As a life long fan of this man and I've been anxiously awaiting this album for years. After the fall out with Dr. Dre I was concerned it would never happen. But then it did; and OH, MY GOD was it worth the wait! On the song "Won't Be Long" he says, "Mic sick, lyrics is still locked in the brain / Like Mike Vick, sittin in jail watchin the game / I wait 'til the day I - can play my - position / Or should I say the day I - obey my - addiction / Then complete my legacy / - Without compromising my artistic integrity" And being a man of his word he did exactly that. It's the perfect album for me at this stage in my life. This is a grown man's album. An album about real life; about real struggles and how to overcome them; an album that's not about money, sex, drugs or guns. Rakim has grown a lot and it's reflected in his music. This album proves that HipHop is not dead. It's very much alive, and pumping threw the veins of The R.
The Rhymes:
It's Rakim; nuff said. At least it should be. For those who don't know Rakim is the originator of intricately crafted lyrics packed with metaphors. Before him it was 1985 and there was nothing but ending rhymes in HipHop. Need an example? One of the hottest HipHop joints in 1985 was RUN-DMC's King Of Rock. It went something like this "Now we're the baddest of the bad, the coolest of the cool / I'm DMC I rock and roll, I'm DJ Run I rock and rule / It's not a Trick or Treat, and it's not a April Fool / It's all brand new, never ever old school" Uh...yeah. Again - NUFF SAID.
The First; The Last:
What better way for the original God MC to open a comeback album then with a track teaching all the would-be-rappers "How To Emcee". This joint undoubtedly will be studied by all lyricists, current and aspiring, for tips and tricks of the trade; strait form the mind and mouth of a legend. The closing is respectfully a dedication to Rakim's mother who passed in 2005. The track is appropriately titled "Dedicated" and is an emotionally moving biography of his mother's life, placed over a sample of No Doubt's "Don't Speak". No better way to end an album.
The Grade: A+ | Play: ""Man Above" | Skip: "Psychic Love"
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