William Michael Griffin Jr. One half of golden age hip hop duo Eric B. Eric B.
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On a different note
Is President. His partnership with his DJ, Eric B. Yet in , The Source named him the greatest MC of all time. So our afternoon lecturer is, of course, one of the greatest to ever touch the microphone. You know, sometimes I like to start these things by playing a little music just to get us reset after having been outside for the rest of the day or just coming back in from lunch or something like that. What was it from from, …? So, this particular song, just as an example… I think whenever anybody thinks about your artistry and your music they obviously think about lyrics. And I just want to get a window into, perhaps using this as an example… What the process was like for you. You know, something like this, the single off of a new album.
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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 -- rhymes that occurred in the middle of lines, rather than just at the end.
We and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. By using our website and our services, you agree to our use of cookies as described in our Cookie Policy. 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.
