Talk:Rakim

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Rakim article.
Article policies
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography. For more information, visit the project page.
Biography Portal
B This article has been rated as B-Class on the project's quality scale. [FAQ]
This article is part of WikiProject Hip hop, an ongoing effort to improve articles related to hip hop culture and hip hop music. The goal of the project is to bring this article, along with all others to featured status. If you have any questions, concerns or wish to participate you can visit the main project page here.
??? This article has not yet received a rating on the Project's quality scale. Please rate the article and then leave a short summary here to explain the ratings and/or to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the article.


Contents

[edit] Picture

The picture is too big on this page...squishes the text..makes it look badUrthogie 16:51, 7 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Objectivity

I think a lot of the claims made on this page need to be toned down a little; no doubt he introduced many new techniques into rapping but at times this page sounds like it is written by his PR manager or hype man.

[edit] Pronunciation

Is it "rah-kim" or "rah-keem"? 24.33.229.62 22:56, 12 September 2005 (UTC)

  • "Rah-kim." He says it in just about every song - "Rakim gets stronger/as I get older" in "I Know You Got Soul," for example. | Keithlaw 02:47, 13 September 2005 (UTC)

It is pronounced as "rah-kim" is he muslim?? Yes he is


He changed the way that every emcee rhymed on the mic. He brought fluidity and substance to rhyme writing. -S.toure'

In raw talent he is the most skilled emcee (Move the Crowd) to ever live

Where is the seventh seal?

[edit] Muslim

where does it say on the VH1 page that he is muslim? It says "that he puts his Islamic Belief in songs", b.u.t. they probably mixed Islam up with The Nation of Gods and Earths. --72.199.153.17 04:40, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

VH1 never talks about the religion of the artists but in the song "Move the crowd" he says "Allah who I prays to the fullest and thats a blessin". In the album the 18th letter he commonly talks about Allah, Mecca, the Choron ie "It even says we are gods in the holy Choron" or "Bring up praise from mecca, make a phrase for the better

In new days to remember, always and forever "."From the mind which is one of allah's best designs"

 So obviously he is muslim. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.213.30.60 (talk • contribs) 3 August 2006

did u delete my comment because i was right?? wtf --72.199.153.17 02:28, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

I didn't delete anything, and you weren't right, he is muslim, isn't it a little obvious you thick moron. you don't know anything about the

R. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.69.137.36 (talk • contribs) 8 September 2006

And you obviously dont know anything about the Nation of Gods and Earths. Muslims can't have the name "Allah" because it signifies shirk. His name is Rakim Allah. He would of changed it if he was a Muslim. --72.199.134.3 22:27, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

Do they believe in the quron, no, oh thats what i thought, do they believe mecca as being a very devine place, no, thats what i thought.

but rakim does. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.69.138.6 (talk • contribs) 17 September 2006

You're right, sorry, I just thought it was common knowledge —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sklar OTHP (talk • contribs) 11 April 2007

they study the quran and they call harlem, mecca. now stfu and stop arguing with me because ur obviously wrong and your ignorant edits are just going to mess up the article for everyone. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.199.153.17 (talk • contribs) 27 September 2006

Um...bro...isn't it old news that he is muslim its not an argued point in the hiphop world so you arguing with me is um..well...stupid so stfu. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.69.137.37 (talk • contribs) 28 September 2006

he's not a Muslim numbnuts! 5% Nation isn't Islam homeboy, orthodox Muslims everywhere will agree that 5% Nation aka Nation of Gods and Earths is not Islam! For a Muslim to call themselves, that is outright blasphemy! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.12.116.135 (talk • contribs) 25 October 2006


ok the case is closed. if u watched the hip hop honors, he even gave a big shout out and claimed to be a 5 percenter. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.199.153.17 (talk • contribs) 26 October 2006


In the Master he makes many references to Allah (and his Name Rakim Allah) and in the cover he shouts out "the great nation of Islam"

He says "Imma Terorist, I never miss" that sounds kind of bad, if he would have said that after 9/11 he would have lost my support! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.153.204.116 (talk) 02:28, 20 October 2007 (UTC)

its obvious he claims to be a muslim. but perhaps he's just not a very good muslim since he calls him a god which is blasphemous. but perhaps he has some different beliefs about islam. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Siwhat (talk • contribs) 04:49, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

For this article, Rakim is a member of whatever religion a reliable source says he is. Saying it's obvious is not citing a reliable source. Saying a lyric of his says something that makes it clear to you is moot: song lyrics are not automatically autobiographical claims.
Some lyrics are stories (some fact, some fiction, some a mixture of both), some lyrics are used to make a point that we might not get or might misunderstand, some use enough poetic license to obscure any intended meaning (would Kanye West really "do anything for a blond dyke"? Why?).
Find a clear, unambiguous statement of Rakim's self-identification in a reliable source and we'll have something to say. Otherwise, we have nothing to report. - Mdsummermsw (talk) 15:41, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Technique section

Needs to be cleaned up. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.248.173.137 (talk • contribs) 16 March 2007

no way man, "But now I learned to earn 'cause I'm righteous, I feel great so maybe I might just..." is an example. This verse does not end in a complete thought. It ends in a cliff hanger that forces the audience to wait for the next verse to find out what he might just do, which is "...search for a nine to five". The movie-like suspense embedded in the rhyme heightened the already high sense of drama inherent in hip hop rhyming."

This shit is HILARIOUS.

Rakim is not a Muslim. That says even he himself Lycris. Listen to his songs properly. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.103.203.173 (talk) 11:03, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Popularization of various phrases

Is there any proof that Rakim "popularized" the phrases listed at the end of this article? (ie Dead presidents, etc). The fact that he says he did in a song is no proof, nor is the fact that he put it on an album in 198- and most rappers didnt use the same slang until 199-. It could have been popular on the streets long before. All I'm looking for is some sort of backup for this claim. At present there is none whatsoever, which is troubling in an article with such an obvious slant of trying to establish the biographee's "greatness".

Rakim definitely didn't coin the phrase "Dead Presidents" as a reference to money. Blues man Willie Dixon had a song of that title from around the 1950s Well I ain't broke but I'm bad bent/Everybody loves them dead presidents.

He definitely didn't invent the phrase dead presidents but I do think he helped make it a little more popular or at least more used, you know what I mean. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.219.24.85 (talk) 22:32, 21 October 2007 (UTC)

Do you think there should be a part that lists all of his nicknames like on the Ghostface killah page, ie Rakim, The 18th letter, The Soloist, The R, The solar controller, and there is like 10 more. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.219.24.85 (talk) 02:39, 26 October 2007 (UTC)

I suppose anybody who uses a phrase popularizes it... As for "master plan", c'mon, that's certainly been in common usage since before Rakim was born. Delete the section pending a rewrite? with some supporting evidence?

he wasn't the first person to say it but he might have been in hip hop. or at least made it popular in hip hop music. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Siwhat (talk • contribs) 04:43, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] LEGAL PROBLEMS WITH REGGAETON STAR "R.K.M"

Shouldnt it be included that Rakim won the case over R.K.M (rakim y ken-y) for the rights to the "Rakim" name, its included in the Rakim Y Ken-Y page.

[edit] Added back the Eric B section

It goes right from "Early Life" to "Solo Work;" it seems appropriate to include at least a few sentences about his partnership with Eric B, as that's arguably his greatest claim to fame and what he is best known for. 128.135.223.197 21:14, 13 November 2007 (UTC)

I think that it should include the discography of Eric B. & Rakim, that is extremely important especially Paid in Full. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.219.27.129 (talk) 00:56, 26 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] NAS

NAS.. Surely his effect on nas, relationship with nas and nas‘ tribute song to him (U.B.R.) should be mentioned.. perhaps in his legacy.. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dillon73 (talk • contribs) 15:29, 8 April 2008 (UTC)