S. Samuel
Boston rapper Termanology has hinted at new music coming from Rakim by revealing the hip-hop pioneer's interest in collaborating on a record with him.
While discreet with details, Term said Rakim wanted to get down for a song this week.
“Dog I met mutha f*ckin RAKIM 2night… And he told me he wanna do a song with me. #HOLYSH*T thank u @BunBTrillOG #SALUTE,” he tweeted October 6th.
“Wow crzy night wit Bun B and Met Rakim. Wow SPeeeechle$$$$” (Termanology’s Twitter)
Recently, New York rap veteran Cormega told SOHH how much of an impact Rakim has had within hip-hop.
“First and foremost, Rakim is the blueprint for modern rap. Period. There’s no debate to it. Before Rakim, it was “Peter Piper picked peppers, but Run rocked rhymes,” sh*t like that. That’s what was up. But that was simple. Rakim changed rap. If there’s no Rakim, if you erase Rakim from rap, then the whole landscape is different. That’s the respect I got for him. That’s number one.” (SOHH Guest Star)
In August, the rap legend explained his view on hip-hop’s diversity.
“You care about it, but you don’t let it do nothing to you,” he explained in an interview. “It’s rap, it’s an album, some people will like it, some people won’t. Hip-hop is so diverse and mixed right now, you have a lot of fans who like radio-friendly hip-hop. I don’t do that. You have a lot of fans who like pop hip-hop. I don’t do that. You got a lot of fans that like different styles — I’m from my era, I’m known for doing a certain kind of music. I don’t want to switch off and do what Lil Wayne is doing. That ain’t Rakim. I can’t switch off and do what Wiz Khalifa‘s doing. That’s not Rakim. It’s hard trying to keep up with what’s going on and still keep your integrity and keep your logo and your brand of who you are with these times. I made a statement. [I] definitely wanted to bring about that awareness with a conscious album.” (Splash-Mag)
Back in June, Ra talked about the average life expectancy of an emcee.
“It’s a blessing to be in the game this long and to have your work recognized after 25 years,” Rakim said in an interview. “It’s a big thing. The MC’s lifespan in the game is maybe seven years, 10 years, 12 years, so to be around and to get respect at this point is a blessing.” (MTV)
Massachusetts-born rapper Termanology quickly rose from underground obscurity to working with some of hip-hop’s elite producers, particularly DJ Premier. Growing up in the streets of the predominantly Latino city of Lawrence, MA, informed the half-white, half-Puerto Rican MC’s lyrics as he graduated from silly freestyles at age nine to full-fledged verses at the age of 15.
Check out a recent Rakim interview below:
