"the 18th letter" is Top 5 rakim songs

surv2syn

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rakim is wack right now he no where near the rakim of old

and by the way my top 5 goes like this

makaveli
nas
eminem
krs-one
g rap

oh, you mean RIGHT NOW this very second. I dont know. whats the latest thing he dropped?
 

surv2syn

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And as much as I respect him, I think Rakim is rhymin better than G Rap right now, Nas is rhymin elite no doubt. And Pac unfortunately dead and no posthumous abums been released for a while.

dude, its obvious you are a Rakim stan, and there is nothing wrong with that...but show SOME objectivity. Rakim aint been fukkin with G Rap since the Eric B days. G Rap has a claim to be the GOAT simply because his skills are just as sharp now as they were 15-20 years ago. aint too many young nikkas fukkin wit G Rap right now...much less dudes like Rakim. out of any nikka alive, G Rap has had the longest shelf life as far as lyrical potency.
 

NormanConnors

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Top 5? :what:

No.

This shyt was some of his worst. But for the sake of argument of the thread title

I Aint No Joke
Let The Rhythm Hit Em
The Ghetto
Dont Sweat The Technique
Lyrics of Fury

all>>>>>>>>>>>>than this shyt.

I'll even throw in a bonus. Know The Ledge.

not to mention I can list about another 5 songs that are better.

technique wise the OP is correct, the entire 18th letter album is technically flawless, Ra's rhyme schemes on this release are :wow: the 18th letter, saga begins, it's been a long time, guess who's back, even the ladies joint stay a while, all executed perfectly. Lyrically it was the best of 97
 
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NormanConnors

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yeah, I may be exaggerating a bit cuz I used to fukk with the 18th Letter hard :lolbron: Ra had a tiny catalog compared to other GOATs and although his post Eric B work had some potency, he was no longer ahead of his time which doesnt make those albums stand out lyrically like his previous ones. NOBODY was fukkin wit him during the Eric B run.

tiny catalog? Ra has arguably 3-4 classics. I'd take that over 10-15 albums with one hot song apiece
 

surv2syn

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technique was the OP is correct, the entire 18th letter album is technically flawless, Ra's rhyme schemes on this release are :wow: the 18th letter, saga begins, it's been a long time, guess who's back, even the ladies joint stay a while, all executed perfectly. Lyrically it was the best of 97

yeah, when the OP posted that video and I listened to it, I hadnt listened to any Ra in a while and I was thinking that was his later stuff, which I never really listened to. I fukked with the 18th Letter hard but the title track even though it was hot at the time, was far from my fav on that disc. It was his last great album. Technically it was flawless, but as I stated, by the time it came out you had some cats like AZ that were just as sharp technically with a new message and content.
 

surv2syn

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tiny catalog? Ra has arguably 3-4 classics. I'd take that over 10-15 albums with one hot song apiece

I said WHEN COMPARED to the other GOATs he has the least prolific catalog. that is a fact. the other GOATs had much more than 10-15 albums with one hot song. are you serious??? Look at KRS catalog, Nas, G Rap, Jay, LL, etc....when you speak of catalog that not just consists of albums but features as well. Rakim's catalog is potent, but as far as quantity he was only worth about a good 50 songs or so. That pales in comparison to other's who have claim to GOAT status. For instance, KRS has just as many classics as Ra, but then he has done about 4 times as much music....good music, not no wack shyt.
 

NormanConnors

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yeah, when the OP posted that video and I listened to it, I hadnt listened to any Ra in a while and I was thinking that was his later stuff, which I never really listened to. I fukked with the 18th Letter hard but the title track even though it was hot at the time, was far from my fav on that disc. It was his last great album. Technically it was flawless, but as I stated, by the time it came out you had some cats like AZ that were just as sharp technically with a new message and content.


:ehh:fair enough
 

NormanConnors

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When I'm flowin, theoretically speakin like a drummer
I take you through the streets to the parks in the summer
Or illustrate, a time and place you never been in
And make you focus on the future after seein the beginning
And my style wilds, like Miles on the trumpet


:wow:

did pete rock produce this joint? shyt is ill.


yes Pete did
 
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to prove his irrelevancy via Janet Jackson the hip hop community only needs to ask R one question and one question only: What have you done for me lately? The world and anyone of relevancy could give a F about R lol
 

NormanConnors

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Nas is a great lyricist and even better artist but I don't think he's quite Rakim lyrically.

Ra held his own with a prime Canibus (outshined him by a bit imo), washed Talib on a track, washed Jay on the watcher 2, washed Nas, Kanye and KRS on classic. Got Black Thought on their collab a couple years ago. Had the best track lyrically and scheme wise on the 8 mile soundtrack. Ra aint no joke and he meant that, even 25 years or so later
 

NormanConnors

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to prove his irrelevancy via Janet Jackson the hip hop community only needs to ask R one question and one question only: What have you done for me lately? The world and anyone of relevancy could give a F about R lol

lol Ra tours quiet often, if there was no demand, he wouldn't get any shows
 

NormanConnors

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I said WHEN COMPARED to the other GOATs he has the least prolific catalog. that is a fact. the other GOATs had much more than 10-15 albums with one hot song. are you serious??? Look at KRS catalog, Nas, G Rap, Jay, LL, etc....when you speak of catalog that not just consists of albums but features as well. Rakim's catalog is potent, but as far as quantity he was only worth about a good 50 songs or so. That pales in comparison to other's who have claim to GOAT status. For instance, KRS has just as many classics as Ra, but then he has done about 4 times as much music....good music, not no wack shyt.

I'd give you Nas but you mean to tell me LL, KRS, G-Rap and Jay don't have any wack shyt in their catalog? Based off of quality I'd put Ra over them.

KRS is like one of those boxers that fights longer than what he should, KRS is :flabbynsick: if you look at the gap between now and the last time he actually had some potent shyt
 

surv2syn

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I'd give you Nas but you mean to tell me LL, KRS, G-Rap and Jay don't have any wack shyt in their catalog? Based off of quality I'd put Ra over them.

KRS is like one of those boxers that fights longer than what he should, KRS is :flabbynsick: if you look at the gap between now and the last time he actually had some potent shyt

no breh....you are misinterpreting what I am saying. if we talkin steak....Ra has a good size steak with a small amount of fat on it. the other guys I mentioned, while they have a lot more fat to trim, they have much more meat. thats what I am saying. if Ra had a deeper catalog, he'd have more fat too....also.....

KRS is still putting out quality music, its just that he isnt "relevant" in the state of hip hop as it is today. have you heard Royalty Check? Survival Skills? The BDP Album? Godsville? that shyt aint :flabbynsick: by a long shot.
 

The Ruler 09

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dude, its obvious you are a Rakim stan, and there is nothing wrong with that...but show SOME objectivity. Rakim aint been fukkin with G Rap since the Eric B days. G Rap has a claim to be the GOAT simply because his skills are just as sharp now as they were 15-20 years ago. aint too many young nikkas fukkin wit G Rap right now...much less dudes like Rakim. out of any nikka alive, G Rap has had the longest shelf life as far as lyrical potency.

I'm not a Rakim stan at all. I'm not a stan of any artist. I am being completely and totally objective because I have nothing but respect and admiration for both of them. It's opinions and if you disagree cool but I think Ra is rhyming better.... when it comes to voice, delivery, lyrically, conceptually, content and many other aspects. That's actually arguable, many would say G Rap's skills have fallen off, me personally I think he is still dope. But for instance if you think Half A Klip is better than Rakim's recent shyt I would strongly and hugely disagree. I would strongly disagree Riches Royalty and Respect was either, strongly... we can debate them if you want to. And aren't those the recent two projects? Your making yourself sound like a G Rap stan with your comments. I got mad love for G Rap and Rakim.... I'm completely objective.. they are two great MC's, now and always.
 

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Ra held his own with a prime Canibus (outshined him by a bit imo), washed Talib on a track, washed Jay on the watcher 2, washed Nas, Kanye and KRS on classic. Got Black Thought on their collab a couple years ago. Had the best track lyrically and scheme wise on the 8 mile soundtrack. Ra aint no joke and he meant that, even 25 years or so later

That's what I'm saying. Rakim is a fukking animal right now. I genuinely don't think people fully comprehend what an incredible lyricist he is right now due to a lack of understanding of lyricism. But I have a deep understanding of lyricism and Rakim is a MASTER lyricist. He's phenomenal. If you bring up the lyrics you see content, multies, rhymes, knowledge, techniques, so much, he's a great lyricist. What's the Talib and Rakim track? And what's the Black Thought one? I think he had the best track on the 8 Mile soundtrack no doubt, fukking killed that shyt.
 
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