Despite their split, Rakim still wants DR. DRE on his new LP...

[Conan]

Rakim has been hooking up with former partner Eric B. again to battle in the courtroom, and now he hopes to realign himself with Dr. Dre.
"Obviously we had creative differences," Rakim explained of his studio sessions with arguably the greatest hip-hop producer of all time. He split from Dre's Aftermath imprint in July after several years under contract with no album to show for it (see "Rakim Splits With Dr. Dre, Aftermath Records").
"Dre wanted to go one direction, I wanted to go another direction," he continued. "For a while [we were] trying to please both sides of the fences. Later on [we decided] it was best I went my way and let him finish doing what he do, but it's still love. He's been working in his mindset for so long, I been working the way I been working for so long, the chemistry didn't really mix the way we thought it would."
Rakim said just because he and Dre are no longer part of the same musical family, it doesn't mean they won't get down in the studio again. The Doc is one of the high-profile collaborators he's hoping to get on his new album.
"I'm working on my own label deal," he said. "I ain't got to worry about the corporate structure. I do my thing and don't worry about the way the label handles things. I'm trying to set that up now and finish the album for the summer. You've got a bunch of people that are reaching out that wanna work on the project, from Pharrell, Timbaland — Dre promised me a track. I'mma do a couple of duets, something I haven't really done in the past. There's going to be a couple of surprises on the album."
Rakim already surprised the world once when late last year he and Nas collaborated on Alicia Keys' "Streets of New York." The track made it onto mixtapes, but not onto Keys' album.
"That was good," he said. "I think the world had been wanting that [collaboration with Nas] for a while. Then, especially to do it with Alicia Keys, that made it that much better. It felt good letting the world hold that."
The rap veteran is holding onto his zest for life even tighter these days. Last month he was involved in a freeway accident in Connecticut (see "Rakim Injured In Connecticut Car Accident").
"I was taking my mom to dialysis," he said. "An 18-wheeler came over into my lane. [It] hit me, spun me out. Almost threw me up into the woods. I managed to avoid the woods, but I hit a pole. I'm just fortunate to be here. I'm supposed to be somewhere sippin' soup."
Although Rakim avoided serious injury, he hurt his back, bumped his knee and hit his head. His mother fractured her back. He realizes the situation could've been a lot worse.
"The accident happened the day after the anniversary of my father's death," he said. "It was so much going on, it's a sign. ... I gotta find out what it is. It might be to slow down, it might be 'do what you gotta do while you're here.' I had an angel in the car."
In the courtroom, Eric B. and Rakim recently filed a lawsuit against Russell Simmons, Lyor Cohen, Island Def Jam and Universal Music Enterprises among others, claiming they're still owed a hefty penny for the use of the master recordings of 1987's Paid in Full (see "Eric B. & Rakim Sue Label, Claim They Weren't Paid In Full").
Regardless of the outcome of their suit, which they said could earn them $100 million in back payments, it's unlikely the pair will make more music together. Eric B., however, doesn't rule it out.
"I'll let Rakim do music, I'mma do TV," the DJ said. "Y'all can have this mess. [But] anything is possible, man. Every day with life, there's no road map. But for now, Eric is gonna keep TV, let Rakim keep music."


—Shaheem Reid (courtesy of MTV.com)

Looks interesting. Hopefully we'll hear some Dre and Rakim material after all!

[Bomb-A®]

good shit



peace

[UKnowWhatItIs: welcome to my traps....game over]

Good to see that the music didn't make em enemies.

[Don Rizzle]

u mite be interested in this too
#

RAKIM LP COULD STILL HAPPEN THIS YEAR
In welcome news form Hiphopsite.com, hopes that Rakim may soon release an album of new material just came a tiny step closer. The legendary MC made an appearance on MTV2 Stateside when they highlighted him alongside Eminem, Dre, 50 Cent and Kanye West for most anticipated rap albums of 2004. Rakim told the channel that he’s managed to hold on to some of the work he did with Dre while he was signed to Aftermath, as well as beats from Timbaland and R. Kelly. But there’s still no word on which label The R will end up signing to.

[Conan]

Thanks man. I sure hope it comes this year - haven't we waited long enough?!  

[Lincoln]

Pharell? Doubt that will suit Rakim.

I don't see Timbaland nor Dre suiting Ra's style as well. He needs East-Coast style beats.

[Nightfall]

Pharell? Doubt that will suit Rakim.

I don't see Timbaland nor Dre suiting Ra's style as well. He needs East-Coast style beats.

exactly
he needs Large Professor, Jay Dilla, Diomand D, DJ Spinna, Hi-Tek. ect. that would be some classic shit

[Lincoln]

Pharell? Doubt that will suit Rakim.

I don't see Timbaland nor Dre suiting Ra's style as well. He needs East-Coast style beats.

exactly
he needs Large Professor, Jay Dilla, Diomand D, DJ Spinna, Hi-Tek. ect. that would be some classic shit

I'd definetly love to see those collabos happen. Good choices.

[Conan]

How could you leave out DJ Premier I'm still reeling from the fact that Dre decided to leave his beats off of Ra's record when Aftermath were in charge of the Mic God's album. Those two are a match made in hip-hop heaven. Other than that, Rakim over some more Alchemist beats would be nice. Kanye West would be interesting too. He may have made his instrumentals a little more mainstream these days with the like's of Luda's 'Stand Up', but he can still put out good hip-hop beats when he wants to. Example: I was pumping Kanye's 'Get By' remix by Talib f/ Jay-Z & Busta for a long time. Ra & Kanye would be an interesting hook-up at least. I'd personally like to see it happen.

[Nightfall]

How could you leave out DJ Premier

this is not a very popular opinion, but...

since 98, all of primo's beats sounds almost exactly the same
primo did his classic shit, very dope shit, but, he bores me lately

and, lets face it, Rakim isnt very versetile on the mic, he always raps about how dope he is, wit the same flow, same voice, ect.

a primo produced rakim song would bore me in no time, il like it a lot at first, but after a week or 2 weeks, itll bore the shit out of me

[Foesum]

it'd be nicer to here some Rakim on Eric B beats. There both still in the music industry, and its been since 92 since they did  shit.

[Conan]

Na, I actually respect the opinion that DJ Premier's beats sound alike. I wouldn't say I agree, but I'd certainly say he follows a tried-and-tested formula when it comes to Primo producing instrumentals. He has done some beats which have pleasantly surprised me though. 'Skillz' sounded nothing like a Preem beat to me, with that futuristic, electronic style to it - and there were a few other beats on 'The Ownerz' that I really enjoyed, despite a familiarity to them. When it comes down to it, its just your personal tastes in music. I mean, a lot of people say Dre's beats all sound the same which is something that I can't personally understand. That said, I guess if you've been a producer for as long as Premier or Dre it would become harder and harder to keep coming up with radical new sounds. A lot of younger producers are still experimenting with their beats, yet even some of them are finding their own sound which may or may not be a good point depending on how you look at it. Unlike some listeners, I actually have no problem with The Neptunes but its becoming more and more likelu for me to identify one of their beats without knowing for sure that they were behind the track. Come on, the music on 'Hot in Herre' couldn't come from anyone but The Neptunes - if you see what I'm saying. If you ask me, it is the best producers thay come up with beats that you think are nice and unique and you wonder - damn, who produced that? After which, you discover it was a producer you've known for a long time and are familiar with. Premier may not necessarily fit into that category but I still feel that the sounds he has crafted are usually good ones to me.

[Juronimo]

Primo does have his "formula" but he does break out of it, like he did in "Doobie Ashtray". That shit was straight innovation.

[Darksider]

Primo does have his "formula" but he does break out of it, like he did in "Doobie Ashtray". That shit was straight innovation.

yep...and btw....i love his formula