Rakim

The 18th Letter unfolds like a hip-hop version of a Lewis Farrakhan tract: name-dropping biblical characters; discussing the superiority of the Asiatic black male; and drawing parallels between hieroglyphics and graffiti as well as the earth's rotation and that of a turntable. And this is just the first song.

Not long before hip-hop gave way to gangsta rap in the late '80s, Rakim was the new-school
MC of the moment, using a smooth baritone to become the jazz soloist of mystic Afrocentric
rap. Along with his street-militant Strong Island alter ego, Chuck D of Public Enemy, Rakim
reigned with metaphoric weapons – the microphone and a numerological method of urban
storytelling. Fusing spacey Bambaataa stylings with funk samplings, Rakim and his... More >

His canon has a clarity his comeback can't match ("When I'm Flowin'," "It's Been a Long Time") (Grade - **)