Hituup said:
I wish you'd stop riding rakim. This guy has been irrelevant for so long that I don't even understand how he makes any greatest mc's list in this day and age. Rakim is a garbage man as of now we speak. His 2 albums on MCA sucked. Give it up man. And I'm laughing at you telling people to STFU because to me you are a joke. Calling him a god. You have to be some 70's crackbaby that fell in love with Rakim in the 80s. Get out of the late 80's mostwanted Yeah, he changed the game, but what else has he done since that time period. Nothing. His voice and flow is boring. He couldn't rock a crowd for a million dollars. In order for an emcee to be considered great, you'd have to be timeless. As of right now Rakim is outdated. And I've never thought Rakim was better than Big Daddy Kane anyway. When Rakim was hot, the era was on lock by Daddy Kane.
1. Greatest MC's of all time in itself means that it's not based on the entire period of hip-hop, but based on the quality of the work produced. Thus, your assertion is asinine.
2. His two albums on MCA sucked? Then why do you say
The Master was good in your next paragraph? You don't have to answer that, I'll tell the people reading this why. It's because you felt the need to exaggerate (or lie, whichever is preferred by the individual reader of this) about your feelings toward the single album to make your point in this paragraph seem more concrete.
3. I didn't dub him "a god." Everyone deeply associated with or a true fan of the industry did. You should listen to the intro of
The Master one more time (and please don't try and make a comment about that.. everyone already knows Ra is a cocky s.o.b.)
4. I was born in 1986. I started listening to rap in 1998. Way to insult me personally. It really does wonders for your argument.
5. Outdated? Everyone takes from him (minus some from the South). This style
is Rakim. Everyone that I've made listen to my Rakim CD's loves him. These are people that never even heard of him before, such as my roommate who immediately stole the CD from me and put it on his computer.
6. As for the Big Daddy Kane thing, it's a personal opinion that I respect. I am also a fan of Kane.
Hituup said:
The Master was an okay/average album. I could call it mediocre you know, but I'm giving it some credit. Nothing really special about it though.
Good album, but not great.
Hituup said:
The 18th Letter had only 10-12 songs, but he claims its a double album. Half of which was his greatest hits with his partner Eric B. and the other half containing about ten half ass songs. What a gyp. It was not his best work It was weak. His technique wasn't cutting edge.
OK, so tell me what you think of these albums:
- Criminal Minded
- Paid in Full
- By All Means Necessary
- Long Live the Kane
- Strictly Business
- Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
- Illmatic
- Thug Life Volume I
- The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory
- Be
None of these albums have more than 12 songs, but are all readily considered classics (
Illmatic and
Paid in Full only have 10 and they are two albums always brought up in the "best ever" discussion). So what does the length have to do with it?
Also, not every copy of the album was sold with
The Book of Life.
If you don't respect me, respect 7 Syns, arguably our biggest hip-hop head, who believes that it is his best work.
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Hituup said:
Paid in Full, Follow the Leader, Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em, and Don't Sweat the Technique. This is what you refer to when you talk about Rakim and greatness. The guy made 4 good albums with his duo partner Eric B. but when he released his 2 other albums on MCA after his split with Eric B 4-5 years prior it wasn't up to standard. The guy had intelligent delivery and great-tight delivery for his time, but as of now he's just living off of something he did in the past.
Have you heard some of his recent stuff that has leaked? Tight lyrics.
Hituup said:
The "flop" you mentioned was his biggest hit he ever released. It did significantly better on the charts than all of his albums with Eric B.
Yeah, I'm sure going gold is a big success. Sure he has never caught on to White America and whites period with his rhyming ability and music, but if Rakim wants his mark to remain as the "G.O.A.T." then he has to at least once in his career try to win over the mainstream crowd or else no one will really care about his music in the future. He's already loosing credibility. Sure he may not care about sales and may care about his artistry, but I'm sure he's making his artistry for the people, but if the people don't appreciate it then he's doing music for nothing.
That's why Ra is considered by most hip-hop fans to be the greatest - he doesn't try to win anyone over. He keeps it pure. You're probably a guy who bitches about 50 Cent being pop. You can't have it both ways man.