Dedicated
Microphone fiend Rakim is back
by Ericka Blount Danois
Michael Wong Photography
What has the time period that you’ve been out of the industry taught you spiritually?
I actually have been going harder into the industry then out of it. After coming back from California with Dre, I wanted to take a minute and put my executive cap on…build on twenty years experience in the game, get my own label, and put the finances and the team together so I could come out with a project more on my terms. It’s not as public a process, but it’s a process nonetheless.
But that doesn’t take away from spiritual growth. A lot of that comes from watching my family—seeing the kids grow up and looking at things through their eyes as well. I read everything and listen to everything non-stop, so from the day I first gained knowledge to today and tomorrow, I keep building on that.
I was reading where you said that part of your differences creatively with Dre had to do with what he wanted you to talk about on wax—some of the things you’ve experienced on the streets, or some of the experiences of people you know.
Ahhhhhhh, that’s the “What happened with Dre?” question popping up again. I’ll keep it simple. I don’t speak on what’s happening or what happened in the hood in specifics. I speak on what’s happening with me and me alone, and, for this album, I use some third-party observances to set that scene. Dre is my dude, one of the best if not more that’s out there. But I do what I do and keep my business to myself, which is tough in such a public spotlight.
You’ve focused a lot on family in this time period. Your daughter Destiny is on the album, and one of your sons is following in your footsteps—both with football and with music. Your wife travels with you on tour. Was there a time period when your family took a backseat to your music?
Nah, my family is what makes me create the music. When I was a kid and into my teens, my mother, my brothers, my aunt Ruth Brown, everyone made music and drew from one another in that way. I got my brother playing on those first albums, so having the next generation come along was not really a question. They may not do it professionally forever, but the music is always there. I’ve always tried to spend as much time as possible with my family and even back in the day we would take the kids on the tour bus and keep us together. Nowadays, the kids are a little older and they’ve done that whole on-the-road scene, so they’d rather stay at home doing their own thing for some of the tours, but we talk constantly, and as you make that turn and start inching closer to home, you know I get anxious. That’s why I pull out of the last show before we get back, don’t even stop at the hotel, and blast straight home.
