By Odeisel
Planet Ill: You dropped “My Melody” when you were 17. Run DMC was 17, 18. LL was 16. Historically that pushing forward of Hip-Hop has been done by younger people. Now we’re in a place where most of the better rappers are 30. Do you think Hip-Hop should be led by the young?
Rakim Allah: What’s good about rap is that the listener is not too biased. If a younger rapper comes through and he’s groundbreaking, of course that younger rapper is going to set trends. At this time, rap has been transitioning so much that it’s young in certain places. A rapper in a certain part of the world may not be able to finesse rap the way a veteran might. But then every few years you get that young cat that can come through and blaze trails. I think when the time presents itself rap allows it to happen.
I was taught by the forefathers, so I think that’s what allowed me to come in and have the impact that I did. I loved Grandmaster Caz, Mele Mel, Kool Moe Dee, they taught me well. What [ever] presents itself, Hip-Hop embraces. Lil Wayne he was young when he first got on. Now he’s acknowledged. So there’s still room for the young rappers, I think that the veterans present it a bit more appealing.
Planet Ill: You managed to pull off albums without profanity. Do you think MC’s right now are leaning on that [profanity]?
Rakim Allah: When I was coming up, to call a woman a B-word, it was like you reaching, you know? Twenty years later, they calling theyself that. So I think as time goes on, some of the things that was bad become not so bad.
I think our tolerance for certain things has gotten so high that a curse don’t really mean much no more in the face of some real serious things that’s going on. Like any artist they come into the game doing what they feel they want to do or what they feel they are. Someone might sit them down like we are now and ask them why they use so much profanity and they may think, “Whoa, I do use a lot.”
So some of the things we do we’re not even conscious of until that point; until somebody says, “Yo you curse a little too much.” Maybe it’s up to us to bring awareness of certain things, like you enough with the cursing, put some content or some substance on that verse. I think the more we do that the more they will have to submit or abide by it.
Planet Ill: Do you think rappers are slaves to their content?
Rakim Allah: I think it’s important for them to be as much of themselves as possible. You don’t have to be a thug to explain a murder. You don’t have to be a drug dealer to explain a sale. So when rappers come out and they have their gimmick or their angle or whatever, if that’s that rapper then yeah, you got the right to talk about that [selling drugs]. If you were heavily into busting your gun and that’s what you do then I feel you have a right to talk about it.
For those that haven’t lived it, we have to talk about it from 3rd person, and let the people know, “Hey, I’m not a killer, but I’ve seen a lot of people get killed.” I think that would not only justify what we’re doing, but explain the rapper itself. We won’t assume that this rapper is a killer just because he talks about it, we’ll know he’s just expressing himself about what he has seen.
If you be yourself you don’t have to put on no front or no gimmick every time you do a song. Just be you and the song will make sense and fit where it’s supposed to fit. Most of them ain’t doing shit. But for those that do they go the right to talk about it. For those that never lived it make sure you in 3rd person.
Planet Ill: What’s your favorite verse from Kane and your favorite verse from Kool G Rap if you have any?
Rakim Allah: To me, even today, I listen to certain rappers to keep me on my toes. I think G. Rap joint was [“Streets of New York”] Upstairs I cover my ears in fear, the man downstairs must have drank too many beers… G Rap was a nasty cat too man. Big up G wherever you at homie.
Kane had a handful of good ones too. See Kane was more of a punch line rapper. Me and G were [different]. Kane would come every four bars with a punch so it’s hard to get your hands on one joint. Kane said a bunch of slick joints. Big up though, Kane, my G.
Planet Ill: You and Kane’s battle manifested itself in the generation after you with the Nas and Jay-z battle. Did you ever look at it like, “Wow that’s like us?”
Rakim Allah: Actually, Nas gave me a call and he asked me what I think he should do. A mututal friend we had, was a kid named Chuck. Nas was like, ”Chuck said if I don’t do such and such, it’s over.” I said look my brother, and speaking from what I knew with me and Kane and everybody else, I said if you want to battle Jay-Z, you gotta do it because YOU want to do it. Not because I said you should do it or Chuck said you should do it or anybody.
Sometimes, you know you gotta mute your fans. You gotta do what you feel. You can’t let somebody else make that decision for you. Nas will tell you straight up that’s what I told him. That’s how it felt.
That’s how I looked at things with me and Kane. For a minute I almost played into it with the arrogance. You know ’80 something, fresh off the streets, you ready. In “Let The Rhythm Hit’Em” I said something to Kane. Eric B’s brother, Ant Live, knew Kane so Ant went and played it for Kane. They called me up and Lane was like, “Ra, I heard what you said on the joint, but you know I feel that we letting the people gas us up.” When I do what I do, I don’t be speaking on you.” He said, “But as soon as I play my joint they like ooo you talking ‘bout Ra?”
So you know it’s one of those things that people assume and gas it up. He was like, “That ain’t what I’m trying to do Ra.” So I changed the verse. I took like four to eight bars out. I almost fed into it in the beginning. I was the type like I knew Kane in the beginning. We met; I had seen him a few times and I was the type like if we see each other and we talk like everything is cool, and then you going home and writing rhymes about it, that’s some real fake shit, and I was going at him. But then I spoke to him on the phone and he said that ain’t really what he was thinking so I took the bars out.
Planet Ill: Why do you love music? What place does it have in your life?
Rakim Allah: To me music is happiness. You come up in the house and your moms got some Sarah Vaughn and the music is loud and she’s singing. Music became more than just sounds. It became a feeling to me.
It’s like we hear a certain joint from back in the day, it just brings everything out. You can see where you were, you can smell it. It’s a feeling man. I grew up watching people’s expression when music was played. That let me know it was a bit special. Being that my moms was so music oriented, I had that gene in me.
For those that really love music, it’s more than the sounds, it’s the feeling you get. If it’s nostalgic, if it’s déjà vu whatever it is, it’s a feeling you can’t explain.
Planet Ill: Anything else you want to say? Your mic.
Rakim: Peace to the people out there that love what I do. Without ya’ll I couldn’t be me. From ’86 to now keep representing that real music.
Part I
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