Another classic unreleased Rakim song from the archives of producer Dominic Owen.”Get Visual” is the third song out of four I recorded with Rakim. This would later turn up on the 18th Letter album as “When Im Flowin”. Recorded @ High Class Studios, Brooklyn, New York, 1995.

Hip hop’s golden age began in 1986, the day Rakim stepped to a microphone to record “Eric B Is President.” Only 18 years old (though he sounded considerably more worldly), Rakim (real name William Griffin) had a smooth, effortless flow that brought a cool melodicism and high intelligence to the MC game—he gave both fire [cont.]

“What’s Wrong,” was initially produced and recorded for Rakim’s “Seventh Seal” (2009) LP, but due to clearance issues was nixed from the retail release of the project. It has since sat dormant until Rakim gave the track back to Marco and he decided to use it for his forthcoming free-LP “Newport Authority 2” as Marco [cont.]

Rakim’s 1995 track sees an alternate version, produced by Dominic Owen.

Rakim and R.A. the Rugged Man at No Mystery studio working on a movie soundtrack; they take time off to kick it and speak on a swipe Rakim took at Kane back in the day.

Reebok Classics and Complex team up to release a mini-documentary on legendary Long Island, New York emcee, William “Rakim” Griffin Jr.

Audio’s a little rough, but Rakim interviews are few and far in between. The Elite Money Empire (@EMETakeover) Presents to you: Rakim’s (@EricBandRakim) Reebok (@Reebok) Classics (@ReebokClassics) Interview in NYC hosted by Complex Magazine (@ComplexMag). We sat down with the great and asked him “Who he is a fan of and who he’d like to [cont.]

In this intensive 20-minute long interview with Montreality, the legendary Rakim speaks about: – His story (0:27) – The type of student he was at school (0:58) – Jobs he’s had as a teenager growing up (2:34) – What he spent his 1st big paycheck on (4:09) – The key to success (4:53) – Books [cont.]

ASAP Rocky meets Rakim for the first time. As the story goes, ASAP Rocky’s real name is Rakim, as his mother was a huge fan of the real Rakim. When Rocky was a baby, his mom got an autograph from Rakim on Rocky’s diaper.

Premo starts off the interview by talking to Nick Huff Barili about the Re:Generation project, working with Slick Rick and confirming that he is still collaborating on an album with Nas (Yes its true!!!). In the second part of the interview, Premier says that he has not talked to Solar before or after Guru’s passing [cont.]

Big Paul Rosenberg, high profile rap manager to Eminem, celebrated his 40th birthday in New York over the weekend. Showing his age, he invited EPMD, Nas, Rakim, Craig G, Dana Dane, and others to perform. Jon Shecter proceeded to tell me all about it at Surrender on Friday with every jealously-inducing detail.

Oooooh word? Let’s make this happen. Rock The Bells or Paid Dues 2012. Charity event. Something.

Crowds poured into London’s Hammersmith Apollo on May 10, 2011 for a historic Hip Hop show with legends Rakim, De la Soul and Blackstar coming together onstage for the experience that was Science of Speech. Stay tuned for SoulCulture TV’s exclusive coverage of the event, capturing live performances of iconic classics and backstage antics caught [cont.]

Rakim joined The Roots on stage at the Blue Note in NYC to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Eric B and Rakim’s seminal Paid In Full LP, performing the entire album for a live audience. In the above clip, Rakim and Black Thought talk about the collaboration.

Swizzy’s Monster Mondays is in effect…. With Rakim, too? Oh my god. [Audio clip: view full post to listen] LISTEN: Swizz Beatz – “King Tut” (feat. Rakim) Swizz Beatz – “King Tut” (feat. Rakim)

Rakim speaks to Sway @ Rock The Bells, discussing an early version of “Let The Rhythm Hit ‘Em” that might have sparked a beef with Big Daddy Kane. He also discusses his favorite rappers of today’s generation.

The “18th Letter” discusses Nas, as well as his own collaboration with a certain son of Bob Marley.

Do you listen to Poetical Prophets, Brick City Kids, Original Flavor, Ricky D, Kid Wizard Rakim, Simply II Positive, or Darkman X? You probably do, but just don’t know it yet. A blog called Onetwann digs into the archives and unearths a treasure trove of lost pre-major label demos from the likes of Jay-Z, Slick [cont.]

Quick interview with Rakim where he talks about who his favorite artist is in the game right now.

Last week we showed you The 20 Most Embarrassing Sellout Moments In Hip-Hop History. On the flipside of that coin, there have been some dope moments when rappers starred in commercials for products, many times the commercials themselves more memorable than the items they were pushing. Let’s take a look….. 20. Lil Jon + Subway [cont.]