Rakim

Released: November 4, 1997

Songwriter: Rakim

Producer: DJ Premier

{*from the movie "Wildstyle"*}
If you was born in New York City, let me hear say "You know that"!
YOU KNOW THAT

[Verse 1: Rakim]
Aiyo, once upon a rhyme where the scenery sets, you see stress
Street's a matter of life and death, no regrets
Life's a test, it's trife wit' special effects
Neighbourhood's full of reps, cities are projects
Where the young cadets get stripes from the vets
And comrades quest to be the next to finesse
Collect debts and select bets with death threats
Object - Chedder, better your total net
Where trends are set from ways to express the outfits
Friends get wet tryin' to make ends connect
Avenues to check, boulevards to sweat
The smell of gunsmoke's more common than cigarettes
WE GOT cliques for wreck
WE LIKE Pits for pets
WE GOT Giants and Jets, the Knicks, Yanks and Mets
WE LIKE much respect, the sex extra wet
And high-tech dialect you ain't catch yet

(The Bronx
Ya out there?
No doubt
Brooklyn
Ya out there)

[Verse 2: Rakim]
Aiyo, we got blocks and blocks with
Big shots with big knots and big props
Yo, this is where the bullshit stops
Where herbs get got, if you snitch, you get shot
We get down and leave the town in a state of shock
WE GOT dangerous hang out spots and slick cops
Place called Rikers Island where kids get locked
A lotta gear to rock with blocks of clothes shops
Styles are top notch, this is the place to watch
So blast the box, the radio station is hot
Ease your mind staring at skylines from rooftops
Flip scripts for chips, and new whips off the lot
Quick to call a shot, pollitic with thick plots
And the Garden of Eden against the sea that we got
To make sure the core of the Big Apple don't rot
Where seeings believing, we be achieving a lot
Where disc jocks created hip-hop, check it out!

(Queens - ya out there? no doubt
Manhattan - no doubt
New York city, Staten Island
New York, New York, Long Island
New York - ya out there?)

[Verse 3: Rakim]
Aiyo, we got five boroughs of ghettos with many places to meet
You get lost in busy streets, the city that never sleeps
Mecca, Pelan, Medina, the population increase
The desert and the oasis, New York, the far east
With Gods and sheiks, pretty Amazons for weeks
Player dons that fleece, the family's black sheep
Icons that teach but we all act unique
We got stats to reach, so we all have to eat
A mass of peeps, with they own masterpiece
The crafts' elite, we be going past the peak
The latest technique no other place get as deep
Who parks release some of the world's greatest athletes
DJ's and MC's and graffiti artistes
Who use walls and subway trains for marquees
We go back to b-boys, breakdancing, breakbeats
And it'll never cease, and on that note, we say peace

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 18th Letter/The Book Of Life

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The 18th Letter/The Book Of Life (1997)

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