Well, I've been browsing through the past couple of threads concerning hip hop music. None of them even mention Rakim. Jeez. I bet some cats here don't even know who Rakim is. If it weren't for Rakim, probably most of your favourite mainstream rappers today wouldn't even be in the game. Anyway, is there anyone else on this forum that actually recognizes Rakim as one of greatest emcees of all times?

FAWK MAINSTREAM, i hate how people think nowadays waht they hear on tha radio is real rap. pshh please

Rakim is tha truth

Yeah, I was beginning to think that I was the only one that felt Rakim on this forum. Good to see a fellow hip hop head.

alright since you all think to know who rakim is.

whos aceyalone? (not me, the real underground rapper)

Man, Rakim is pretty old school for me. But the hits from Eric B and Rakim are untouchable. I wouldn't say I'm an expert on Rakim, but the songs I listen to have incredible beats and lyricism. Favorite song would have to be Paid in Full (HA, typical answer, I know) but it really demonstrates why a lot of people put Rakim as #1 best emcee.

And seriously, I have to agree with you on this side of the forum. Like, nobody cared when I announced that Raekwon was releasing an Only Built for Cuban Linx II. I also heard rumors that Wutang was signing to Aftermath, but you know, since nobody cares, why bother making another ignored topic?

didnt he work wid Del Tha Funkee Homosapien?

nobody mentions rakim because most of the threads on here dont really pertain to him.. he isnt even really relevant today. if only aftermath didnt shelve him..

Dude that works with RJD2 as of now? lol. Well I'm a fan of RJD2, so I guess I knew about it a little.
Oh yeah and Freestyle Fellowship founding member. Of course. lol. My favourite song is "Hot Potato" by the crew. But dude, they are really old. Like early 90s.


Even after almost 20 years, Rakim's flow and Eric B.'s beats are fresh. Some emcees still can't compete after 20 freaking years. The reason Rakim never had beef with anyone was because there is no competition! Every serious emcee loves Rakim. I bet no one could name a major emcee that dislikes Rakim.
But yeah... Rakim is not even old school, and people still don't know him. Jeez. He totally changed the game forever. Eric B. and Rakim are almost like The Beatles in terms of changing music styles. If Rakim never came, we would have cats still rapping like Run DMC.

Yeah, I guess there is no reason to create a topic like this. Actually, I don't post in the music forum often. But, after looking through the forums with no reference to a hip hop legend, it kinda makes me disappointed. There are even people out there that think Biggie and Tupac were old school! Biggie and Tupac came out like yesterday. LOL! Old school is like Afrika Bambaataa and Kool Herc.

^You have to realize the generation gap you're talking to here.

People who are like 21+ might recognize Rakim for the much needed fame he deserves, but a lot of people on Soompi fit well under that age limit. These are people like 16 years old who don't care about anyone except Lil' Wayne or TI.

Lol, yeah a lot of people only go so far back as Biggie and Tupac because they never grew up with the Golden Age of Hiphop during their childhood. And blatantly, a lot of them don't even care.

I thought I was the youngest one on this forum to like hiphop music, seeing how the rest of my generation fails to realize the genius of rap in the 90s, or even the pioneers before that. It's a frustrating thing to cope with -- none of my friends who are within my age range even care about artists way later than Rakim. I mean, given the comparison, probably a lot of them would put Kanye before Pete Rock. It's just how it is.

Rakim is dope and maybe rakim never beefed but eric b sure did if i remeber correctly he ran some cat out of new york. but i was never arealy a rakim fan his style never really apealled to me. i always prefered Gangstarr or some good ol jeru da damaja. speaking of todays youth its sad that no one reconizes people like Rakim, Kool G,das efx, big daddy kane etc. todays youth just wants them i can't readgot rappers like nelly, d4l, chingy, theese cats try to potray themselves as thugs and think there music is influential but there nothing compared to the original gods...

i think hes old school..

actually i consider everything released before 36 chambers as old school.



"think to know who rakim is"? and then you ask if anyone knows another relatively-unknown-by-the-mainstream emcee?

whats the point of that? if youre trying to find out whos the biggest backpacker on the boards then hell, you can have the cookie.

I take it that you consider "The Golden Age" a part of old school. Personally, I think the Golden Age ended when Dr. Dre came out with The Chronic, when G-funk was hitting the mainstream.

And Rakim was by no means underground either. He's just very different from today's mainstream. The unfortunate thing about Eric B. and Rakim was that he was commercially not that successful as other artists. I mean, he deserved the best actually since his skills as an emcee were the greatest. Hell, he created modern emceeing techniques.

I always wonder how the term black moon coined "backpacker" became to mean a underground hip-hop junkie, lets take it back to the days when you carried tooleys in your backpacks!!!

fuc mainstream? eric b and rakim were basically mainstream in the 80's and 90's

It's true that Rakim had a different approach and style when he and Eric B came out, but what artists, from even as late as the 90s, aren't different from today's mainstream? The mainstream music that pollutes the radio stations today is loaded with Southern nonsense (And as one who lives in the South, it's pretty sad to witness that it's degraded to this) as well as a few meager attempts at bringing back the East and West Coasts.

Perhaps this is why Rakim no longer appeals to the upcoming generation. The majority of people on Soompi aren't going to know, much less care, about why Rakim is nearly forgotten today. They'd rather have their Young Jeezy CDs while bumping "Grillz" in their car. Come on man, did you really expect to see avid fans of Rakim on Soompi? I get happy when someone even knows who Naughty by Nature is.

And just out of pure curiousity, how would you rate GZA in comparison to Rakim? Both were exceptional emcees.

johhnnnyyyyyyyyy Bllllllaaaazzzzzzeeeeeeee issssssssss dddddddddooooooopppeeeeeeeeee

I love the wu C.R.E.A.M has to be one of my favorite tracks i mean the wutang has a power house of lyricist U-god, Killah Priest, Bobby digital, and raekwon the chef.
Liquid swords is on my top ten album gza is a true five percenter.
shii since we talking about consious rappers who here likes brand nubians i just got lord jamars five percent album.

how did this thread some to talking about rakim to aceyalone to main stream to backpackers to underground to wutang?? wtf


as for rakim himself. he's dope, but i never really got into him, but liked some of his music esp the duo of him and eric b days, pretty sure i still have my cassette copy of the album paid in full haha

rakim is old school since he came out in the 80's hehe..and yea ask any emcee today who they idolized growing up and you'll be amazed at how many say rakim. he changed the way rappers rapped....i wasn't into him when he first came out because i was still a toddler, but a few years ago i started listening to more old school rap and ra's name kept coming up..i think rakim works really good with dj premier..i hope rakim's album comes out soon.. i still wished the album with dr. dre came out..