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Rakim

William Michael Griffin Jr., better known by his stage name Rakim, is an American rapper. He is one half of golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, with whom he released four albums: Paid in Full, Follow the Leader, Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em, and Don't Sweat the Technique. He also released four solo albums: The 18th Letter, The Master, The Seventh Seal, and G.O.D.'s Network: Reb7rth. Rakim is considered a transformative figure in hip hop for raising the bar for MC technique higher than it had ever been. Rakim helped to pioneer the use of internal rhymes and multisyllabic rhymes, and he was among the first to demonstrate the possibilities of sitting down to write intricately crafted lyrics packed with clever word choices and metaphors rather than the more improvisational styles and simpler rhyme patterns that predominated before him. Rakim is also credited with creating the overall shift from the more simplistic old school flows to more complex flows. Rapper Kool Moe Dee explained that before Rakim, the term 'flow' wasn't widely used – "Rakim is basically the inventor of flow. We were not even using the word flow until Rakim came along. From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakim) under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode)

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When I B On Tha Mic E

2

Don't Sweat The Technique

3

Know The Ledge

4

BE ILL

5

Guess Who's Back

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PENDULUM SWING (DELUXE MAXI PACK) (feat. La The Darkman & Chino XL)

Album • 2024

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The 18th Letter

Album • 1997

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Live

Album • 2008

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G.O.Ds NETWORK - REB7RTH

Album • 2024

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Don't Sweat The Technique

Album • 1992

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The Seventh Seal

Album • 2010

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Let The Rhythm Hit 'Em

Album • 1990

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The Master

Album • 1999

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Rakim x Milkcrate x Dubstep

EP • 2011

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INTERNATIONAL (feat. Tristate)

2024

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NOW IS THE TIME (feat. Compton Menace)

2024

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No Mystery Presents: Don't Call Me (feat. Shontelle)

2013

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SIGN OF SE7EN (feat. Method Man & Big Twins)

2024

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BE ILL

2024

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What's Wrong

2013

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PENDULUM SWING (feat. La The Darkman & Chino XL)

2024

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Walk

2016

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GOD'S PLAYGROUND (feat. Fred The Godson & Skyzoo)

2024

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Walk

2016

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When I B On Tha Mic

Rakim • 35M views

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GOD'S PLAYGROUND (feat. Fred The Godson & Skyzoo)

Rakim, DMX & 38 Spesh • 36K views

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BE ILL

Masta Killa, Rakim & Kurupt • 1.3M views

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Walk These Streets

Rakim • 1.3M views

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LOVE IS THE MESSAGE (feat. Snoop Dogg, Kobe Honeycutt, Louis King & Sally Green)

Planet Asia, Rakim, & Ras Kass • 211K views

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Art Of Rap Freestyle

RakimVEVO • 418K views

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Rakim x B.G. x Hus KingPin feat. Compton Menace - NOW IS THE TIME [Official Visualizer]

Masta Killa, Rakim & Kurupt • 63K views

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RAKIM G.O.D.'S NETWORK - REB7RTH [ALBUM SAMPLER]

Rakim • 18K views

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Legendary Status

Playlist • YouTube Music

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Hip Hop Library ('88-'95)

Playlist • YouTube Music

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CREDITS: Curtis Mayfield

Playlist • YouTube Music

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Essential '90s Hip Hop

Playlist • YouTube Music

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1999: U Know What's Up

Playlist • YouTube Music

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Produced By: Just Blaze

Playlist • YouTube Music

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Back in the Day: Reflective Hip Hop

Playlist • YouTube Music

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Bring Da Ruckus

Playlist • YouTube Music

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'90s Hip Hop

Playlist • YouTube Music

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Back to the Block Party

Playlist • YouTube Music

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Redman

536K subscribers

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M.O.P.

24.6K subscribers

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Nas

2.04M subscribers

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KRS-One

69.3K subscribers

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Kool G Rap

21.6K subscribers

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Masta Ace

20.4K subscribers

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Gang Starr

279K subscribers

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Erick Sermon

71.3K subscribers

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Method Man

630K subscribers

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Mos Def

74.3K subscribers