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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)

Songs

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1
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When I B On Tha Mic E
Rakim
2
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Don't Sweat The Technique
Eric B.
3
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Know The Ledge
Eric B.
4
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BE ILL
Rakim
5
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Guess Who's Back
Rakim

Albums

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

Album • 2024
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The Master

Album • 1999
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Rakim x Milkcrate x Dubstep

EP • 2011
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G.O.Ds NETWORK - REB7RTH

Album • 2024
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The 18th Letter

Album • 1997
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Live

Album • 2008
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Supa Trav vs. Rakim: Beat 4 Beat the Instrumentals

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

Singles

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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

Videos

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When I B On Tha Mic

Rakim • 36M views
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Walk These Streets

Rakim • 1.3M 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 • 66K views
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GOD'S PLAYGROUND (feat. Fred The Godson & Skyzoo)

Rakim, DMX & 38 Spesh • 42K views
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Art Of Rap Freestyle

RakimVEVO • 420K views
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LOVE IS THE MESSAGE (feat. Snoop Dogg, Kobe Honeycutt, Louis King & Sally Green)

Planet Asia, Rakim, & Ras Kass • 224K views
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RAKIM G.O.D.'S NETWORK - REB7RTH [ALBUM SAMPLER]

Rakim • 19K views

Featured on

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Essential '90s Hip Hop

Playlist • YouTube Music
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Back to the Block Party

Playlist • YouTube Music
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'90s Hip Hop

Playlist • YouTube Music
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Hip Hop Library ('88-'95)

Playlist • YouTube Music
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Bring Da Ruckus

Playlist • YouTube Music

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