Rakim Is The Greatest Rapper In Hip-Hop History
By Ruben Ayala III
Throughout Hip-Hop history there’s always been that discussion of who is single handedly the greatest rapper in the genre’s history, and rightfully there is no clear or right or wrong answer, but if you’re proposed as the greatest you also have to be the most influential as well. With that said, Rakim is the greatest rapper in Hip-Hop history. Rakim came up during what is said to be the “Golden Age of Hip-Hop” and at that time there were heavyweights of the genre everywhere from KRS-One to Kool Moe Dee to Big Daddy Kane as well as a load of others, but Rakim seemed to be the leader of the pack. Even though there was incredible talent once Rakim made it into the Hip-Hop scene he came into it with his own style and flow. Before Rakim, there weren’t many rappers that sounded as technically and lyrically superior, many rappers of the time had the same type of rhyme scheme and flow from Kool Moe Dee to DMC and Run from Run-D.M.C, but Rakim came in with a laid back flow and lyrics that sounded far superior then other acts at the time and for that he’s got to be the most influential to ever do it, because through the late 1980’s and 1990’s artists took that style and perfected it further.
One of the most incredible things about Rakim is that when he first started out he was only eighteen years old. Even though Hip-Hop is a young man’s genre it’s still incredible when someone at eighteen years old comes in far more complex and superior from their peers as Rakim was. Rakim sterred away from what seemed like the hyper extensive lyrics and tone of artists like Run-D.M.C and LL Cool J and focused on the quality of the lyrics and made the tone of a rap song more serious and thought provoking. That decision proved to be the most important step Hip-Hop was able to make, because this one shift in style and lyrics influenced a whole era that came after from Jay-Z to Nas to Biggie to new artists like Kendrick Lamar and J.Cole. Rakim’s production was also far superior and sounded better then a lot of other acts at the time so that was also a influential move.
Sometimes music just becomes dated and that happens with every generation. This happens in Hip-Hop as well especially with earlier music from the 1980’s, but there are those exceptions from every era of Hip-Hop. Artists like Run-D.M.C and Kool Moe Dee might sound dated from today’s standards, but artists like Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, Public Enemy, and NWA will always sound relevant, because all of them brought something new and created influential styles that would shape the genre in what it would ultimately become. If you listen to a Rakim record today it’ll still sound great, because his records were so groundbreaking and influential at the time of their initial release. This further establishes why Rakim is probably the greatest rapper in Hip-Hop history, because in order to be considered the greatest you got to be able to make something timeless.
It’s crazy to think that the impact of one artist seemed to change the whole identity of a genre of music. Without Rakim your favorite rapper wouldn’t exist. Rakim has influenced everybody from Jay-Z and Nas to artists like J.Cole and Kendrick Lamar. Hip-Hop might have been able to make this push without the influence of Rakim, but it’s hard to think of Hip-Hop and not immediately think of Rakim. Rakim is basically in every rapper’s top five and that even goes for the new artists, well the ones that actually rap. Every rapper that has came and showed a spectacular show for their lyrics and wordplay and complexity immediately have to be traced to Rakim, now that’s influence.
Now, there’s no right or wrong answer when it comes to things like this it’s all a matter of opinion. Some may say Nas is the greatest to do it, some may say Jay-Z, today people say Kendrick or Cole, but guess who practically gave birth to all their styles. There is a serious and valid argument that Rakim is the greatest to touch a microphone and most people that grew up listening to him and even his peers would willingly agree. Rakim certainly doesn’t get the praise that he really should, because he influenced thirty years of what the music would become for bad or for worst. For this reason is why Rakim is the greatest to ever do it.
