Rakim

[roosta]

Inspired by my Edan thread..

I completely forgot just how amazing Rakim is/was.

Listen to "Follow the Leader (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95gP3m-uBHA&feature=fvst)". That first verse is stunning.

I put The 18th Letter Best-Of disc on my iPod after years of not listening to him and I was blown away by how good the songs are.

Back in the day he was always on the "Greatest of all time" lists, but these days it seems he's been forgotten.

So follow me and were ya thinkin' you were first?
Let's travel at magnificent speeds around the Universe
What could ya say as the Earth gets further and further away
Planets are small as balls of clay
Astray into the Milky Way - world's outasight
Far as the eye can see - not even a satellite
Now stop and turn around and look
As ya stare in the darkness, ya knowledge is took!

[Lyman Zerga]

w0rd

[cj hood]

FTL was the first cd i ever bought. rakim is hiphop....no movies, no cologne or clothing line....just rhymes!!!

the 'R is my jam!

[mickill]

rakim is hiphop....no movies, no cologne or clothing line....just rhymes!!!

Well, not for nothing, but he did have a small part in this (http://img.movieberry.com/static/photos/27405/poster.jpg), endorsed this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbiq2iEDo0Q&feature=related), and subsequently got drunk enough to do this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTSsTmcvxc4). And I do recall him being in some South Pole and Lugz ads. So it's not like he was always winning.

But yeah, I still have the original Paid In Full tape I stole from my cousin when I was a kid, and I can remember the day I bought my Follow the Leader record. I didn't think it could get any better than the first song, until I heard Microphone Fiend.

[mickill]

CLASSIC (http://www.beastieboys.com/bbs/newreply.php?do=postreply&t=94336)

[Sir SkratchaLot]

"I start to think and then I sink
Into the paper like I was ink
When I’m writing, I’m trapped in between the lines,
I escape when I finish the rhyme..."


Here's some Edan you might have missed if you don't buy vinyl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYa-lHe3iMI&feature=related

The flipside is Ultra 88 (where he does a Ultramag tribute) which later came out on the Primitive Plus LP.

[mickill]

Or you could just listen to this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EocYZTB0Sc) instead.

[Guy Incognito]

paid in full is my favourite rap of all time

my fave album is dont sweat the technique cos it was bit of a suprise at the time that they were still awesome, no idea if this is considered a shit album or not but i thought their time had passed and wasnt expectin much and its legendary

i'd say 95% of the mix cds i have made for people have had Paid in Full on.

rakims vocals are legendary and are a blueprint for how it should be done

[Planetary]

Timeless, so age don't count in the booth

When ya flow stays submerged in the fountain of youth

[easy 3]

Rakim is awesome.

The best Eric B & Rakim tracks are definitely amongst my favourite tracks of all time - Follow the Leader, Microphone Fiend, Let the Rhythm Hit 'em, Know the Ledge etc, etc - just so many absolute classics - a lot of the album-based tracks are solid too like Mahogany, Ghetto, and Relax with Pep.