No Products in the Cart
Turn on one of Rakim's songs, then your brain will have a hard time processing so much genius at once.
William Michael Griffin Jr well known by his stage name, Rakim, is an American rapper and record producer. He is widely regarded as one of the true paradigm shifts in the culture of Hip-Hop of all time.
Eric B. & Rakim
One day Rakim went to DJ Maniak’s house and made a beat and rhymed over it for 60 minutes, he even filled up both sides of a Memorex tape. The plan was to play the tape when he got to college to let everyone know his capability as an MC. A few days after, Alvin Toney knocked on the door with a man behind him. Alvin said “This guy knows Marley Marl and Mr. Magic". The guy wanted to record to a record with the unsigned, and undiscovered Rakim. The guy with Alvin just happened to be, Eric B. Marley Marl and Mr. Magic were two of the biggest names in hip-hop at that moment making this a fantastic opportunity for the undiscovered talent.
Initially, Eric was thinking about making a DJ album where he presented a group of MCs, like all the best MCs he’d met on his travels. So he was asking people in every town and borough, who is the best MC around, When he asked that in Wyandanch, they took him to Rakim.
Rakim put on the tape of some of his early recordings, and with in minutes Eric said, “Yo, we can go to Marley Marl’s crib and make a record right now.”
That's how the two met, and after this initial meeting, they quickly recorded their legendary debut record titled, Paid In Full. They went on to record 4 albums in the 6 years that they were working together. They also released 15 singles.
Solo Career
Rakim breakup with Eric B. in early 1993, in that time he was struggling with some legal problems, but he registered a deal with Universal Records and start recording his solo debut album. In November 1997, the album, The 18th Letter, was released, the album debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200 and went certified Gold by the RIAA.
In November 2009 Rakim released The Seventh Seal. When asked about the album title he answered: '' The number 7 has a lot of significance. The seventh letter of the alphabet is G—which stands for God. There are seven continents, seven seas. The Seventh Seal deals with that and also some revelations in the Bible. Some call it the end of the world, but for me, it's the end of the old and the beginning of the new. By me naming my album that, I'm using it metaphorically in hip hop. I'm hoping to kill the old state of hip hop and start with the new.''
And yes he does it, Rakim is the Best. he changed the game. no one was rhyming on that level before him. everyone after him is a descendant of his style.
An Example to follow
For a lot of people, Rakim wasn't just a god MC to them, they saw him as God (great enough to be imitated) like figure in the world of hip hop. They wanted to look like, sound like, dress like, and be exactly like Rakim. He was a great example of how to be strong, how to be serious, and how to be hard while being a good role model at the same time.
“ I’ll run a brain scan to check out his game plan, when I’m finished he won’t be the same man” Rakim in 1987.
Thirty years after bursting onto the scene with Eric B, Rakim, is widely recognized as the Mc that raised the bar and set the levels to new heights when came to lyricism. Top of the food chain Rakim has given birth and been a major influence to a host of hip hop greats earning him the title, God Mc.