#HotTake...how Rakim a GOAT but go damn near two decades with NOBODY checking for him??

[T.he I.nformant]

Why is James Brown the Godfather of Soul? Dude hasn't released an album since 2002 and no top 10 hit for decades.

Why is MJ the King of Pop, Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad were decades ago, aint nobody patiently waiting for MJ to moonwalk.

Why is the other MJ one of the GOATS, his last ring was 98.

Why are Marvin, Hendrix, the Stones, Beatles and Miles Davis considered GOATS, some of that list are still alive so no excuse, we waiting for Hot 16's out here,,,,

Ali is still alive why is he A Great, no one has checked Ali for boxing for decades, dude got dusted by Berbick in his last fight, WTF Cassius!

This was the same point as @UpAndComing and it's a fair one

I did eventually concede as much...

I was nodding my head in agreement until I got here. Keep it hip-hop, fam. I want my rappers rapping as long as they alive. Rhyming about achy backs and 8-tracks. Seriously, though, the point of this thread is discussing hip-hop and the career of one of its greats. Maybe hip-hop is old enough, now, where fans should come to expect that rappers will eventually stop rapping. Guess it's unreasonable to think they'll rhyme forever and always be hot and relevant. I just always wondered why he wasn't bigger after the first five years of his career especially after seeing what Nas and Jay have done. Ra post-'92 has been like MJ on the Wizards. Yeah, he'll give you flashes of that greatness that made him one of the best but the feeling ain't the same. Only difference is MJ had had a long career by then; Ra was only 5 years in. And maybe basketball and rapping is apples and oranges when it comes to longevity but I guess I still expected his flame to burn a little brighter and longer than it did.

Maybe Ra's 5-year stretch from '87 to '92 is the equivalent of what Jordan did when he was winning ships with the Bulls

Edit: then, again Ra did spit "Timeless, so age don't count in the booth/ When your flow stay submerged in the fountain of youth"

 

[Crayola Coyote]

Are y'all retarded? That Eric B shyt was merely a title. Eric B didn't make beats or DJ. He was just a gangster.

Btw, 18th Letter is fire.

Rakim's fall off had nothing to do with Eric B, it had to do with him not being able to change with the times.

Now this makes sense

 

[Hardaway]

@T.he I.nformant spinoff with is so necessary

 

[T.he I.nformant]

In short, this is the question I'm asking...

In response, I've basically heard:

• Who cares because Ra's GOAT-ness makes him teflon
• Bu, bu, but '87-'92
• He missed Eric B...
• Ra couldn't adapt to the times
• Dr. Dre screwed him
• [Something, something]...Nas
• I still check for Rakim and that's all that matters {in the "it's still real to me damnit" voice}

Few other additions:

• Sarcastically compare Ra's situation to some other great (from music or sport) who also hasn't done anything lately as a way to mock a premise of this thread
• Ra hasn't diversified his portfolio with acting or some other business venture
• He can't rhyme forever
• Unreasonable to think he'll always be hot, popular, or relevant with the masses

 

[The_Third_Man]

How can fans check for Rakim when he doesn't have any new music out? he's basically retired. Seventh Seal was wack, so I'm not anticipating anything by Ra to be honest.

at least it's better than releasing albums on regular basis that nobody care about

 

[Yagirlcheatinonus]

Nas is rakim left testicle

 

[DANJ!]

I did this post like a year back... this kinda sums up what we're discussing... and hopefully can help bury this Eric B shyt

The biggest thing was... Rakim had been gone for the better part of 5 years, so he missed a whole generation of hip-hop. The last he'd made an album was in summer '92. Nas was just dropping "Halftime", Biggie was just signed, Pac wasn't a big name yet, Wu-Tang was still coming together, Snoop had just debuted on "Deep Cover". There was no Bone Thugs, no Bootcamp Click, no Mobb Deep, no Outkast, no Jay, Bad Boy Records was still just an idea, Death Row wasn't off the ground yet, No Limit was local, the South in general hadn't had many artists making waves (except for The Geto Boys and 2 Live Crew). So for him to come back in fall '97, the game had changed so much there wasn't a chance he was gonna still be on top. He did better than most of the older dudes did around that time, but he was still considered "old school" by then. The game had changed twice since he'd been gone. All of those rappers had blown up since he'd left, AND on top of that, there were newer rappers like Mase, DMX, LOX, Pun, Canibus, etc. starting to come up.

 

[NatiboyB]

I just want to know whose in the pic

 

[T.he I.nformant]

Why is James Brown the Godfather of Soul? Dude hasn't released an album since 2002 and no top 10 hit for decades.

Why is MJ the King of Pop, Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad were decades ago, aint nobody patiently waiting for MJ to moonwalk.

Why is the other MJ one of the GOATS, his last ring was 98.

Why are Marvin, Hendrix, the Stones, Beatles and Miles Davis considered GOATS, some of that list are still alive so no excuse, we waiting for Hot 16's out here,,,,

Ali is still alive why is he A Great, no one has checked Ali for boxing for decades, dude got dusted by Berbick in his last fight, WTF Cassius!

On second thought these are some #HotTakes when those threads dropping??

 

[Art Barr]

nikkaz talking about artist and a culture they were not cognitively and culturally aware about.

Only toys talk like this,...


Art Barr

 

[eazy253]

Are y'all retarded? That Eric B shyt was merely a title. Eric B didn't make beats or DJ. He was just a gangster.

Btw, 18th Letter is fire.

Rakim's fall off had nothing to do with Eric B, it had to do with him not being able to change with the times.

Or crack

 

[T.he I.nformant]

nikkaz talking about artist and a culture they were not cognitively and culturally aware about.

Only toys talk like this,...


Art Barr

I'm not surprised an old head is catching feelings about nikkas putting another old head under the microscope a bit y'all so sensitive; either enlighten us with your supreme knowledge or kick rocks

 

[T.he I.nformant]

You couldn't have a Nas without a Rakim. He just fell off cause he started smoking crack. And dudes started rapping more about selling dope and killing each other rather than metaphysical mystical spherical lyrical miracles.

Hip hop has dumbed down to the point where it's damn near retarded. And I don't say that as a hater, it just is. I'd rather the nikka fall off than grow dreads and be singing crack and codeine carols for strippers.

Or crack

 

[Lucky Me]

@T.he I.nformant spinoff with is so necessary

yup, these old heads will get mad af If u slander KRS, but probably haven't sat down and listened to one of his albums in 15 years.

 

[Still Benefited]

Not like Jay wasn't rapping in '87, though. I guess he just wasn't serious and/or good enough at that point. Jay was inspired by the Rakims and Kanes as demonstrated by how different he rapped before releasing Readonable Doubt. At any rate, pointing out the gap between Ra and Jay their dropping commercial debuts does not respond to why Ra hasn't dropped a solid project that was received well since '97.



I'm just curious how or why he wasn't able to change with the times. Ra dropped genre-changing/defining work between '87 to '92 and that inspired a generation of rappers. Just wondering why he wasn't as popular or relevant as those artists that he so clearly inspired post-'92.

I don't think its fair to say Rakim couldn't change with the times,because it seems like he REFUSED to change with the times....You cant really get on a artist case as far as not being "checked for" in that situation....Am I gonna knock Rakim because he didn't make horrible and embarrassing records like "headsprung" like LL?

I do think versatility can be argued on another rappers behalf if you want to argue them OVER Rakim,just don't think it should be held against Rakim because he wanted to be a artist his way....His catalogue being "ehhh" is another story and a good point though.

On Rakims behalf you can argue he came first and didn't have a blueprint to work from,cats in the 90's were more talented emcees due to the fact they had rhyming blueprints like Rakim to follow....Its easier when you can follow the leader,than be the leader

Innovation,and originality don't really get enough credit in hiphop,the people who built on those innovations get all the credit

WIth that said at the end of the day that's the way it gotta be, catalogue is what counts,and Rakim just doesn't add up to be goat