Educate Da Forum - Hip-Hop Lyricists...Part 1 - Rakim

[4D]

This will be the first of many threads I will make on Hip-Hop's greatest lyricists, of course being the first of it's kind, it would have to be dedicated to the first rapper who really brought rapping to the level, that we now call lyricism...Rakim. In every topic like this, I will post photos, a biography, interviews, entire discography for download, and a selection of my favourite tracks available for people to check out, and also the lyrics to read while you listen to the track. I didn't want to have too much reading on this page, so I put links to articles and lyrics instead, if it would be better to have everything here together, please let me know.

Photos:



Bio:
Although he never became a household name, Rakim is near-universally acknowledged as one of the greatest MCs -- perhaps the greatest -- of all time within the hip-hop community. It isn't necessarily the substance of what he says that's helped him win numerous polls among rap fans in the know; the majority of his lyrics concern his own skills and his Islamic faith. But in terms of how he says it, Rakim is virtually unparalleled. His flow is smooth and liquid, inflected with jazz rhythms and carried off with an effortless cool that makes it sound as though he's not even breaking a sweat. He raised the bar for MC technique higher than it had ever been, helping to pioneer the use of internal rhymes -- i.e., rhymes that occurred in the middle of lines, rather than just at the end. Where many MCs of the time developed their technique through improvisational battles, Rakim was among the first to demonstrate the possibilities of sitting down and writing intricately crafted lyrics packed with clever word choices and metaphors (of course, he also had the delivery to articulate them). Even after his innovations were worshipfully absorbed and expanded upon by countless MCs who followed, Rakim's early work still sounds startlingly fresh, and his comeback recordings (beginning in the late '90s) only added to his legend.

Rakim's Full Bio - http://music.aol.com/artist/rakim/116720/biography

Articles:
Paid In Full named best hip-hop album ever by entertainment weekly:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1242564.htm
Rakim: Tha Return Of Tha Mic God - 2 Parts (Interview)
Part 1: http://www.thaformula.com/rakim_-_tha_return_of_tha_mic_god_-_part_1.htm
Part 2: http://thaformula.com/rakim_-_tha_return_of_tha_mic_god.htm
Rakim Allah: Guess Who's Back - Day 1 - 2 parts (Interview)
Part 1: http://thaformula.com/rakim_-_guess_who%27s_back_-_day_1.htm
Part 2: http://thaformula.com/rakim_-_guess_who%27s_back_-_day_2.htm
...And Bless The Mic For The Gods: Rakim Allah
http://www.popmatters.com/music/features/031119-rakim.shtml



Discography:

Major Releases:
Paid In Full -
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CU3HV6HW
Follow The Leader -
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=N9TGQ4IG
Let The Rhythm Hit 'Em -
http://www.sendspace.com/file/d250gm
Don't Sweat The Technique -
http://rapidshare.com/files/8037829/Eric_B._And_Rakim-Dont_Sweat_The_Technique-1992-.rar
The Master -
http://rapidshare.de/files/21948849/Rakim_-_1999_-_The_Master.zip
The 18th Letter -
http://www.sharebigfile.com/file/58241/Rakim---The-18th-Letter---Full-Album---HQ-192kbits-Stereo-LameMp3-CBR---by-JLee-ace.html
Mixtapes:
Legends Vol.1:
http://www.datpiff.com/Rakim-Legends-Vol-1-mid1365.html





Some Of My Favourite Rakim Tracks:

I Ain't No Joke
Play Or Download: http://www.zshare.net/audio/01-eric_b_and_rakim-i_aint_no_joke-mp3-3kv.html
Lyrics: http://www.ohhla.com/anonymous/rakim/paid/aintjoke.rkm.txt
My Melody:
Play Or Download: http://www.zshare.net/audio/03-eric_b_and_rakim-my_melody-mp3.html
Lyrics: http://www.ohhla.com/anonymous/rakim/paid/mymelody.rkm.txt
Follow The Leader:
Play 0r Download: http://www.zshare.net/audio/01-follow-the-leader-mp3.html
Lyrics: http://www.ohhla.com/anonymous/rakim/follow/follow.rkm.txt
No Competition:
Play Or Download: http://www.zshare.net/audio/08-no-competition-mp3.html
Lyrics: http://www.ohhla.com/anonymous/rakim/follow/no_comp.rkm.txt
Let The Rhythm Hit 'Em:
Play Or Download - http://www.zshare.net/audio/01-let-the-rhythm-hit-em-mp3.html
Lyrics - http://www.ohhla.com/anonymous/rakim/rhythm/rhythm.rkm.txt
Pass The Hand Grenade:
Play or Download - http://www.zshare.net/audio/03-pass-the-hand-grenade-mp3.html
Lyrics - http://www.ohhla.com/anonymous/rakim/dont_swt/grenade.rkm.txt
Know The Ledge
Play Or Download: http://www.zshare.net/audio/10-know-the-ledge-mp3.html
Lyrics: http://www.ohhla.com/anonymous/rakim/dont_swt/ledge.rkm.txt
It's The R:
Play or Download - http://www.zshare.net/audio/rakim-09-its_the_r-rns-mp3.html
Lyrics: http://www.ohhla.com/anonymous/rakim/master/the_R.rkm.txt
Real Shit:
Play or Download - http://www.zshare.net/audio/rakim-12-real_shit-rns-mp3.html
Lyrics: http://www.ohhla.com/anonymous/rakim/master/realshit.rkm.txt
The 18th Letter:
Play or Download - http://www.zshare.net/audio/02-the-18th-letter-mp3.html
Lyrics: http://www.ohhla.com/anonymous/rakim/18letter/18letter.rkm.txt
Mystery (Who Is God):
Play or Download - http://www.zshare.net/audio/13-the-mystery-who-is-god-mp3.html
Lyrics: http://www.ohhla.com/anonymous/rakim/18letter/mystery.rkm.txt


Links:

Official Site: http://www.rakim.com/
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakim
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Rakim


Upcoming Lyricists:
Big Pun
Nas
Biggie
Eminem
Pac
Canibus
Jay-Z
Big L
Common
Mf Doom
and many more...

[aleXander]

Alright man...propz for that ...i didn't knew shit about Rakim

[4D]

No probs man, make sure you check out those tracks at the bottom, and check out the lyrics!

[AspirinE]

ha ha cool.

if u need any help fordie i can type some shit up.

[AspirinE]

Rakim & Ken Y - Masterpiece World Tour:
http://rapidshare.com/files/6757781/Rak ... _.zip.html

lol fordie... Rakim and ken Y is some pop group... that link shouldnt be there.

edit: i removed it.

[4D]

Lmao, thanks for removing it Asp!

And yes, of course i`m gonna be needing some help, took me around 2 hours to do this one. I was gonna ask you to do the Mf Doom one anyway for sure, and hopefully you can help with some more. We should keep them all in the same format eg: photos, bio, interviews, discography, songs & lyrics.

When I have all of them done I want to make a new topic, and put them all into that one, each having their own post, we can then make that a sticky.

[C-Game]

fordie excellent thread man...
dam y or y do i hv slow internet

[Lil Pimp Tell 'Em]

probz fordie.. i got most of them stuff tho

[D@vid]

can someone say god? propz







i like the idea of doing this for every good lyricist

[*MIRANDA*]

good idea Fordie

[IceAxe]

propz on gatherin all that info

[4D]

Thanks everyone, glad ye like it!!

Don't forget to recommend other lyricists for this treatment too, the ones I mentioned at the bottom of the page are just me scraping the surface of hip-hop lyricism, if you've more name 'em.

[yoshi]

wow. it's dope, thanks Fordie

[Curious]

^what the purple dino said

oh n nice 2 c u started with my favourite

[Shads]

Fordie =

Nice One