How Rakim discovered his distinctive and laidback lyrical sound

New York lyricist Rakim (actual identify William Griffin) profoundly impacted hip-hop. That stated, though he was solely energetic for a quick period of time, he modified the style throughout his tenure regarding lyricism.

Griffin introduced advanced rhymes and had an plain presence when he touched the microphone. During the 1980s, the New York hip-hop landscape included the likes of Kool G Rap, Massive Daddy Kane, KRS-One and Chuck D. However, Rakim stood out as a star.

Alongside his partner-in-crime, Eric B, Griffin, with one album, reworked rap music fully and compelled his friends to rewrite and modify their lyrics. Griffin’s early hits nonetheless get performed in golf equipment, and his rhymes proceed to be recited by true hip-hop followers.

Griffin was laidback, relaxed and totally nonchalant in his supply, but by some means, he was leagues forward of his competitors lyrically. With difficult rhyme schemes and complex wordplay, Rakim revived a stagnant tradition.

As revealed in a number of interviews, earlier than he was on the hip-hop charts, Griffin studied jazz musicians like John Coltrane and Miles Davis as passionate saxophonists. Griffin was a lover of jazz. However, he rapidly perfected his craft and honed his expertise upon discovering rap music.

In 2019, Griffin sat down for an in-depth interview with Salon Talks journal to look again on his profession as a musician and spoke about how he turned such a potent lyricist and his evolution as a author over time. 

Griffin defined to the journalist that he needed to struggle to earn his spot and show himself to be an emcee domestically first. Explaining this, he revealed he was initially rejected, disclosing, “I got turned down plenty of times, but I think mom and pop, they taught me well and taught me values.” He continued to elucidate how resilience was instilled in him from a younger age, recalling, “Just trying to be a part, trying to keep up with everything. That was going on at a young age.”

Reflecting on the dog-eat-dog nature of the park cyphers in his hometown of Wyandanch, Lengthy Island, Griffin defined, “You had to go to the source, the party, you know what I mean? If it was in the park, if it was in somebody’s backyard or at the school, wherever it was, you had to go there and ask and beg, and you’d say to somebody, ‘Tell the DJ I’m pretty good.’ Whatever you could do to get on the mic was, by all means.”

The Paid In Full creator defined that is why he developed such a definite type, as he needed to deliver one thing distinctive to the cypher as a way to stand out. Throughout his dialog with Salon Talks, Griffin revealed that after listening to indignant, brash MCs on the park cyphers, he got here to the realisation {that a} calmer strategy with extra perspective would set him aside, unveiling, “I started writing with that in mind.” He added, “I just wanted to be myself as much as possible and create my own style, knowing that I was already a little different. I was always, a little laid back, not so much quiet, but I wasn’t a big mouth neither. So just realizing you stand a little more natural when you kick it like this.”

The Lengthy Island emcee admitted that the lyrical type he ended up growing was extra reflective of who he was as an individual, persevering with, “It was more natural to me, and it fitted my personality. And I think that was the main thing.”

The native park cyphers and his aggressive nature drove Griffin to not simply be the most effective however to indicate that the raucous, overly aggressive supply type wasn’t authentic, new and, most significantly, didn’t successfully talk something of substance.

You possibly can take heed to the monitor that encapsulates Griffin’s type completely by listening to his breakout hit ‘Paid In Full’ within the video under.