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Michael Wong

@mostnco

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Photographer Michael Wong
New York USA

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

@afrika_bambaataa_official @mostnco
Doing a repost
I shot this back in 2005 for Hip Hop Honors.
LOVE
RIP
LEGEND

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Beautiful Losers x Rakim
Paid In Full (white & gold variant), 2025
1 color gold silkscreen and custom gold embroidery on premium custom dyed 100% USA cotton heavy weight fleece (14.0 sq oz | 475 GSM)
Standard fit hoodie
Mens sizes S-XL
Limited edition (one run only)

One-piece, all self hoodie design, kangaroo pocket, care label located on wearer’s left side seam. Features a standard fit with a matching 2x1 ribbing and brushed gabardine French Terry for the fleece back finishing. Embroidered front graphics.

Beautiful Losers collections are one run only.

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Beautiful Losers x Rakim x Michael Wong
Lower East Side NYC, 2025
Gelatin silver metallic print on paper
14 x 11 inches
Photo by Michael Wong
Signed by the artist on verso

Beautiful Losers collections are one run only.

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Beautiful Losers x Rakim x Timberland
Butters, 2025
Customized Timberland boot (details below)
Mens sizes 9-13
Limited edition (one run only)

Custom tone-on-tone hand dipped rubber bottom with custom laser etching on each upper, our Butters limited edition boot is a customized version of the iconic and classic Men’s Timberland® Premium 6-Inch Boot. The original. Iconic, fully waterproof and featuring 400 grams of PrimaLoft® insulation, this boot features waterproof Premium Timberland® leather uppers with a cushioned collar. A removable, anti-fatigue footbed and steel shank designed for arch support work together to deliver all-day comfort. By purchasing this product, you are supporting Leather Working Group certified tanneries. 100% recycled PET laces. ReBOTL™ fabric lining containing at least 50% recycled plastic.

Beautiful Losers collections are one run only.

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The Only MC That Mattered / 📍New York / 2025

Earlier this year with our Palladium 1982 collection, we paid tribute to The Clash, famously dubbed “The only band that mattered”. Today, we honor another legend. Rakim—the inventor of flow, the God MC, the most studied lyricist in hip-hop history. This capsule centers on photographer Michael Wong’s 25+ year archive. Four photographic prints. Custom Timberland boots. Four skateboards. Four t-shirts. Four hoodies. Each piece built around Rakim’s handwritten “Paid In Full” lyrics and Wong’s intimate portraits. One run only. Limited edition. A tribute to the architect of modern rap and the photographer who documented him. Paid in Full.

1/ Rakim performing in Greenpoint Brooklyn, New York, 2008. Photo by Michael Wong.

#Rakim #BeautifulLosers #PaidInFull

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Beautiful Losers x Rakim
Portrait 1, 2025
Lacquer and printed graphics on skateboard
31.5 x 8.25 inches
Limited edition (one run only)

Beautiful Losers collections are one run only.

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Rankings and Recognition / 📍Global / All-Time Status

The accolades accumulated. MTV ranked Paid in Full as the greatest hip-hop album of all time. Rakim himself was ranked #4 on MTV’s list of Greatest MCs. AllMusic declared him “near-universally acknowledged as one of the greatest MCs—perhaps the greatest—of all time.” About.com placed him #2 on their Top 50 MCs of Our Time list. In 2012, The Source ranked him #1 on their list of Top 50 Lyricists of All Time. Rolling Stone included Paid in Full at 227 on their 500 Greatest Albums list. In 2013, he was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. These rankings attempt to quantify the unquantifiable. To measure impact, innovation, influence. But Rakim’s legacy exceeds numbers. It lives in the work itself.

1/ Rakim performing in 2008. Photo by Michael Wong.

Rakim BeautifulLosers PaidInFull

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Beautiful Losers x Rakim
Portrait 2, 2025
Silkscreen and black embroidery on black premium 100% USA cotton heavy weight jersey (6.5 sq oz | 220 GSM)
Standard fit short sleeve shirt
Mens sizes S-XL
Limited edition (one run only)

Side-seamed garment construction. 1x1 rib collar with straddle stitching. Cover stitched sleeves and bottom hem. Shoulder to shoulder taping. Silkscreened back graphic and embroidered front graphic.

Beautiful Losers collections are one run only.

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Beautiful Losers x Rakim x Michael Wong
Heads Up, 2025
Gelatin silver metallic print on paper
14 x 11 inches
Photo by Michael Wong
Signed by the artist on verso

Beautiful Losers collections are one run only.

3

0

Beautiful Losers x Rakim
Paid In Full (black & silver variant), 2025
1 color silver silkscreen and custom silver embroidery on premium custom dyed 100% USA cotton heavy weight fleece (14.0 sq oz | 475 GSM)
Standard fit hoodie
Mens sizes S-XL
Limited edition (one run only)

One-piece, all self hoodie design, kangaroo pocket, care label located on wearer’s left side seam. Features a standard fit with a matching 2x1 ribbing and brushed gabardine French Terry for the fleece back finishing. Embroidered back graphics.

Beautiful Losers collections are one run only.

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Most Studied MC / 📍Global / Universal Recognition

Kool Moe Dee stated: “I would venture to say that Rakim is the most studied MC ever. Any MC that came after 1986 had to study Rakim just to know what to be able to do.” The mathematics: four albums with Eric B. between 1987-1992. Three solo albums between 1997-2009. One recent comeback in 2024. But the influence extends beyond releases. It lives in teenage bedrooms, studying syllable placement. In studios where veterans still reference his techniques. In classrooms where Rakim’s lyrics are analyzed like poetry. Because that’s what they are. Poetry. Jazz. Scripture. His work became curriculum. Not through institutional mandate. But through necessity. To be a serious MC, you had to understand Rakim.

1/ Rakim in a hotel hallway before a show, Washington, DC, 2007. Photo by Michael Wong.

#Rakim #BeautifulLosers #PaidInFull

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Beautiful Losers x Rakim
Paid In Full (white & gold variant), 2025
1 color gold silkscreen and gold embroidery on white premium 100% USA cotton heavy weight jersey (6.5 sq oz | 220 GSM)
Standard fit short sleeve shirt
Mens sizes S-XL
Limited edition (one run only)

Side-seamed garment construction. 1x1 rib collar with straddle stitching. Cover stitched sleeves and bottom hem. Shoulder to shoulder taping. Silkscreened back graphic and embroidered front graphic.

Beautiful Losers collections are one run only.

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