Rakim gives his thoughts on Drake and Kendrick Lamar battle.
Rakim made his return to music with first album in over 15 years, as he dropped the project titled “G.O.D.s NETWORK: REB7RTH”. The God emcee sat down with Billboard for a new interview to talk to about the new album and hip-hop in general.
During the conversation, he was asked about the recent Drake and Kendrick Lamar diss battle. “I think that it was important, because these brothers are at the top of the game, and revered hip-hop,” he said. “You know, a lot of people in that position won’t accept no challenge, because they got too much to lose. So, it was dope that these brothers put the mainstream success down and said, “Yeah, let’s do it.”
“The battle put a lot of things in perspective — because it showed the difference between real hip-hop and mainstream hip-hop. Younger artists now know that there’s a difference. A lot of them didn’t even understand that. They just listened to the majority, not knowing that a lot of people don’t categorize what they were hearing as real hip-hop. The battle was very needed for the genre. I tip my hat to them brothers. Let’s just hope that it stays to the music.”
H econtinued, To the younger artists out there, do a little history, man, just like anything else. You want to learn about your family history, or your nationality’s history? Research it. Researching hip-hop is one of the illest things you can do. If you find out that your family came from great people and did great things, you’re gonna look at life a little differently. And when you look back at hip-hop and see where it came from and what this thing is about, it’ll give you a better understanding of what these brothers did. It’ll also make you feel a little better about what you represent.”
In the interview, he revealed that we will hear more new music from him. “I’m getting confident with my tracks. I gotta a lot of tracks over here. I just been storing the right time. I’m working on a solo Rakim joint and working on a couple other projects as well. So, I’m just looking forward to just staying in the studio. I took the year off from touring just so I could get studio work done. Hopefully, you hear a lot of new music from Rakim.”
Rakim says he wishes he had been at Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Pop Out’ concert and calls the Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake rap battle important.
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— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) June 21, 2024
