Rakim didn’t make the top 10 of the greatest rappers of all time and a few people lost their minds.
Sigh.
Put Things Into Perspective
Rolling Stone & Billboard aren’t “rap” magazines.
Rolling Stone was a rock-based magazine and realized along the way that sales go up when they put BLACK content inside. It’s the same reason why GQ suddenly covers rap.
Billboard is an antiquated publication based on the sale of music. If we are talking about real talent, then you should know sales do not make one great. There are quite a few rappers who did not have great sales who are lyrically great. Kool G. Rap being in the forefront of that list.
Those two aforementioned publications don’t represent Hip-Hop Culture so their opinions don’t really count.
I read a piece by Taiyo Coates and he put things in perspective for me.
Rolling Stone published a list of "The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time." They (egregiously) listed Michael Jackson at 86, but the more revealing, borderline sickening issue:
Of the 28 Music Editors and Journalists that contributed to the list, only 2 of them were Black.
Woosah!
I feel better now and hopefully, you do too.
I’ve come to realize that even if I wrote a piece on the greatness of Rakim’s My Melody it would not matter. These publications aren’t part of the culture. They listen to the music and talk thru it on some Star Trek observation -ish. They don’t get all of the references. The slang in the slang.
So Where Is Rakim In My Top 5
If I’m being honest, Rakim is in my top 5 mid 80’s to early rappers. Similar to Grandmaster Melle Mel’s The Message, Rakim set the tone with My Melody. Sure, everyone wops to Eric B For President but My Melody put every rapper on blast.
I take seven emcees put 'em in a line
And add seven more brothers who think they can rhyme
Well, it'll take seven more before I go for mine
Now that's twenty-one emcees ate up at the same time
Until that point, I don’t think I ever heard an emcee do math in a rhyme unless it was my 6th-grade teacher attempting to be cool.
Aw forget it!
BRB. I’ve got another piece to write.