New Rakim interview (talks about the album, state of hip hop...)

[Meho]

http://videos.onsmash.com/v/9GnljbxejHzfe1bh

[Bones01]

can you give us a summary?

[jeromechickenbone]

Mad Props Timbo.  Haven't got to see an interview w/ Ra in a minute.  Love that dude!  Yall should watch it, it shows him doing some live performance (Paid In Full).

Just some highlights:

Interviewer asks Ra about Nas' statement that Hip Hop is Dead, Ra states that he believes Nas was specifically talkin about NY Hip Hop, that the south is bubblin, midwest is bubblin, west doing their thing, but the cats in NY are watering down their sound to try and sell records, and they don't need to do that...

New album 7th Seal, droppin 7/7/07, there's gonna be some surprises, but expect what Rakim does, with continued advancement.  He's not stuck in the past, but he's not jumping on any bandwagons as far as trends and things like that.  Expect some consciousness, some street topics, and again some surprises - he doesn't want to reveal who he's worked with.  He's working with top producers, all the way to the producers everybody done forgot about.

Interviewer states that he's heard some of the cats Ra is working w/, and w/o letting the cat out that bag he says that he's heard Ra is working w/ artists outside the Hip Hop realm.  Ra basically substantiates that.  Talks about how much he loves performing w/ a live band (PERSONAL NOTE BY JROME - anybody see him perform on VH1 Hip Hop Honors w/ a live band - shit was RETARDED!)

He says "I'm not saying I'm gonna save NY, but I'm gonna bring it back to it's proper perspective".  He knows the NY sound, he's gonna bring and the world is gonna respect it, just like the world respects the sounds from other regions.

----------------------------------------

Overall, great little piece.  I pray to Allah we see this album on 7.7.07.  HIP HOP NEEDS IT.

[eazye]

Props on the link Timbo, and props for that review, Jrome.I'm watching the interview right now, performance was dope, and yes, the whole Rakim tribute on VH1 Was INSANE man.Still searching for a video to watch it again

[QuietTruth]

KRS One doin' it. Rakim doin' it. Aww, shit. This gon' bring back the culture, somewhat?

[T-Dogg]

(PERSONAL NOTE BY JROME - anybody see him perform on VH1 Hip Hop Honors w/ a live band - shit was RETARDED!)

I remember that. Shit was mad dope.

[Narrator]

I hate to sound so pessimistic, but...I think Rakim is past his prime now.  No offense to dude cause I've always respected him, but I don't think even HE knows what good hip-hop is anymore, or how to make it.

[The King]

but I don't think even HE knows what good hip-hop is anymore, or how to make it.

Well when only 5 or 6 decent CD's get released every year, hiphop is getting worse. The South is fucking awful with a few exceptions. The west can't sell anything, Midwest copies Lil Jon on every single track. East is becoming more pop, just to sell records.

The reason record sales are down is because of the product. The product sucks, so why should people buy it. Fuck blaming the internet, or downloading. Music sales are down because 95% of albums released suck. I'm not paying for 4 good songs and 15 fillers. People can waste all their money, but I'm not. I buy 3 albums a year, download like 200, and of those 200, only those 3 are worth buying. Hip Hop sucks these days unless you really look hard. And thats why dubcnn is around, promoting the underground lesser known music, the only place quality and originality may still exist.

[Narrator]

Well when only 5 or 6 decent CD's get released every year, hiphop is getting worse. The South is fucking awful with a few exceptions. The west can't sell anything, Midwest copies Lil Jon on every single track. East is becoming more pop, just to sell records.

The Midwest copying Lil Jon?  What?  Since when?  The Midwest shit I listen to (and I listen to quite a bit of it) copies Kanye, but not Lil Jon.

It's ironic you criticize the East for becoming "more pop" when you're a huge fan of a rapper and label that has been more responsible for this transition than anyone else in the past few years.