Rakim picks his favourite rap verse of all time: “A new style of pop off”
Rakim, nicknamed God MC, is a pioneer in the golden age of rap and probably your favourite rapper’s favourite rapper. One half the iconic duo Eric B & Rakim that ruled the New York hip hop scene in the late 80s and early 90s, boasting legendary albums like ‘Don’t Sweat the Technique’ and ‘Paid in Full’, the latter ranked first in MTV’s 2006 list of the greatest hip hop albums of all time, Rakim himself ranked fourth in their list of the greatest MCs of all time.
It’s safe to say that Rakim is no slouch, his legacy and impact on the culture are immeasurable and he’s recognised as the creator of some of the techniques used in modern rap that we take for granted today.
A big dreamer, Rakim, who grew up playing quarterback in high school, had aspirations of being a professional NFL player. His career trajectory took a huge turn left and then upward when he met rap legend Eric B as he was searching for New York’s best MC.
If there was any doubt that Rakim would be a success back then, there shouldn’t have been, as Eric B’s friend and the third legendary MC introduced, Melle Mel, allowed the two to record out of his home studio. The combination of three superstars was a sign of things to come.
Although the duo saw massive success, the community and those involved with the culture took note of their individual talents and contributions to the genre. MC Kool Dee wrote a book in 2003 titled There’s a God on the Mic: The True 50 Greatest MCs, and, of course, Rakim was mentioned. Writing about Rakim, Dee notes that “Rakim created flow”, a fundamental aspect of rap, something that we take as a given had to start somewhere, and it started with Rakim.
Deeper than simply flow, Rakim pioneered and eventually mastered the use of poetic techniques in rap, revolutionising it beyond freestyling over a beat or writing lyrics for deck mixing and sampling. Rakim introduced multisyllabic rhyming to the game, a technique that artists like J Cole and Kendrick Lamar use frequently.
When asked by SoulCutlure in a 2011 interview about his favourite self-penned verse, Rakim thought for a second and then answered with the whole verse, one of his from ‘The Punisher’ that was released on Eric B & Rakim’s final album together in the 90s, ‘Don’t Sweat the Technique’.
Looking back at his impact, there might not have been a better choice. Rakim chose his first verse in the song and focused on the lines “Go manufacture a match, show me after a blast of a master that has to make musical massacre”. Rakim’s historic effect and the techniques he forced into rap are evident in those two lines. The alliteration of m’s littered throughout and the pace, and more importantly the flow, that the syllables give to the piece is clear.
Rakim is also credited with introducing internal rhymes to rap, again this is clear in the two lines he provided in his answer. The rhyme of “manufacture” and “after” in the first line and the same with “master” and “massacre” in the second seems so basic now, but it was new when Rakim did it.
Rakim himself is aware of the effect those lines, that verse and the many others he wrote like it, had on the scene. Explaining why he chose that verse he said “at that time, it was kinda like a new style of pop-off”. So, the next time you appreciate a verse with Rakim’s techniques, send a thank you prayer to the God MC.