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Posted On: December 5th 2025, 03:33 pm
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The Influence / 📍Global / 1987-Present
Ask any respected MC about their influences and Rakim’s name appears. Nas. Jay-Z. Eminem. Kendrick Lamar. J. Cole. Bun B. The list extends across generations, regions, styles. They all studied Rakim. His internal rhymes. His multisyllabic patterns. His jazz-influenced phrasing. His ability to write rather than freestyle. Nas said it clearly: “He was like an instrument within the music. What he was saying had never been done before.” DJ Clark Kent explained: “Rakim was the most important MC ever. Everybody was rapping before Rakim. Then Rakim comes and everybody starts rhyming.” The difference matters. Rakim elevated the craft. He invented flow. He showed what was possible. And everyone who came after had to study his work.
1/ Rakim, Rock The Bells, Boston, 2008. Photo by Michael Wong.
#Rakim #BeautifulLosers #PaidInFull
Ask any respected MC about their influences and Rakim’s name appears. Nas. Jay-Z. Eminem. Kendrick Lamar. J. Cole. Bun B. The list extends across generations, regions, styles. They all studied Rakim. His internal rhymes. His multisyllabic patterns. His jazz-influenced phrasing. His ability to write rather than freestyle. Nas said it clearly: “He was like an instrument within the music. What he was saying had never been done before.” DJ Clark Kent explained: “Rakim was the most important MC ever. Everybody was rapping before Rakim. Then Rakim comes and everybody starts rhyming.” The difference matters. Rakim elevated the craft. He invented flow. He showed what was possible. And everyone who came after had to study his work.
1/ Rakim, Rock The Bells, Boston, 2008. Photo by Michael Wong.
#Rakim #BeautifulLosers #PaidInFull
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