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

[DANJ!]

This thing about Rakim's catalogue is being overstated a bit though... realistically, he only has two weak albums out of seven. Because to his credit, he didn't stay hanging around for years, repeatedly dropping half-assed albums trying to stay out there- something that many of his contemporaries DID do and ended up making themselves look ancient. Some might say this is making excuses for Ra, but as you young whippersnappers like to say- it is what it is. Rakim being absent for long periods of time does more for his legacy than coming out every year trying to appeal to a crowd that has moved on, or even worse trying to follow what everyone else is doing and sounding ridiculous.

 

[Booker T Garvey]

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.

and there you have it.I like Rakim and still think "JUICE" is a top 10 all time hip hop track

but this shyt:

 

[coose]

Let's be clear, Ra's place in hip-hop ain't on trial. So, I mean no disrespect. His legacy is certified. He's released classics and created a style for a lot of nikkas' favorite rappers to run with. He's quite simply one of the greatest and most influential rappers ever.

BUT...

And there's a big one

As much love and respect as Rakim gets, there is this glaring reality...

No one has cared about his music for a very, very long time. Ain't nobody patiently, anxiously waiting for Ra to spit 16s on the mic anymore.

He allegedly dropped an album that came and went in 2009. In fact, the most notable thing he did in the past 15 years is catch feelings about Nas's UBR.

Of course, Ra did most of his heavy lifting with Eric B. in the late 80s and early 90s: Paid in Full ('87), Follow the Leader ('88), Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em ('90), and Don't Sweat the Technique ('92). Not to mention '97's "solo effort," The 18th Letter.

But what the fukk has he done lately. I know, I know, there's a lot of old heads that ain't dropping music or ain't releasing shyt that a lot of nikkas want to hear. And you're right--this thread could have easily been about Kane. Or even rappers who are in the GOAT convo, as well, but still not releasing music that is actually reaching the masses--e.g. KRS, LL.

When you break it down purely by age, he is no more an "old head" than anyone else from the so-called golden age. Rakim's more like a peer to a lot of the nikkas we think are in contention for GOAT status. Son is just 47 years old.

That's a year older than Jay-Z.

Only five years older than Nas.

Yet he's seen like this grandfather. He's revered as this elder statesmen of hip-hop because he came first and pioneered some shyt. But, for some reason, he's not seen as someone who could and should be pushing the culture forward even more in today's climate.

Here's the thing, though. People still look forward to a Jay-Z or Nas project. In fact, they criticize when there's a delay or hold it against them if it's wack.

Rakim's career was 10 years (not a flash in the pan by any means ) but certainly not the 20 years and counting of a Nas. Think about it, he ain't been hot or relevant this century.

Why is Ra held to a different standard? Why the apparently different expectations?

He had a buzz again when he signed to aftermath and then that went they way it went

 

[Slystallion]

his biggest mistake was dissapearing during the golden age of the early to mid 90s in which he wasn't able to connect with the generation that became Nas Biggie and Jay Z fans so he was considered old school by the time his album came out in 97...i was like 13 or 14 when that album came out and didn't know who the fukk Rakim was sadly...I didn't really appreciate him until around 2001 when I began to download music

 

[JayBaldacci]

No one considers Rakim more of a GOAT than Nas

Even old heads will tell you Nas came and was riding the flow better than Ra ever did. Me personally not being an old head and listening to the majority of both catalogues, its not really a discussion at all. Nas was basically Apple to Rakim's Google.

huh... nas never fit his flow into every grove of the beat like ra did on certain joints. on top of that they're not even really that similar from flow to vocal tone to rhyme style.

 

[Indiglow Meta (R$G)]

and there you have it.I like Rakim and still think "JUICE" is a top 10 all time hip hop track

but this shyt:

Naw breh that was my shyt in 6th grade, you drawn.

 

[blizzard man]

maybe he should be like jay elec and drop like a joint a year and the occasional feature if the cheddar and song lineup is right.

 

[UserNameless]

I'll put it this way. .. G. Rap can hold his own with (and body) ANY rapper right now and not sound dated. Respect to Ra always tho. Played poppa to a lot of your fave rappers and really injected knowledge into the game. one of the best ever. some folks shelf life isn't the same as others.

 

[Bolzmark]

that discography outside of eric b

18th Letter was dope.

 

[Bolzmark]

Weak stance by OP. Consider this - was there a huge demand for new music from Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Rick James or Luther Vandross in the years before their deaths? No. But they are all greats and MJ is the GOAT. Longevity is without a doubt the hardest thing to achieve in music.

 

[Reebok Jones]

Rakim ushered in a new era of rap.
He's the reason your favorite rapper raps the way he does...
...so why does it matter if people want a Ra verse now?

You all tend to forget that whats "relevant" in music is dictated by 13-24yr olds...not people who are well versed in music.

Cause if Ra never existed someone else would've done all that shyt instead. Not taking away any credit for what Rakim actually did, it takes insane talent. But he built off of everyone else learning how to flow as well. Why else do you think all these other GOATs came out within a year of dude. The versatility of rapping was only just being discovered and Ra was the first to release it.

 

[T.he I.nformant]

Weak stance by OP. Consider this - was there a huge demand for new music from Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Rick James or Luther Vandross in the years before their deaths? No. But they are all greats and MJ is the GOAT. Longevity is without a doubt the hardest thing to achieve in music.

So, you're saying Rakim Allah is about to die?

 

[CASHAPP]

Sign up under the website in my sig brehs and get repped. Its more interesting than boring Rakim.

 

[HiredGun]

I remember this growing up...did Eric B. bring an informant or someone to that effect maybe even unknowingly around Kevin Chiles in the early 90's and this is why they parted around that time? Sometime after Let The Rhythm Hit Em'...if you listen and look you could tell the Paid In Full Posse had some hustlers and some stick up boys...the real 50cent was Eric B lil homie...Rakim..."I used to be a stick up kid...think of all the devious things I did...I used to roll up...this is a hold up...ain't nutn funny stop smiling...still don't nothing move but the money"

 

[Bolzmark]

So, you're saying Rakim Allah is about to die?

LOL, no. Ok I did use all dead artists huh? Take Prince...an all-time great. While he will get some anticipation if he dropped new stuff, it aint gonna be nothin like his Purple Rain days.