Awesome Wells
The Bobby Womack of Crack
Rakim isn't my favorite MC of all-time, but he's still the GOAT, for a reason.
When you speak about lyricism, and you add to the fact that The God dominated in that category during Hip Hop's golden era, you can see why he'll always be the greatest MC of all-time. If you weren't alive back then, it might be hard for you to understand. But during a time when legends were dropping classic after classic damn near every week, there was always one that people regarded higher than the others. And that was Rakim.
Doesn't matter where you're from, all legends hold Rakim up as the best ever. Because he was ahead of his time, and mad advanced for someone who was doing what he did in the mid-80's to early 90's. He literally changed the whole landscape and blueprint on how to pen and emcee. Dude's whole career is a masterclass on MCing. Premier said it best, "Back in the day, there was Rakim, who stood alone, and everyone else". He dominated lyrically, the way Jordan did on the court. We've never seen anything like that since.
When you speak about lyricism, and you add to the fact that The God dominated in that category during Hip Hop's golden era, you can see why he'll always be the greatest MC of all-time. If you weren't alive back then, it might be hard for you to understand. But during a time when legends were dropping classic after classic damn near every week, there was always one that people regarded higher than the others. And that was Rakim.
Doesn't matter where you're from, all legends hold Rakim up as the best ever. Because he was ahead of his time, and mad advanced for someone who was doing what he did in the mid-80's to early 90's. He literally changed the whole landscape and blueprint on how to pen and emcee. Dude's whole career is a masterclass on MCing. Premier said it best, "Back in the day, there was Rakim, who stood alone, and everyone else". He dominated lyrically, the way Jordan did on the court. We've never seen anything like that since.
