bigted Posted September 6, 2006 Report Share Posted September 6, 2006 http://rap.about.com/od/intervie2/a/RakimInterview.htm Rakim Interview Besides Jay-Z, Rakim is probably the most revered rapper alive, and undoubtedly one of the greatest. Yet, he's more approachable than you would expect. Following an explosive concert at Houston's Warehouse Live, Ra relinquished his "cool-off" and spent a couple of hours autographing posters, hats, t-shirts, 20-dollar bills, cassette tapes, CDs; and listening to white teenagers who thought that The Master--Ra's least successful LP--was the best thing next to electricity. When we finally got a chance to pick his brain, Ra had a lot to say about the benefit of delaying The Seventh Seal, his relationship with Nas, and the dangerous curves hip-hop's drawing-up for the youth. The crowd was 'live' tonight. Did you anticipate that? What was on your mind coming to Houston? Rakim:To be truthful, being that the game has changed so much, you come hoping for the best and expecting the worst. To my surprise, there's a lot of love out here for me. It confirms everything that I thought that I started. It makes me feel a little better knowing that I still got an audience to return to, man. It's been along time since you came to Houston. You really felt at home here. Rakim: I didn't expect it like that. I thought I'd come through and get a little love, but I didn't expect that. Like I said it's a blessing to be in the game this long and go so far from home and get love like this. I was talking to a friend of mine awhile ago and I said, "Rakim's about to drop an album." He said, "I hope he's not coming on an independent label, because people are gonna sleep on it." Apparently, we're at that point where people are interested in knowing what label you're on. How do you approach that? Rakim: Presentation is a big thing now. They want to see you come out big. They want to see neon lights. That's like half of the battle. That's why it's taking me a while to do this deal I'm doing. Not kicking something major, but I didn't want to go that route, you know, and I didn't want to go indie. So, I had to sit down and see how I could come up with a plan where I can do an independent deal and make it major, you know what I mean. You know major distribution is the key and then put some money into the project so we can promote it and make it look major. We were able to set that up and do some things that not a lot of people have done in the game. Hopefully, it'll make some changes and make a blueprint. You just need somebody to back you, like in any situation. But, it's not as hard as we think, man. For a lot of the rappers that are making money, they don't have to go down the road that they're going. Step back, evaluate, ask some questions, get the prices, and if they invest in themselves they'd be surprised what they could make. Majors give us pennies, you know what I mean. And you're the one creating the art. That's the messed up part about it. Rakim: Exactly. It's like they're pimping us for our product. It's like a door-to-door salesman and I come up with an item for $10 and I go knock on the door and sell that item and get $10. If I step back and let somebody else sell it, why if he go to the door and my product is $10, then why do I only get $1? And that's what we're going through with the major labels, man. It's not even to the point to where they're saying, "Alright, it's 3 1/2, it's 4 1/2, it's almost half of it." That's the last thing that would come out of their mouths. So, the way I'm trying to do this it's taking me awhile but at the end of the day it's going the way I want it to go. Now, I get the general idea but what are the specifics? Did you start a label and then get major distribution to go with it? Rakim: Yeah, basically that's all I did. All you got to do is if you got extra amount of money, then you can do your own thing. Depending on how much money you've got, that determines whether it's going to be major or independent. The average money to put out for an album, a top shelf album, you need a million dollars. So if you can put a million dollars in promotion you've got a major distribution. A million dollars at the most to have your music everywhere: BET, MTV, and the magazines, everything. If you can do that then you'll have major distribution. There's nothing to separate the majors from you. If you have a setup like that...that's what we had to do and that's the key for whoever wants to do it like that. If you have enough money, you can get a major distribution deal. Speaking of the album, have you picked a single yet? Rakim: Nah, right now we're just trying to do as many joints as we can. At the same time, we're trying to finish up with the deal and then once we finish up with the deal, we get ready for some big time collabos. We're just trying to load up and be ready for the end of the day when you can just sit down and listen to 20 to 25 records and pick the best 15. I know you've probably been asked this a couple of times, but who are you working with on this album? Rakim: We goin' to keep that quiet 'cause I don't usually do it [collaborations], you know what I mean. I still believe in the element of surprise, you know what I mean. So, we want to keep that quiet. It's some smart collabos I'll put it like that. All the callabos are going to make sense. People are goin' to appreciate who I'm doing the callabos with. And at this point in my career, I'm trying to show some love to a lot of people that's been showing me love in the game and people that I have respect for. I know Nas has already said that he's probably gonna be on you're album. It's that something that looks like it's going to happen. Rakim: Yeah, no doubt. It's just a matter of me and him linking up and sitting down, man. Me and Nas, a lot of people don't know we go back to powerplay when I was working on some of my early albums, he'll come to the studio with Large Professor. He was always like my little dude, you know what I mean. Hopefully we'll get a chance to get it in and do something special in the studio man. If it ain't special I'm not gonna try to do it. If it's just a beat and he spits 16 and I spit 16 then I ain't gonna do it. But, if it's something that makes sense and it's special, then we'll do it. Out of the new crop of emcees who would you say is the next Ra, or maybe close to that? Rakim: Umm, that's kinda hard to say. There's a lot of cats out there that I respect. I like Saigon. Papoose is doing his thing right now. A lot of different breeds coming out of the game right now. But, I'm so different and knowing how different I am...[shakes his head with a smirk, thereby, shaking off any hint at Rakim's dispensability]. But, there's a lot of cats out there that I love. What would you say has changed the most between back when you guys pioneered this whole lyricism movement and now? Rakim: I think what has changed is the conscious level. I think now it's lower. The conscious level in the hood and the conscious level in the game is at the point where the rappers aren't dealing with the consciousness and the hood ain't dealing with it. You know what I mean. So, it's a little slow right now. The hood is in a situation where they see it like they are in between a rock and a hard place. You can't blame it on the rappers, you can't blame it on the industry, but, we do play a part and there is something you can do about it. That's addressing the situation, addressing our hood, addressing our youngsters, and schooling them. A lot of times, "keep it real" is a little slogan. But, the kids look at it as if they are really keeping it real when that's not what these dudes are doing. At the end of the day, the little kids wind up busting their guns and going to jail, while the rapper's sitting in his crib watching TV on his big screen doing him. So, we're setting the wrong example because the little kids look up to us and they take it to the heart. They hear their favorite rapper talking about "Yo, I'm gonna a killer. I keep the gun on me," and "Don't disrespect me or I'll stretch you out." The little kid takes that to heart like, "My man said that, so that's what it is." They set that up and kids run with it, kids get caught up in it, and the rappers sitting at the crib watching the news. We need to be a little bit more responsible. We can't say that we're not role models when we're making records. Rap was a little different than R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fresh_from_sofia Posted September 6, 2006 Report Share Posted September 6, 2006 cool ..thanks ! i hope he make a track with Will - ''People are goin' to appreciate who I'm doing the callabos with. And at this point in my career, I'm trying to show some love to a lot of people that's been showing me love in the game and people that I have respect for.'' :wait: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpinJack AJ Posted September 6, 2006 Report Share Posted September 6, 2006 THANX!! A new album is long overdue. I can't wait 4 it 2 drop. Hip-Hop has needed something big like a Rakim album for awhile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ash trey Posted September 6, 2006 Report Share Posted September 6, 2006 Thanks! Great interview! I think Rakim is simply amazing, I remember a time in my life when I listened to nothing but "Michrophone feind" for at least a week or so- now I can recite it word for word. lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigted Posted September 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2006 cool ..thanks ! i hope he make a track with Will - ''People are goin' to appreciate who I'm doing the callabos with. And at this point in my career, I'm trying to show some love to a lot of people that's been showing me love in the game and people that I have respect for.'' :wait: Well we could always dream :wiggle: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fresh_from_sofia Posted September 6, 2006 Report Share Posted September 6, 2006 cool ..thanks ! i hope he make a track with Will - ''People are goin' to appreciate who I'm doing the callabos with. And at this point in my career, I'm trying to show some love to a lot of people that's been showing me love in the game and people that I have respect for.'' :wait: Well we could always dream :wiggle: yeah that's what i am doing ,it will be just dope if that happen ..... but anyway new album from Ra !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigted Posted September 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2006 When a legendary mc like Rakim has to wait years to get another record contract after getting dropped from Aftermath that tells you the direction of the music industry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fresh_from_sofia Posted September 8, 2006 Report Share Posted September 8, 2006 When a legendary mc like Rakim has to wait years to get another record contract after getting dropped from Aftermath that tells you the direction of the music industry so it wasnt his choice ?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigted Posted September 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2006 When a legendary mc like Rakim has to wait years to get another record contract after getting dropped from Aftermath that tells you the direction of the music industry so it wasnt his choice ?!? Well it was part Rakim's choice, he really saw that he didn't fit in there, and of course Aftermath went a different direction and got rid of him, but the main point I was saying is that it's been taking years since then and he don't have a deal quite yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fresh_from_sofia Posted September 8, 2006 Report Share Posted September 8, 2006 When a legendary mc like Rakim has to wait years to get another record contract after getting dropped from Aftermath that tells you the direction of the music industry so it wasnt his choice ?!? Well it was part Rakim's choice, he really saw that he didn't fit in there, and of course Aftermath went a different direction and got rid of him, but the main point I was saying is that it's been taking years since then and he don't have a deal quite yet lol that's crazy ... i got some feeling he is gonna make some track with KRS 1 :wiggle: .... is there any other news from Rakim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turntable Posted September 8, 2006 Report Share Posted September 8, 2006 Beeing on a Independet label but still going Major when it comes to Promo etc is possible. Look what does Dirty South guys managed to do. They are all Independent Labels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigted Posted September 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2006 When a legendary mc like Rakim has to wait years to get another record contract after getting dropped from Aftermath that tells you the direction of the music industry so it wasnt his choice ?!? Well it was part Rakim's choice, he really saw that he didn't fit in there, and of course Aftermath went a different direction and got rid of him, but the main point I was saying is that it's been taking years since then and he don't have a deal quite yet lol that's crazy ... i got some feeling he is gonna make some track with KRS 1 :wiggle: .... is there any other news from Rakim The only other news I heard about him recently is that he's gonna be honored on VH1 Hip-Hop Honors this fall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fresh_from_sofia Posted September 8, 2006 Report Share Posted September 8, 2006 When a legendary mc like Rakim has to wait years to get another record contract after getting dropped from Aftermath that tells you the direction of the music industry so it wasnt his choice ?!? Well it was part Rakim's choice, he really saw that he didn't fit in there, and of course Aftermath went a different direction and got rid of him, but the main point I was saying is that it's been taking years since then and he don't have a deal quite yet lol that's crazy ... i got some feeling he is gonna make some track with KRS 1 :wiggle: .... is there any other news from Rakim The only other news I heard about him recently is that he's gonna be honored on VH1 Hip-Hop Honors this fall that 's dope and finally !!! :) thanks again , i cant miss that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turntable Posted September 8, 2006 Report Share Posted September 8, 2006 He's recording with Dipset. Thats what I heard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fresh_from_sofia Posted September 8, 2006 Report Share Posted September 8, 2006 He's recording with Dipset. Thats what I heard. i dont really like them :shrug: i hope Rakim knows what is he doing . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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