his platinum promise, continuing a long journey started 24 years ago in Cuba.
Watch the making of Sugar Daddy here.
Watch the making of Letter to the Better here.
Discography:
24K (2003) (Unreleased)
24k. Gold. Cuban Link's first album never saw the shelves. What most of you will never know is just how it manifests exactly everything that his album title and his name represent. This album revived the game; it made the bilingual heads and original brothas and sistas remember the universal elements of our hip-hop culture.
Broken Chains (2003) (Exclusive Mixtape)
Starring & Hosted by: Cuban Link CLK
Could quite possibly take the crown for the greatest mixtape ever created - Cuban Link gets his message accross that he would be back and this was just a taster of what he has in store.
Broken Chains 2: Chainsaw Massacre (2004) (Exclusive Mixtape)
Cuban used this mixtape as a final countdown to his debut official album, "Chain Reaction". Tracks to check out are Nasty Girl, Monkey Monk and his Fat Joe and Terror Squad diss: Hotel.
Chain Reaction (2005)
Coming Soon...
Featuring the track Sugar Daddy, re-recorded with Mya in 2004 (differs from the 2003 version).