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[Music/Spirituality] The God MC: Genius of RAKIM

"Working on a master plan"


All praise Kid Wizard aka Rakim Allah - the king of spiritual hip hop.


Born in 1968 and raised on Long Island, New York - William Michael Griffin Jr. otherwise known as 'Rakim' is one of the most gifted lyricists in the history of hip hop and one of the founders of the genre itself. In 1986 he was introduced to the Nation of Islam.


A year later his first album "Paid in Full (1987)" alongside producer Eric B. was released, the first of four albums made together until 1992 when the duo decided to split. It is now regarded as one of the greatest rap albums of all time, essentially the first of its kind in the late eighties, influencing the history of the genre forever with a new style and word play that changed the game.


This level of groundbreaking artistry would be repeated in his debut solo album "The 18th Letter / The Book Of Life (1997)" with Rakim in his prime essentially elevated to legendary status, reflecting in It's Been A Long Time (video below) on how - "They said I changed the times from the rhymes that I thought of, So I made some more to put the New World in Order".



Below are lyrics from his song "The Mystery" in which Rakim addresses the theme of God. Reading the lyrics as a poem enables you to fully appreciate the genius of his intellect and understand why his nickname is GOD MC:


"In eternal blackness, in the midst of the darkest night

Proteins and minerals, exist within specks of light

Solids liquids and gases, and sparks of light within

Infinite lengths and widths and depths and heights

No beginning or ending, the seven dimensions

Enough space for more than a million words and inventions

To travel through time within enough room to be the womb

Of the most high's great mind which he will soon make shine

With intelligent elements in sight that he will gather

In the realms of relativity electricity struck matter

Energies explode he reload to keep releasing

Atoms by the millions, til the numbers increasing

'Til it was burning he kept returning itself to the source

The hotter his thoughts it gave the center more force

He gave birth to the sun which would follow his laws

All caused by his mental intercourse, who is God?


He began to explain his craft, the master in the attic

His theoretical wisdom of the numerical system

He gave birth to all planets, inorganic, and organic

So you wouldn't take it for granted

To the East, and each speak the motion of peace

And harmony, and each show devotion to teach

The universe is to come, the whole world must go according

Know your galaxies and mirages stars start fallin

So stay in your orbit maintain safe and sound

Like the planets each cipher remains perfectly round


From unconciousness, to conciousness

By knowledging his wisdom his response is this

A understanding, which is the best part

He picked the third planet where new forms of life would start

He pursued show and prove every move in order

Back to the source he let off his resources in the water

Climb his climax, where the climate is at, high degrees

See he start to breathe deep in the darkest seas

And the plan is, to lay in the clays to form land

And expand, usin the same clays to born man

In his own image our origin begins in the East

Culture rise to breed, with the powers of peace

Deal in equality nature's policy is to be God

Build or destroy positively born life like Allah

And each one was given everlasting perfection

If each one keep living in the same direction

And life was life, and love was love

We went according by the laws of the world above

They showed us physically, we could reach infinity

But mentally, through the century we lost our identity

Life start and ending, we got trife and started sinning

Lost touch with the beginning now ciphers stop spinnin

And what was once easy became confused and hard

Which brings us back, to the mystic question, who is God?


Sixty-six trillion years since his face was shown

When the seventh angel appears, the mystery will be known

Check Revelations and Genesis, St. Luke and John

It even tells us we are Gods in the Holy Qu'ran

Wisdom Strength and Beauty, one of the meanings of God

G.O.D. you and me ? Gomars O Dubar?

Knowledge Wisdom Understanding Sun Moon and Star

Man Woman and Child, and so is Allah


And the universe has always existed

And existance was life

And Allah had no beginning because he is, what always was

Rakim Allah, peace

Now who is God?"

 

Following The Eighteenth Letter, Rakim would go onto release 2 more solo albums, The Master (1999) & The Seventh Seal (2009). In 2018 a 50 year old Rakim graced NPR Tiny Desk Studios in 2018 with a memorable performance of some classics and a reminder of why he is one of the greats.



"If you can see if you can solve the mystery, The answer revolves around your history, So carefully, I drop this degree, Scientifically, and realistically (Who is God?)" - Rakim

- Psychic Garden

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