Words.worth

Ra, Rakim, Rakim Allah, Rakim the God, Rakim the Master, Rakim the 18th Letter, and Rakim the fiend of a mic are all monikers that he has gone by.

Whatever one knows him as he is simply a legend and the reason why most of today's rappers even have their delivery and style. Rakim is everything great about every other rapper combined to create a gumbo of empirical emcee excellence.

Consciousness. He is a five percenter with a historical perspective and knows how to deliver a message. Listen to Who Is God (The Mystery) from his album The 18th Letter. He breaks down the beginning of man and the universe with the type of introspect and preciseness that physicists and scholars alike could not explain better.

Story-telling. Slick Rick, Biggie, Kool G Rap and Scarface are considered the standard of storytellers. However, Rakim is right there. The key difference is he simply chooses not to convey stories in his raps as much. When he does choose to bless the mic with a story it is magical. Mahogany is still one of my favorite songs (not just rap but songs) of all-time. The amount of creativity and smoothness that is infused in the lyrics are nothing short of perfection.

Delivery. How many rappers have a voice that almost become one with the instrumental? Two maybe three. Rakim is at the top of the list of those rappers. The best way to describe his delivery would be effortless. Most of today's generation thinks rap music did not begin until Biggie and Tupac henceforth, when they think of smooth deliveries those two along with Nas come to their collective minds. It is really a shame that Ra gets lost in the mix because he simply had the best delivery ever. He was the Nat King Cole of rap. If you want proof then listen to Follow the Leader the title track from his second LP with DJ Eric B. "I can go on for days and days with rhyme displays that engrave as deep as x-rays." That bar is classic Rakim.

Influence and Lyrics. Ultimately, influence as an emcee is what determines how great one really becomes. That same influence is determined by one's lyrics. This is why Rakim is number one on the list. His influence extends across generations and transcends rap. Most of today's young aficionados of the genre do not even realize how Rakim revolutionized rap. Before Rakim rappers were using the most basic meter in their lyrics. It was the type of meter where the last word in each line rhymed to form what is known as feet and the flow was very deliberate with it's rhythm. Check the example from Run DMC's You Talk Too Much:

you talk about people, you don't even know
and you talk about places, you never go
you talk about your girl, from head to toe
i said your mouth's moving fast, and your brain's moving slow

Now examine Rakim's My Melody (which dropped a year later):

turn up the bass, check out my melody, hand out a cigar
i'm lettin knowledge be born, and my name's the R
A-K-I-M not like the rest of them, i'm not on a list
that's what i'm sayin, i drop science like a scientist

It is the same amount of bars but notice the key differences. First, there is an internal rhyme scheme instead of the last word rhyming. Second, Run DMC never uses words with more than two syllables. In contrast Rakim has the lyrical ability to effortlessly drop words with three or more syllables. Finally, there is a continuous rhythm with no pauses in Ra's bars, giving him the capability to say words that may not always technically rhyme. However, the rhythm makes them sound as if they do. This style of rap eventually became the standard for how rappers deliver their rhymes. For that we can thank Rakim the God.

Follow me into a solo
Get in the flow and you can picture like a photo
Music mixed mellow maintains to make
Melodies for MC's motivates the breaks
I'm everlastin, I can go on for days and days
With rhyme displays that engrave deep as X-rays
I can take a phrase that's rarely heard, FLIP IT
Now it's a daily word
I can get iller than 'Nam, a killin bomb
But no alarm - Rakim will remain calm
Self-esteem make me super superb and supreme
But for a microphone still I fiend
This was a tape I wasn't supposed to break
I was supposed to wait, but let's motivate
I want to see who can keep followin and swallowin
Takin the making, bitin it and borrowin
Brothers tried and others died to get the formula
But I'ma let ya sweat - you still ain't warm
You a step away from frozen, stiff as if ya posin
Dig into my brain as the rhyme gets chosen
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!
So keep starin soon ya suddenly see a star
You better follow it cause it's the R
This is a lesson if ya guessin and if ya borrowin
Hurry hurry step right up and keep followin
The Leader

Verse Two:

This is a lifetime mission, vision of prison
Aight listen
In this journey you're the journal I'm the journalist
Am I Eternal? Or an eternalist?
I'm about to flow long as I can possibly go
Keep ya movin cause the crowd said so
Dance - cuts rip ya pants
Eric B on the blades, bleedin to death - call the ambulance
Pull out my weapon and start to squeeze
A magnum as a microphone murderin' MC's
Let's quote a rhyme from a record I wrote
(follow the leader) Yeah - dope
Cause everytime I stop it seems ya stuck
Soon as ya try to step off ya self-destruct
I came to overcome before I'm gone
By showin and provin and lettin knowledge be born
Then after that I'll live forever - you disagree?
You say never? Then follow me!
From century to century you'll remember me
In history - not a mystery or a memory
God by nature, mind raised in Asia
Since you was tricked, I have to raise ya
From the cradle to the grave, but remember
You're not a slave
Cause we was put here to be much more than that
But we couldn't see it because our mind was trapped
But I'm here to break away the chains, take away the pains
Remake the brains, reveal my name
I guess nobody told you a little knowledge is dangerous
It can't be mixed, diluted; it can't be changed or switched
Here's a lesson if ya guessing and borrowing
Hurry hurry, step right up and keep following
The leader

Verse Three:

A furified freestyle, lyrics of fury
My third eye makes me shine like jewelry
You're just a rent-a-rapper, your rhymes are minute-maid
I'll be here when it fade to watch you flip like a renegade
I can't wait to break and eliminate
On every traitor or snake - so stay awake
and follow and follow, because the tempo's a trail
The stage is a cage, the mic is a third rail
I'm Rakim the Fiend of a Microphone
I'm not HIM, so leave my mic alone
Soon as the beat is felt, I'm ready to go
So fasten your seatbelt, cause I'm about to flow
No need to speed slow down to let the leader lead
Word to daddy, indeed!
The R's a rollin stone, so I'm rollin
Directions is told, then the rhymes are stolen
Stop buggin', a brother said, dig em, I never dug 'em
He couldn't follow the leader long enough so I drug 'em
into danger zone, he should arrange his own
Face it, it's basic, erase it, change ya tone
There's one R in the alphabet
It's a one-letter word and it's about to get
More complex from one rhyme to the next
Eric B be easy on the flex
I've been from state to state, followers tailgate
Keep comin but you came too late, but I'll wait
So back up, regroup, get a grip, come equipped
You're the next contestant - clap ya hands, you won a trip!
The price is right - don't make a deal too soon
How many notes could you name this tune?
Follow the Leader is the title, theme, task
Now ya know, you don't have to ask
Rap is Rhythm And Poetry, cuts create sound effects
You might catch up if you follow the records E. wrecks
Until then keep eatin and swallowin
You better take a deep breath and keep followin
The leader

*This blog is dedicated to my uncle Donald Lewis Sr. who passed away this past Saturday (May 6th) from complications due to diabetes. He was 55 years old. God has a place for you Uncle D.