Important Information

William Michael Griffin Jr.
(born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name Rakim, is an American rapper.
One half of golden age hip hop duo Eric B.
& Rakim, he is widely regarded as one of the most influential and most skilled MCs of all time.Eric B.
& Rakim's classic album Paid in Full was named the greatest hip hop album of all time by MTV in 2006, while Rakim himself was ranked #4 on MTV's list of the Greatest MCs of All Time.
Steve Huey of Allmusic stated that "Rakim is near-universally acknowledged as one of the greatest MCs -- perhaps the greatest -- of all time within the hip-hop community." The editors of About.com ranked him #1 on their list of the 'Top 50 MCs of Our Time (1987–2007)'.
Rakim began his career as the emcee of the rap duo Eric B.
& Rakim, who in 2011 were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In 2012, The Source ranked him #1 on their list of the 'Top 50 Lyricists of All Time'.1995–99: DebutFrom 1995 through 1996, Rakim recorded several demos/songs by himself, then he eventually returned to recording in 1997 with The 18th Letter, which included collaborations with DJ Premier and Pete Rock; which was released in two versions, one of which included an Eric B.
& Rakim greatest hits disc titled The Book of Life.
The critical reception of the album was positive, and it was certified gold.In 1999, Rakim released The Master, which received very good reviews as well.2000–07: Aftermath Entertainment and departureRakim was signed to Dr.
Dre's Aftermath Entertainment record label in 2000, for work on an album tentatively titled Oh, My God.
The album underwent numerous changes in artistic direction and personnel and was delayed several times.
While working on the album, Rakim made guest appearances on numerous Aftermath projects, including the hit single "Addictive" by Truth Hurts, the Dr.
Dre-produced "The Watcher Part 2" by Jay-Z, and Eminem's 8 Mile soundtrack.However, Rakim left the label in 2003 and Oh, My God was indefinitely shelved.
After Rakim eventually left Aftermath Entertainment, he stated that the reason he departed the label was because of creative differences with Dr.
Dre.
Rakim used a metaphorical example that Dr.
Dre wanted Rakim to write about killing someone, while Rakim wanted to write about the resurrection of someone.
Rakim signed with DreamWorks Records shortly afterward, but the label closed shortly after that.2007–present: The Seventh SealRakim retreated to his Connecticut estate to work leisurely on music.
Not having released an album since 1999, he eschewed touring in favor of infrequent gigs.
Rakim was able to retain the tracks he had made with Dr.
Dre and, in 2006, announced that he would release a new studio album, The Seventh Seal.
The album was delayed into 2009; instead, he followed up with a live album, The Archive: Live, Lost & Found, in 2008.
In an interview with Billboard in 2007, when asked about story behind The Seventh Seal's title, Rakim said,The number 7 has a lot of significance.
The seventh letter of the [Supreme\] alphabet is G—that stands for God.
There are seven continents, seven seas.
The Seventh Seal deals with that and also some revelations in the Bible.
Some call it the end of the world, but for me it's the end of the old and the beginning of the new.
By me naming my album that, I'm using it metaphorically in hip hop.
I'm hoping to kill the old state of hip hop and start with the new.In another interview with Billboard in 2009, he stated,The seals are from the Bible—Revelations and the coming of the Apocalypse.
But Islam, Judaism, Christianity—all have a version of the same events.
The Lion of Judah breaks the seven seals one by one, each imparting knowledge and inflicting catastrophe, ending with seven trumpets announcing the end of Times.
After the Apocalypse, God rises from the ashes to recreate the Kingdom, taking only the greatest elements from the past with them.
When you look at Hip-Hop, I want to do that: to spit fire and take our best from the ashes to build our kingdom; to recognize all the regional styles, conscious lyrics, the tracks, underground, mainstream, the way we treat each other.
Lose the garbage and rebuild our scene.
I've always tried to insert consciousness and spirituality in my records, interpreting the writings of all cultures and religions and how they apply to life in modern times.The Seventh Seal was released on November 17, 2009, after several delays on Rakim's own Ra Records, TVM, and SMC Recordings and distributed through Fontana and Universal Music Group.
Considered a comeback album after a ten-year gap between releases, the album features the two singles: "Holy Are You", which was released on July 14, 2009, and "Walk These Streets" which was released on October 7, 2009.
It features production from several renowned hip hop artists, including Nottz, J.
Wells, Needlz, Jake One, and Nick Wiz The album sold 12,000 copies in the United States by November 22, 2009, according to SoundScan.
Upon its release, The Seventh Seal received generally mixed or average reviews from most music critics; it holds an aggregate score of 59/100 at Metacritic.In 2011, Rakim performed Paid in Full in its entirety at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City, in honor of the album's 25th anniversary.
He was backed by The Roots.In 2012, Rakim announced that he and Eric B.
will release a 25th anniversary edition of their 1987 album Paid in Full, which will contain new tracks recorded by Eric B.
& Rakim, by the end of 2012; Rakim announced he would release a new solo album by the end of 2012.
He performed at the annual Roots' Picnic in Philadelphia in June.
In an interview with The Detroit Free Press he announced he was in the studio with Pharrell Williams working on a new album set to be released in 2013, saying the first single will be released before the end of the year.On September 24, 2013, he released a collaborative single with DMX entitled "Don't Call Me".In 2014, Rakim is featured on the collaborative single with American rock band Linkin Park entitled "Guilty All the Same".
The song was released on March 6, 2014 under Warner Bros.
Records, as the first single for their upcoming sixth studio album, titled The Hunting Party.
He contributed his rap vocals during the bridge of the main version of the song; however, he is not featured on a radio edit of the song.
The song was officially released on March 7, 2014, for digital download.Rapping techniqueRakim's rhyming deviated from the simple rhyme patterns of early 1980s hip hop.
His free-rhythm style ignored bar lines and had earned comparisons to Thelonious Monk.
The New York Times' Ben Ratliff wrote that Rakim's "unblustery rapping developed the form beyond the flat-footed rhythms of schoolyard rhymes".
While many rappers developed their technique through improvisation, Rakim was one of the first to demonstrate advantages of a writerly style, as with for instance his pioneering use of internal rhyme and multisyllabic rhymes Unlike previous rappers such as LL Cool J, KRS-One, and Run-D.M.C., who delivered their vocals with high energy, Rakim employed a relaxed, stoic delivery.
According to MTV, "We'd been used to MCs like Run and DMC, Chuck D and KRS-One leaping on the mic shouting with energy and irreverence, but Rakim took a methodical approach to his microphone fiending.
He had a slow flow, and every line was blunt, mesmeric." Rakim's relaxed delivery resulted from his jazz influences; he had played the saxophone and was a John Coltrane fan.Rakim's subject matter often covered his own rapping skills and lyrical superiority over other rappers.
Allmusic editor Steve Huey comments that "the majority of his lyrics concern his own skills and his Islamic faith." He also notes Rakim for his "complex internal rhymes, literate imagery, velvet-smooth flow, and unpredictable, off-the-beat rhythms." Pitchfork Media writer Jess Harvell described his rapping as "authoritative, burnished, [and\] possessing an unflappable sense of rhythm".Musical stylePaid in Full, which contains gritty, heavy, and dark beats, marked the beginning of heavy sampling in hip hop records.
Of the album's ten tracks, three are instrumentals.
As a disc jockey, Eric B.
had reinstated the art of live turntable mixing.
His soul-filled sampling became influential in future hip hop production.
Music critic Robert Christgau noted that Eric B.
had incorporated "touches of horn or whistle deep in the mix" of his sampled percussion and scratches.Legacy and influencePaid in Full was released during the period in hip hop that became known as the golden age hip hop era.
Alex Ogg considered it the duo's magnum opus in his book The Men Behind Def Jam.
Rakim's rapping set a blueprint for future rappers and helped secure East Coast hip hop's reputation for innovative lyrical technique.
William Jelani Cobb stated in his book To the Break of Dawn that his rapping had "stepped outside" of the preceding era of old school hip hop and that while the vocabulary and lyrical dexterity of newer rappers had improved, it was "nowhere near what Rakim introduced to the genre".
The New York Times' Dimitri Ehrlich, who described the album as "an artistic and commercial benchmark", credited Rakim for helping "give birth to a musical genre" and leading "a quiet musical revolution, introducing a soft-spoken rapping style".
Allmusic's Steve Huey declared Paid in Full one of hip hop's most influential albums and "essential listening" for those interested in the genre's "basic musical foundations".
MTV ranked it at number one in "The Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time", stating it raised the standards of hip hop "both sonically and poetically" and described it as "captivating, profound, innovative and instantly influential".
The album is broken down track-by-track by Rakim in Brian Coleman's book Check the Technique.Rolling Stone magazine listed it at number 227 on "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", calling it "Ice-grilled, laid-back, diamond-sharp: Rakim is a front-runner in the race for Best Rapper Ever, and this album is a big reason why." Similarly, Blender magazine included the album in its "500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die".
Time magazine listed it as one of the eighteen albums of the 1980s in its "All-TIME 100" albums; editor Alan Light acknowledged the record for changing the "sound, flow, and potential" of hip hop and that if Rakim is "the greatest MC of all time, as many argue, this album is the evidence".Jess Harvell of Pitchfork Media complimented Rakim for an "endless display of pure skill" and described the album as "laidback and funky", but believed it contained "too much filler to get a free 'classic' pass".
Pitchfork Media placed Paid in Full at number fifty-two in its "Top 100 Albums of the 1980s"; editor Sam Chennault wrote that Rakim inspired a generation of MCs and "defined what it meant to be a hip-hop lyricist".
The rappers who have used the unique rapping style employed by Rakim and attribute it as inspiration include GZA, Ghostface Killah, and Raekwon (from the Wu-Tang Clan), Tupac, Nas, Kool G.
Rap, Jay-Z, The Notorious B.I.G., Eminem, and many more.
On July 11, 1995, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album platinum.
As of December 1997, it has sold over a million copies.