Rakim Releases First Album in 15 Years, 'G. O. D.'s Network — Reb7rth': Listen

The God Emcee is back again gliding over boom bap madness after nearly 15 years of being away from the rap game.

The project is an instant, and features a hot roster of some of the finest hip hop lyricists ever, including Prodigy, Masta Killa, Snoop Dogg, Nipsey Hussle, Kurupt, Method Man and more. If this isn’t enough to put you on the album, well, wait till you find out that he’s produced the entire thing himself too!

Kendrick Lamar Shakes Up The Super Bowl With Bold Drake Diss And Surprise Guests

Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl 59 halftime performance was nothing short of legendary, leaving fans buzzing with surprise cameos and bold moments that took his long-running feud with Drake to new heights. Kicking off with an unreleased song snippet and followed by “Squabble Up” from his latest album GNX, Kendrick immediately set the tone for a game-changing performance. Fans eagerly waited to see if Kendrick would play his diss track Not Like Us, especially with Drake's ongoing lawsuit against him and his label for defamation and harassment. Lamar's performance included an unexpected appearance by SZA and a quirky cameo from Serena Williams, along with Samuel L. Jackson’s comedic interruptions, all building the suspense around the Drake drama. In the middle of his performance, Kendrick turned up the heat, looking straight into the camera and directly addressing Drake with his famous lyrics, “I heard you like them young," as fans held their breath. Despite the tension, Kendrick censored himself when it came time to call Drake a "certified lover boy" and avoided saying “pedophile,” which had been widely speculated. Social media lit up with mixed reactions, with some fans mocking the performance as a "mid mashup" and others noting the intense hostility toward Drake. With the hashtag #KendrickBowl trending, it’s clear that Kendrick’s performance was a cultural moment that pushed boundaries—but has he gone too far, or is this just another chapter in hip-hop history? Only time will tell, and Drake has yet to respond.

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1st Rakim album in 15 years!!
Feature list is INSANE
B.G.
DMX
Snoop
Skyzoo
Prodigy
Canibus
Chino XL
X-Raided
38 Spesh
Joell Ortiz
Masta Killa
Kool G Rap
Hus KingPin
Method Man
Nipsey Hussle
KXNG Crooked
Fred the Godson
LA The Darkman pic.twitter.com/lxWOauQMsH
— Hip Hop By The Numbers (@HipHopNumbers) July 25, 2024

The seven track project is available for physical purchase, with bundles and special packages available on the official website for the project. With tracks like ‘Love is the Message’, Rakim brings an easy but masterful vibe to his lyrical delivery, while on tracks like ‘Be Ill’, Rakim doesn’t hold back in dishing out intricate rhymes with the attitude of a veteran. The emcee has also displayed a fine sense of curation with regards to the feature line up, and has enlisted some of the best names to ever touch a mic. Still, among them all, Rakim holds his own and reaffirms his title as the God Emcee, the pioneer of his own style of rap and storytelling that inspired many.

This is great — Will Smith finally tells Rakim he was trying to sound like him on “Summertime”
For years the urban legend was that Rakim ghostwrote the song for Will, when in fact, it was written by the legendary MC Juice & recorded at the old Jive Records studios in Chicago pic.twitter.com/0hCQ3c3axh
— Andrew Barber (@fakeshoredrive) December 12, 2023

Rakim’s verses are full of intricate multi syllable rhyme motifs, which coupled with his internal rhyme schemes are a stark reminder of his competitive edge. Earlier, the emcee also took out an album sampler that accurately depicted the sonic journey of the album. In every way possible, Rakim has shown what it means to sweat the technique and not show it, and the ways in which words can really be arranged in unique ways to not feel overused and familiar.

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With his return, Rakim has made a bold statement and has challenged the modern sound of hiphop with a reminder of the time passed — as well as its very own timelessness. Check out the project below to catch a flavour of it yourself!