Rakim

Featuring: Destiny Griffin

Producer: Lofey

[Intro]
Yeah
(There's a message, the song that I'm sing) New York City
(There's a message, the song that I'm sing) Ghettos world wide
(There's a message, the song that I'm singing)
It's the evil things that people do
The illegal dreams that we pursue
We don't think that we could lose

[Verse 1]
Ya'll know what my purpose is
I spit verses, to lift curses off my dead president worshippers
Back where the surface is, gangsters and murderers
Making money made us merciless
It's the birth of the streets, it's over they said
Rappers crossover they dead
I spit my verse with technique, 'til they knowing their ledge
First it's too deep, then I'm over their head
He too lyrical, and too subliminal
Everything from spiritual to criminal
It's a message in the bottle, open it
It's a lesson in survival, cope with it
It don't make sense to die, for the root of evil
It get too cerebral, when that loot seem legal
Either way it's hell, I can't save the world
But I can show them how to save themselves from the

[Hook]
Evil things that people do
The illegal dreams that we pursue
We don't think that we could lose
Call it cheese or cream or green or blue
It's the root of evil we done proved
It's supreme, from me to you

[Verse 2]
I see through the eyes of the prophets, King Tutankhamuns
And Martin's and Malcolm's, Elijah Muhammad's
Wise and with knowledge
Paid in full ain't just the size of the pockets
It's rise where the top is, rise economics
I'll show you that time
Is more valuable then them diamonds in your watches
You grind where the block is, you die for them dollars
What's worth more to you? Your life or your gwop is
Thugs is pitching, chicks is in the club stripping
Flipping drugs or pimping hood is blood or cripping
Latin Kings and Black Guerrillas
Government sits back hoping either that or crack will kill us
It sound like a setup and we the victims
One out of a million will beat the system
Getting rich from flipping bricks is over with
Take your chips and go legit from the

[Hook]

[Verse 3]
To my G's on the block that do what they gotta do
Don't get me wrong, I don't judge, I'm not knocking you
Guess that's what not having a job will do
People starving gotta get they dollars too
Get that gwop at night, it's a lot of strife
My advice, is don't get blinded by the light
Drug money and blood money got a price
Six feet under or 25 to life
Do a crime and you might do the time you serving
What's it worth when you do a crime and get murdered
Time is precious, time we earned it
Time to question your grind, is it worth it
It's time that we change the game
We been waiting for change, and it came (big up Obama)
Why play with death, play it safe
Do your best to stay away from the

[Hook x2]

The God MC, William Michael Griffin Jr. (b. January 28, 1968), known professionally as Rakim, is an American rapper representing the East Coast, hailing from Long Island, New York. Widely regarded as one of hip-hop’s most influential lyricists of all time, Rakim’s pioneering multisyllabic rhyming techniques demonstrated his lyrical superiority and helped cement his legacy.

Prior to his celebrated solo efforts, Rakim served as one half of the hip-hop duo, Eric B. & Rakim. The duo would go on to release a total of four studio albums before separating in 1992. Their 1987 debut album, Paid in Full, became a benchmark within hip-hop and inspired many future rappers, partly due to Rakim’s lyrical proficiency.

Coming off of a five-year hiatus, Rakim released his acclaimed debut solo album, The 18th Letter, in 1997. It is considered by many to be his best album, debuting at #4 on the Billboard 200 charts. Rakim’s 1999 sophomore album, The Master, received mixed reviews—it would be his last studio album for a decade until re-emerging with 2009’s, The Seventh Seal.

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The Seventh Seal

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The Seventh Seal (2009)

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