T.he I.nformant
1st Ballot HOF Teller
I don't think it prevents him from being a GOAT either but I do wonder how a nikka as innovative and talented as Ra all of a sudden became cold and irrelevant.
#HotTake...how Rakim a GOAT but go damn near two decades with NOBODY checking for him??
- Thread starter T.he I.nformant
- Start date
NasirJr
★ＣＡＲＯＬＩＮＡＳ ＦＩＮＥＳＴ★
Man all I know is his solo albums leave more ( a whole lot more ) to be desired..
My man is supposed to be a goat but those solo albums are
The 18th letter aint that badthat discography outside of eric b
Larry Lambo
Superstar
What legend from the 80's really had longevity? Only ones I can think of are LL and KRS-One. Everybody else faded out by the mid 90's.
Jay and Nas were able to either adapt to the times (Jay with LL writing the blueprint on how to stay relevant), or grow into a more mature style that their core fanbase could continue to follow (Nas with KRS-One writing the blueprint on how to grow subject matter).
I don't think Ra's lack of longevity tarnishes his impact. He just came up in a time where it wasn't expected for rappers to be hot in their 30's.
Jay and Nas were able to either adapt to the times (Jay with LL writing the blueprint on how to stay relevant), or grow into a more mature style that their core fanbase could continue to follow (Nas with KRS-One writing the blueprint on how to grow subject matter).
I don't think Ra's lack of longevity tarnishes his impact. He just came up in a time where it wasn't expected for rappers to be hot in their 30's.
UpAndComing
Veteran
Side question: Did Eric B actually make those beats?I do wonder how his relationship/connection to Nas impacted his career, if at all? Had to be strange for Ra to see this lil nikka who was around the studio all of a sudden come and take his spot. And then to hear nikkas say the lil nikka was better than him. Had to hurt his soul a little.
I heard that Eric B was basically the Suge Knight of the late 80s and early 90s. He was a real goon, and muscled his way to take credit for Large Pro and Rakim's beat making credits. I heard he ain't even a real DJ either, and barely got skills on the turntables. And the fact that Nas and Eric B are really close really must of made Rakim mad as fukk that this goon is friends with an up and coming nikka to take his spot
UpAndComing
Veteran
That's why I always say Kool G Rap is better, and influenced the genre more than Rakim ever did
T.he I.nformant
1st Ballot HOF Teller
Cube and Scarface.
Ra was praised as being a trendsetter and ushering a new era of rap. So, I don't understand how he couldn't adapt to the times or keep nikkas interested.
Larry Lambo
Superstar
Cube's rap career fizzled out in the mid 90's. Dre doesn't even write, so his rap career was just propped up by other MC's (i.e. Jay-Z on Still DRE)
I don't consider Face a 80's rapper. I know Geto Boys came out in '88 but didn't blow til 91.
Techniec
Drugs and Kalashnikovs
Cube went gold less than a decade ago
Cubes mainstream rap career ended in 99-00
Don't forget his Westside connection group efforts one of which went gold in 03..
Face came out in the 80s. You can't disregard it because you feel like it..
Rakim's solo work is just meh borderline blah
Larry Lambo
Superstar
Does anyone consider Scarface an 80's rapper??? Tribe Came out in 89, but nobody calls them 80's rappers.
We talking about when Run-DMC, Kane. Slick Rick, Salt & Pepa, LL Cool J, Public Enemy, NWA were running s**t. In order to maintain relevancy from the 80's you had to be relevant in the 80's to begin with. Geto Boys were regional back then.
African Peasant
Veteran
RAKIM doing trap