It may seem as if Raekwon has been away for a long time, but he’s been working hard on the underground mixtape circuit.

Following his successful Cocainism Volume 2 mixtape, he recently shared his secrets to making the mixtape work to your advantage in such an over-populated market.

He told MTV News US: "For me it's like being on the street, you hustling. You come out and you know its a thousand people on the block doing their thing. You gotta get in where you fit in.

"I might come out with a couple of extra jams just to get my name out, like, yo, give a couple of friends something for free, just to let 'em know. 'It's over here. Taste that. Taste that! Taste that and let me know how you feel. Get back at me.' I think that's the same rules that apply to the mixtape situation.”