ThaFormula.com - Now I have never really asked this question to many artists because it gets asked by all the magazines, but I got to ask you this one because many of the new heads need to know. What artists if any influenced you to start rockin' the mic?

Rakim - When I came out it was different man because I was a fan. I was influenced by the whole nation of Hip-Hop. From the Fantastic 5, uh, my favorites was the Cold Crush 4, Treacherous 3, Melle Mel, Grandmaster Flash, Furious 5. I had a lot to pick from. We had the Force MC's back in the day. So Hip-Hop as a whole was just the craziest shit a young teenager from the suburbs or the ghetto or anywhere, it was the craziest shit to experience man. So I think listening to Melle Mel, Grandmaster Caz, Kool Moe Dee, definitely put me on the track that I'm on now.

ThaFormula.com - Now you completely changed the game when you dropped Rah, no one had ever done anything like what you dropped with the "Paid in Full" LP. What made you say, "Yo this is how I'm comin' out?"

Rakim - I think what had a good thing to do with that was my musical influences man. Moms and Pops listened to a lot of different music. Listening to Jazz so much and liking instruments, I also played the Sax when I was young and just knowing the different melodies and the different rhythms that people like John Coltrane was doing on the Sax and Thelonious Monk was doing on the keyboard. They was trying to change Jazz and keep taking to the next level when it was already as crazy as it could get. But I incorporated all them styles and rhythms and ideas of expression and just took it to that level man.

ThaFormula.com - Now many people look at you as the mic god and as the MC who revolutionized MC'ing. Did you ever think that you would be looked at this way comin' up?

Rakim - Nah, not at all man. I didn't have no idea of how things would turn out to be. Just trying to be competitive at that time and trying to be original 'cause at that time you couldn't come out biting nobodies style or sounding like this dude, or using the same whatever all the time. So it was just me trying to be creative and trying to get to that next level.

ThaFormula.com - Prior to releasing the "Paid In Full" LP, who were you runnin' with at the time?

Rakim - Oh yeah. Biz Markie in Long Island back in the day when I was in High School used to come around to the little high school parties, park parties, block parties and all that. He would do the beat box and I would spit rhymes. So yeah it was crazy man. I was in rap since 11 or 12 years old. I owe a big part of that to my brother cause he was listening to Hip-Hop as soon as it came out. Whatever he put on in his box is what I listened to also. Hip-Hop was big.

ThaFormula.com - So your brother was one of the main people that got you into Hip-Hop?

Rakim - Oh, no doubt. What was good about that was that he had people who had equipment. They would bring the turntables to the crib so I got a chance to experience that at a real young age. Where other kids had to watch it from the other side of the ropes or just think about DJ'ing, I had access right there at the crib. So touching that at a young age, it stuck with me.

ThaFormula.com - So how many years before you actually dropped "Paid In Full " did you begin rhymin?

Rakim - Well the album didn't drop till I was in the 12th grade and I been rhymin' since the 4th or 5th grade. The years, I don't even count them no more.

ThaFormula.com - So you wrote the rhymes to "Paid in Full" when you were in high school?

Rakim - Oh no the rhymes for "My Melody" was written about 3 years before it came out. A lot of them rhymes was just rhymes I had on tapes. Those rhymes I used to say at the park and things like that. But everything else came after I signed and started making records.

ThaFormula.com - So then you were about 17 or 18 when you dropped the album?

Rakim - Yeah, no doubt. I turned 17 when I was out doing a show in North Carolina.

ThaFormula.com - It's funny to me how you at 17 years old could write rhymes like that back then, but a kid at 17 in 2003 couldn't write a half decent rhyme?

Rakim - Well that right there is a compliment man. Again man I gotta give that to my influence man comin' up and listening to music so much. My mom she sang Jazz so it wasn't' just cuttin' the radio on in my house. It was therapeutic. It was what we did from day to day, listening to all the music and getting to understand music. All my brothers played musical instruments and my sister sang so it was in my ears. So when Hip-Hop came out it was like, "oh okay this is for me right here." We got a music for the kids, so I quickly adapted to that and enjoyed it from DJ'ing, to writing rhymes, to trying to pop-lock, to spinning on my back, to drawing graffiti on the walls, to rolling your pants leg up. The whole sha-bang man. I enjoyed every angle of Hip-Hop man and its just something I loved from the beginning man.

ThaFormula.com - What about battling Rah? 

Rakim - Ohhh! Coming up back then, rappin' was mostly battle rap. You was always tellin' somebody how nice you was, but it was always, uh, we always did it intelligently or with wits or made you think. But there was always battle rhymes coming up in the park. You get on the mic and somebody comes out the crowd and think they could smoke you so its on man.

ThaFormula.com - Did you ever enter any serious MC battles?

Rakim - As far as anything on a big scale, the only thing that I did was I entered a MC contest at Harriet Tubman School. It was brothers like Doug E. Fresh that was hostin' it. It's when Doug had his first single out. It was produced by Mike and Dave of Crash Crew. They used to throw a lot of parties Mike and Dave. Mike and Dave was hosting the joint. Melle Mel came down and did a little somethin' and it was a battle for the kids on the street. It was a lot of Harlem cats in there. Me and my crew came all the way from Long Island. Biz was with us. Biz did the beatbox. I spit a little something and then I had this DJ throw in a couple of beats for me, but most of the battles that I came across myself was like battles in the park. Battles in the high schools, block parties and I'm sure you know everybody got toasted!! It was all good though.

ThaFormula.com - So can you say Rakim that throughout your whole career you never lost a battle comin' up ?

Rakim - Yeah, I would say that man. Nobody never got the best of me man.

ThaFormula.com - Let's talk about the famous Big Daddy Kane situation?

Rakim - Well that was about to happen the same way battles is happening now, but back then what it was, uh, it was we came from a era in the beginning where you know Cold Crush 4, Fantastic 5, Force MC's all these brothers are battlin' and you know it was done the way it was supposed to be done. We came out of that era and started making wax where everybody kind of backed up from battling each other but battle rhymes were still big. Then you got brothers that people felt every time they said something they were referring to somebody and I felt Kane was trying to say some shit under his breath. You know I didn't ask no questions, I just went and did "Let the Rhythm Hit Em" and Eric B's brother played it for him. Kane called the crib and he said, "Yo Rah, niggaz is gassin' it up, they tryin' to get us to battle and whatever." So I said all right and I changed like 6 bars where it kind of got personal but yeah its like I said, the same way its going down now. People hear something and its like, "Yo son, this kid is talkin' about you." This kid will go write some shit about him and then before you know it they battlin' in they records and then it gets personal man and then they sayin' names in records and then it's on.

ThaFormula.com - Why are the battles of today so wack when compared to the battles of the past. I mean the MC's battlin' are wack, the rhymes are wack and the tracks are wack. What do you think happened?

Rakim - I think it's the content man. It's like battlin' back in the day, MC's was trying to really dismantle a rapper and show him how slick he was with his words. Now it's more like "I'll shoot you, Ill kill you." That's not really nothing exciting man. You know we heard it before, we seen it on TV but back in the day we was thinkin' of better and wittier ways to say "Yo I'll rip your arm off your body." We found better ways to say it man and I think that's the difference man. Like Moe Dee and Busy Bee back in the day. That's still a classic.

ThaFormula.com - No doubt that was classic right there. How does Rakim look at a Nelly vs. KRS battle?

Rakim - That don't even match man. It's like a rapper battlin' a R&B cat. Nelly do what Nelly do well man. Let Nelly do that. KRS did what he did well. I don't know what sparked it off. I think it was the little number one thing. Personally I don't think Nelly was pointing at KRS-One as far as I'm number one, but like I said man, brothers hear shit in records and they might feel they speakin' on him.

ThaFormula.com - It's funny how the young MC's of today that only been around for one or two years have no respect for the MC's that paved the way for them to do what they do. Nelly should have just avoided that beef no matter what?

Rakim -I feel you. It's like leave the elders alone nah mean. If they check you, take that as that and walk with it. And see that's what we don't have. We don't have order in Hip-Hop. Its like you look back at R&B awards shows and shit. You know a lot of the old legends be havin' a good time man. They talkin' to each other, they huggin' and kissin'. Everybody didn't get along but for the most part everything was love. But with rap man it's much different man. It's a lot of hatred and shit. It's a lot of niggaz double crossing niggaz man. It's like we gonna let us run this shit and like people say we always fuck shit up or we gonna sit down and try to get some order man and try to have some kind of rules man. Otherwise, somebody else is gonna take control of this shit and that's what's happening right now.

ThaFormula.com - Now I speak to a lot of MC's about the Yo! MTV Raps last episode but I wanted to ask you about that episode because you are the MC I remember the most that day that it aired. How do you look at that show man 'cause it was definitely something that you will never see again?

Rakim - Yeah that was crazy. The energy in the room was crazy man. What was crazy about it is like the room was lit dim but you could see everything in the room clear. It was like it wasn't real to have all those MC's in one spot like that. Everybody was chillin' and everybody was there for the cause man. Yo! MTV Raps man, we felt that was ours. Everybody came to the table man, so like I said it was a good thing, plus I mean that showed a little unity there man. So you need more things to you know show more unity instead of just the parties and shit and the celebratin'. We need to get together and like I said man get a little order in this shit man.

ThaFormula.com - If all of you guys were put together in that room again in 2003, would that same unity still be there?

Rakim - Nah, I think this time everybody will be standing in they own little section. Every group will be in their own little spot to their self. That's the way it is man.

ThaFormula.com - Why you think Rah?

Rakim - I don't know why man, but you know what's going on is evident man. It's like we separate ourselves in everything we do. Having a clique in Hip-Hop is good, it shows unity, but at the same time when we turn away and somebody asks you "what's your profession?" and you say "Yo, I'm in the Hip-Hop industry and then we speak on some of our fellow industry mates or whatever, it ain't like it should be man. We got to respect the whole game as far as label mates, industry mates and respect our little culture we got here man. Ain't nobody else gonna do it for us. If we disrespect it they gonna start disrespecting it too.

ThaFormula.com - Did the cancellation of Yo! MTV Raps effect Hip-Hop in any way in your eyes?

Rakim - What it did for a while was it slowed down the view for the viewers as far as what's going on and what's hip and what ain't hip.

ThaFormula.com - Were artists worried at all that they wouldn't be heard anymore?

Rakim - Well me myself, you got to remember I'm an artist that never focused on too much radio play or video play. So you know I'm not gonna say that I didn't Care, 'cause like I said Yo! MTV raps was Yo! MTV raps, it was a window to the world. We was letting them know like I said, what's hip and what ain't. But see at that time it was more I think uh, overseen then. It was like people were more conscious to what they were showin' on Yo! MTV Raps. Anything ain't make it, so watchin' that, people knew what to listen and what not to listen to. But now it's like if you got money they gonna play your video. Back then you had to earn your spot, but now you can just buy your way in and get your video played all day. But when it ended man I thought it of it like "damn man, they just took something else from us," not whether my album would get any play.

ThaFormula.com - Yeah they just snatched that shit away and it was back to Rock n Roll…

Rakim - And see…the thing is they wanna do that now man, but rap is making so much money they don't know how to take the shit from us now man so we got to watch what's going on. We ain't paying attention to how we runnin' this shit. It's like I don't wanna point the finger to no rapper as a whole, but we kind of fucking up 'bruh. It's fucked up 'bruh. It's like were not thinkin' about the next generation man.

ThaFormula.com - Yeah Rah, and what's fucked up is the way the radio and TV have just tried to push the legends out by callin' them old school when it Hasn't been more then 10 years since you were on top of the rap game?

Rakim - I try not to affiliate myself with that shit man. I feel old school is a style. If I rhyme like an old school artist then of course I'm old school. I feel old school is a style you know.

ThaFormula.com - Your first album "Paid In Full" was done with Marley Marl?

Rakim - Yeah, but just "My Melody" and "Eric B For President." We did that at his crib. He had a studio in his crib at the time in Queensbridge.

ThaFormula.com - How was it working with Marley and how come you never did anything on his projects afterwards?

Rakim - Working with him as soon as I came into the game, that shit was good man. I looked up to him before I made records. Marley Marl he's the man on the radio and just to start off there made me feel good man. It's like starting off in Mecca, feel me? So I went to his crib and in the beginning he was trying to get me to rhyme a little more hype. We laugh about that every time we see each other. He would say "Yo Rah, stand up man, stand up and put a little more energy in it." I would say "nah man I wanna do it just like this man." So later on when I seen him and MC Shan, cause Shan was there too, later on I seen him and Shan in a party and you know the joints was on the radio and they was doing good. They called me over to where they was and was like "Yo, we see what you was doing now man." We laugh about that all the time man. It was definitely lovely working with Marley man.

ThaFormula.com - Were you ever close to being on the Symphony or anything like that at all?

Rakim - Nah, I think when they did that when we was out on tour. I think that was '88 or '89. Me and Eric B. back then, we used to go out on tour from June to like February and back then I didn't do nothing with nobody back then. I did a joint with Jody Watley but I was really more focused on doing me.

ThaFormula.com - Many people always wondered why you never did any collaborations with people. It was rare to see you rhymin' with anyone...

Rakim - What it was with me back in the day was I was always quiet and to myself and when I got in the industry I was the same way. Watchin' from afar. Some rappers say one thing on a record and do something else on the street and now we call it (Laughs) "frontin' ass MC's," If they a killer and never bust a gun before. Some of them say they sold crazy coke and never even sold weed before, but back then it was the same shit and I never wanted to get on somebody's record that the world knew was frontin' on wax and fakin' in the street. I took that shit serious man, so I just never wanted nobody's shit to reflect off onto me. It wasn't that I didn't respect them, it was more that some of the world didn't respect some of these dudes. It's like trying to keep you're head up with the world, and sometimes you get with somebody else and they bring you down. So I always wanted to do my own thing man.

ThaFormula.com - Now production wise Rah, how come other then the first LP you guys never did any work with other producers until you decided to go solo?

Rakim - I don't know man. I think back then like me and Marley we did a couple of joints on the solo albums I was working on, but for one reason or another the joints never came out. Like one time we did a couple of joints and the label changed they staff and the 6 or 7 or 8 records that I had got leaked into the streets. That was the New York to Cali joints and a bunch of joints. They even put one on the battle of the beats on the radio and it was just a tape. But for one reason or another some of the joints got leaked out and me and Marley didn't get a chance to hook up again. We were supposed to or would have liked to. I always liked Marley's beats. He bring's the hood out the wax. But back then me and Eric B. was so involved with what we was doing and myself I had a little formula I liked sticking to. A lot of people don't know most of the tracks on the first, second and third album I did.

ThaFormula.com - Yeah I always wondered, was Eric B the producer and Rakim the MC?

Rakim - Nah, I did most of the tracks. It was just so much that I wanted to bring to the table as far as some of the beats I used to rhyme to in the park and just so many ideas, so we didn't really have to go outside the table. But back then a lot of people wasn't doing it. Everybody was kind of sticking to they own camp.

ThaFormula.com - A thing I notice from back in the days you two were making albums to now, is that "Paid in Full," "Follow the Leader," and "Let The Rhythm Hit Em," were 3 completely different albums man. I mean "Paid in Full" could have got major play in the streets and club, where "Follow the Leader" was just a grimy hardcore street album...

Rakim - See what we was doing back in the day was when I did a joint I didn't try to point it at no direction. I didn't say "Yo I want this to be a single, I want this to be on the radio, etc," I just found a beat and whatever the beat felt like, looked like, or sounded like is what I wrote to it. I never thought "Eric B. for President" would be as big as it is. "I Know You Got Soul," I never thought "Paid In Full" would be as big as it is. So a lot of the records that we were doing um, we was doing what we felt. We had no idea what it was gonna do once it hit the streets. So what I was doing was just growing with myself. I never wanted to do the same thing 'cause I came from the school where you had to be original and you had to keep climbing to the next level and keep doing new shit. So I always felt I didn't want to make it sound like "My Melody," or "I Know You Got Soul." It was whatever came out the crate.

ThaFormula.com - Did you ever feel that "Paid in Full" got so popular that you had to come even grimier with the next album?

Rakim - Nah, back then it was like "Paid In Full" was big when it came out. We got a lot of respect on it, but it got bigger and bigger as the years went on. We didn't know how big it was when we did "Follow the Leader" and myself man, I like to stay numb man. I don't like to get big headed so I never swell on just one thing. We got a lot of success on that, that's good and I'ma take that and I'ma build off of that, but I never said "yeah man, I did it man, "Paid in Full" that's it man, I ain't gotta make another album yo, that's it, matter of fact I'ma make every album from now on just like that." I didn't get like that, so I just tried to keep doing my thang and see if I could make another classic album.

ThaFormula.com - Then you brought out "Let The Rhythm Hit Em," did that album do what you expected, and did you notice that Hip-Hop started changing a lot more at that point as far as the type of Hip-Hop people wanted?

Rakim - No it didn't do what we expected, and yeah no doubt it was starting. At that time I think it was getting like hook orientated. More catchy records nah mean? At the same time at that point I was more on just doing joints that I felt that I wanted to do. If everybody was going right I went left. Everybody was talkin' about blue, I'ma talk about black. So I never wanted to follow the trends that everybody did. At the same time 'till this day with me, I dropped a couple of albums and some of the beats for the entire album wasn't what everybody was doing at the time, but at the end of the day if everybody liked what I was putting down on the mic, then I'm able to do another album. So it was never like did what everybody else is doing and all that shit. I always wanted to do me.

Rakim - No doubt. A brother named Paul C did a couple tracks for me and he passed away. Paul C taught a lot of kids how to work the SP1200 when it first came out and him and Large Professor knew each other well and Large Professor knew what Paul C was doing. Paul C taught Large Professor, so I met Large Professor and he finished up a couple of Paul C tracks for me and then he started hitting me with tracks as well. At that time he was just blazin'. He was definitely doing his thing.

ThaFormula.com - Then came the "Don't sweat the Technique" LP, what are your thoughts on how that LP turned out?

Rakim - Well it was a couple of joints on there that was real abstract, but it was joints that I wanted to do at the time. "Casualties of War," uh, for me it always just getting that point across and just showing that different style, versatility, and just trying to set new trends man and its hard when everybody is riding one wheel unicycles, jugglin' tennis balls, and honkin' they nose. But I always stuck to my guns and I think that's why people are waiting for the Rakim album right now. So I think it was just staying true man and you know at the time you might think you made the wrong move but in the long run you actually did the right thing.

ThaFormula.com - So after the album what exactly led to the break up of you and Eric B.? Was that something that you and Eric were already talkin' about or was it the results of that album that made you come to that decision?

Rakim - Nah, what it was is after the album we had I think 3 more albums left on the contract so Eric B. was gonna do a solo album, I was gonna do a solo album, then we was gonna do the last album together. What happened was he did his solo album and they didn't expect it, and then when I was doing mine he tried to get funny and he was supposed have signed some paper work and he was holdin' up the progress. So that was the last straw man. We had been through a lot of bullshit on tour. When you on tour man and you with the same crew everyday, shit get a little funky. Everybody got little problems seeing the same muthafuckas all day. Hearin' this nigga breathe, watchin' him and you know it made niggaz annoyed. So it was a lot of shit that went on. I'm sure he got annoyed with me cause I didn't give a fuck nah mean? I didn't give a fuck! I said what I wanted, did what I wanted. Niggaz couldn't tell me nothin' as long as I did my thing when it was time for me to do my job. Anything else, you cant tell me nothin'! There was a time when my peoples wanted to you know get physical nah mean?

ThaFormula.com - Now I had heard that a lot of people seemed to try to take advantage of you a lot, is that true?

Rakim - Nah, I wouldn't say that. It was more Eric B. on some spotlight magnificent shit, and you know he had a bunch of "yes" men with him. I had thoro muthafuckas with me and if I was wrong my peeps wouldn't hesitate to say "yo Rah, you dead wrong on that G." Not niggaz that's gonna kiss my ass and whatever I say, "yeah Word up!" I don't get down like that. So it was more on decisions and shit like that cause like I said nobody took advantage of me at all. It was more like "yo lets do this tonight," or "lets go do this," or "yo we got to do this interview" or whatever it was it was just always problems the way this kid wanted to do shit. I had my way of doing shit, a lot of times I didn't get out to do interviews but that was me. You know if I don't do it then yo B., you hold it down. If you ain't there I hold it down. If we both could be there then that's even better. But it was a lot of bullshit man.

ThaFormula.com - Do you feel the breakup was something that happened towards the end or something that was gonna happen from the start?

Rakim - Yeah, I feel that it drizzled fucking acid for about 6 years nah mean, and once the bucket got full somebody was gonna get poured on.

ThaFormula.com - So how exactly did you an Eric hook up? Did you guys grow up together or...

Rakim - Nah, that was another problem. I had already did "The Melody" and had put it on tape. I was playing Football then. I was trying to go to college and play football so I made a couple of tapes to put all my little skills on so when I go to college I would have a little something to listen to when everybody in the dorm talkin' shit, I just put my tape in, feel me? So I had a little tape that everybody in the neighborhood was feelin'. Eric B. knew this kid who brought him to my crib and said "yo this kid here knows Marley Marl and Mr. Magic and shit. So I let him hear the tape and he was feelin' that shit. He was like "Yo we could do this, we could do this" and I told him "nah man I'm tryin' to go to school and play football." So he came back a couple of weeks later with a fucking bad idea talkin' about "yo Rah if we do a album and you sign as just featured on the album you don't have to sign no contract, then you can go ahead and play football and do your thing." So I was like aight fuck it. I always wanted to make a record but I wasn't going crazy to try and do it, but I was like "aight fuck it, I wouldn't mind." You know get a chance to spit on a joint then go do my thang cause I played football all my life man since I was 7 years old.

ThaFormula.com - So there might have been a chance that you would have been a football player instead of an MC?

Rakim - Yeah man. I played quarterback, but yeah they would of had me as a deep safety on a semi-pro team somewhere. But nah man you know things happen for a reason. I stopped growing in the 9th and 10th grade. So he came through with the joint, said we could do the joint and sign featuring to the album and you know we did that and the shit blew up and then you know I had to make a decision.

ThaFormula.com - How good of a football player were you Rah?

Rakim - I was pretty good 'bruh. I think I would have made it to a nice college. Like I said back then they was taking quarterbacks and then once you get into the big leagues they were switching them to deep safety's and shit like that. But like I said I stopped growing and things happen for a reason man. I think I'm a better rapper then a football player even though I definitely did my thang. I don't like to brag or toot my own horn man but I was nasty man in football! Nasty man!

ThaFormula.com - I'm sure everyone is happy that you chose rhymin' Rah. It seems like in the end, somebody always tries to backstab or take advantage of someone before breaking up?

Rakim - No doubt, even if its for 2000 dollars and you know you go do a big arena and then the after party. I'm 16, 17 years old, I don't know nothing about them paying for after parties too. Little sneaky shit like that. Little $1500.

ThaFormula.com - So you were doing after parties and you weren't getting paid?

Rakim - Nah, all you had to do was just walk in the door. The thing is you go do the big arena, then after that you wanna go chill have a little drink or something and chill. Not knowing that they paying the muthafuckin celebrities to come up in there and drink they champagne. So like little shit in the beginning, it was never no crazy shit but niggaz will snake you for whatever is on the table man.

ThaFormula.com - So how's your relationship with Eric B now, is there anything?

Rakim - Nah, nothing at all man. I sent his family my condolences a while ago when his pops passed. We all knew his pops man. His pops was real talkative with us. He used to always come kick it with us and hang out. He came to a couple of the shows and everybody knew him well. He passed away not too long ago.

ThaFormula.com - So you guys parted on bad terms then?

Rakim - Yeah, you can say that. It was to the point where it was like "fuck it dog, go ahead man." Like I said I was trying to do my solo joint and all he had to do was sign some papers and you know I couldn't find him, he ain't home, he ain't answering the phone and you know all of this bullshit. Then after about six months he gonna tell me, "yo Rah once I sign the paper then that's it they don't have to pick you up after that." But the thing is if he would have kept it real man, he would have never had to worry about the label droppin' him cause when they picked me up the next year, "yo you gotta pick my man Eric B up man!" But you know by him being him, that shit wasn't gonna happen. So after a while he knew that if he would have signed that, than he would have been gone. So what I had to do was get a new contract with my label and finally I got a chance to go ahead and do my album.

ThaFormula.com - Do you think if the situation was reversed he would have looked out for you?

Rakim - Nah, especially after that shit happened. See when it was time for him to do his solo joint I signed a contract no problem. So when it's time for me to do mine, do what you got to do man. I didn't say nothing like, "yo when I sign this I'm assed out for a year." I didn't say nothin' like, "yo why you gotta go first?" Go ahead do your thing.

ThaFormula.com - I always wondered what the hell Eric B. was thinkin' that made him wanna rhyme? It was incredible to me. I couldn't believe it...

Rakim - Yo, I can't figure that shit out till this day.

ThaFormula.com - Did he always wanna rhyme on the albums?

Rakim - Never. He woke up one morning with a bright idea man and I can't understand that shit 'till this day. I guess he thought that the level that we was at whatever he would have did would have got the same attention.

ThaFormula.com - So next came the "18th Letter" LP. How was that different from doing the Eric B & Rakim projects and do you wish that you would have broke off solo sooner?

Rakim - Nah, everything happens for a reason and that's the way I look at shit. I don't wanna go back and change nothing. The only difference when I started doing the solo album is that instead of doing the beats myself we was shopping for beats. That was a little different and shit you know waiting to hear that shit that you know you would love to rhyme to. Somebody else is trying to think of what you love rhymin' to so its a little different. Especially Rakim. You know I didn't do what everybody else did. It was easy for me to go in the basement and grab a record out the crate and sample that shit up, chop it up and say "yeah I'm feelin' that," and spit some shit to it. But we had to sit patiently to get the closest shit to spit to and try to do my thang.

ThaFormula.com - Did you pick the producers for that album yourself or was it something the label wanted?

Rakim - Nah, what it was, was that once I started doing the album a lot of people called and a lot of people sent beats and I just picked what I felt was closest to Rakim as possible.

ThaFormula.com - Why didn't you and Large Pro ever hook up again?

Rakim - Oh because him and Eric B went through a little beef man, he did send me some tracks though but at that time he was going through a lot of shit with his record deal on Geffen. I guess he was more focused on what he was going through but he sent me a tape with a couple of joints on it.

ThaFormula.com - How did the "18th Letter" do for you and how do you look at that album?

Rakim - Oh I love that one man. I love that. It's like coming back after all them years and people wonder if I could come back. For a minute I was wondering. And to get love like that that shit felt real good.

ThaFormula.com - Was the label happy with the album or were they disappointed?

Rakim - Nah, they was a pretty happy man. It went platinum and did it's thang so the label was definitely feelin' the whole thang.

ThaFormula.com - Where do you rank the "Juice" Soundtrack amongst soundtracks?

Rakim - That's real special to me man, 'cause I did the Juice track also. I always been on that abstract Hip-Hop. I know what I like to rhyme to. Sometimes it might be a little abstract but when I play certain grooves and something clicks and if I feel that's me then I'ma go for it. Like "Casualties of War," that wasn't no track that people was doing at the time. But it sounded like "Casualties of War" to me at the same time so that's what I wanted to do. So I didn't care if it wasn't no radio friendly record or if it wasn't in the regular format of a single, and that's the way I like doing records man. But the "Juice" joint was one of my favorite joints man, 'cause they let me see the movie and I went home that day, went diggin' in the crates and found a little sample. I wrote a verse, took it to the studio the next day added a couple of more samples, wrote a couple of more verses, and that shit came out kind of crazy man. So that's one of my favorite joints I did.

ThaFormula.com - That was a great soundtrack. One of the nicest soundtracks of all time. Where would you rank it?

Rakim - For me, I came up watching nothing but movies with crazy soundtracks man. Like "Black Caesar" to me is the illest Soundtrack ever. That movie right there is the number one Soundtrack ever right there. The "Juice" soundtrack was definitely top five cause everybody that participated gave it they all and they felt that it was gonna be something for the hood to see and something for the hood to learn man. So everybody came with their best man, so it's definitely top 5 all time to me.

ThaFormula.com - Do you ever wish you could have recorded with Tupac before he passed?

Rakim - Oh no doubt. Tupac, Biggie, Pun and what's messed up is we don't appreciate our great artists until they are gone man. That's some of the problems. But I definitely wanted to do some joints with them.

ThaFormula.com - Now after the "18th Letter" came your last solo album, "The Master." Looking back, how do you remember that album? It seemed like Primo was the only one who stuck with you on that album and supported?

Rakim - No doubt. See pickin' tracks and all that was crazy. I didn't know if it was a bad time to find producers.

ThaFormula.com - Were you even motivated at that time to record that album?

Rakim - To tell the truth and you know I can say it now 'cause everything with the label I was on is cool now, but at that point man it was more like they wanted a lot of control in the album. They wanted a lot of radio friendly material on it and that ain't Rah you know what I mean? But through the years I was known to be hard to work with. So I tried to say "okay Rah, maybe you are being a little stubborn man, maybe what they tellin' you can help you," so I went through I guess a period where I felt I had to make a slight change as far as my track selection. So I basically kind of left the track selection up to them. Who they wanted me to work with and what track they thought was a hit and what they felt wasn't.

ThaFormula.com - Because there was a lot of tracks on that album that I just felt you weren't feelin'. I mean I liked the album, but for some reason I always felt that you weren't really feelin' any of those tracks when you were rhymin?

Rakim - Yeah, its like another thing man. What make me write fury man, what makes me write fury, is the track. If you give me a blazin' track, I'm gonna dig within myself and pull something out for the track. But if you give me a track that I'm not used to rhymin' to, a track that don't really fit my style, I'm not gonna write what Rakim usually writes. I'm not gonna blame that on nobody but myself man because in your career your gonna have to make decisions. A lot of times your gonna stick to your guns, sometimes you say "well let me compromise on this one," and sometimes it's not a good compromise, and sometimes it is. I made a compromise that turned out to be not to good. I guess one of the good things about it though man is that people are still waiting to see what I'ma do here, so I always try to keep my notebook in perspective and make sure that at least they'll be able to say, "well he did his thing with the notebook, but you know I wasn't feelin' the track." So whatever, you know what I mean. I always try to make sure that I can return.

ThaFormula.com - Did you ever record any tracks that people haven't heard with someone like Nas or Biz?

Rakim - Nah, because back in the day when you know with the first 4 or 5 albums I did uh, what I did was I got the track, I wrote to it and put it on the album. Back then I wasn't makin' 20 records to find 13. So like most of the joints I did made the album. So it wasn't a lot of B-sides layin' around.

ThaFormula.com - So with you sayin' that, why now with this Aftermath album do you and Dre have to do so many tracks to try and put it together?

Rakim - 'Cause what we doin' now you know I'm not with just another producer, I'm with a West Coast producer and a lot of the joints we doin' are us trying new joints. We gonna do West Coast joints and you know we definitely doing East Coast, but we trying a lot of new things know what I mean? And what we do is just if there is a beat that we feel is hot, I pen it out and if it comes out, uh if we feel its bangin' then we gonna use it. If we feel it's just okay then we gonna push it to the side. Its kind of good because I'm building my horizons to the West Coast all the way back to the East Coast. Before it was I'ma make this New York flava and every other state is gonna adapt to it. If they don't know what I'm talkin' about then, uh later! Now I'm trying to make music for the world. So it's a little different.

ThaFormula.com - Now you did the "R.A.K.I.M." song for the 8 Mile soundtrack, in your honest opinion Rah, how do you view that track? Did you have total control of that track, 'cause it seemed like the complete opposite of the track you did with Ayatollah, "A Cold Feelin'" which I thought was very dope?

Rakim - Yeah, that joint there from 8 mile…what it was, was an album joint and Em came to us and said he needed a track. We didn't have time to do a new joint and Dre let him hear a couple of joints from the album. He heard "R.A.K.I.M." and asked if he could have that for the movie. But that again was just a joint that we tried out. One of Em's producers made the track so I guess that's another reason why it was easy for them to get that one on his joint. So Dre played it for Em and Em said he loved it, so I was like yo no doubt man, take that dog, that's family! It was definitely different nah mean.

ThaFormula.com - What were your thoughts on that track though cause it didn't seem like a Rakim type track? I mean I gotta be honest with you man, I was caught off guard with that track and honestly speakin' a lot of people in the streets were disappointed. Not in the rhymes you were kickin' but in the beat and choice of hook and are worried that your gonna go in the same path as a lot of these dope MC's that are going for the more radio friendly tracks. I tell you this 'cause a lot of heads out there are really hopin' that you change the game once again and I just wanted to let you know straight up that you got a lot of heads depending on you to come with that real shit…

Rakim - Word up.

ThaFormula.com - I just wanted to be real with you man and let you know what some people are sayin' and hopefully you could appreciate what I'm tellin' you 'cause I didn't wanna be on some "yes man" stuff...

Rakim - "Yes man" shit, No doubt!

ThaFormula.com - I mean your rhymes were on point without a doubt, but I was also blown away and I don't know if this is true, but I heard that all the Primo tracks were rejected?

Rakim - Yeah, somewhat bro, he sent a couple of tracks and for one reason or another they turned them down, so it's like you know Dre has got a vision as far as where he wants the album to go. So I'ma respect that vision. So at the end of the day once we get up in the lab and you know see what we got then that's when the conscious decision is gonna be made, but right now we just trying to find the right joints, get the chemistry right and make an incredible album. If it takes me doing 20 tracks and picking the best 13, if it takes us turning down some tracks to get a better one, we gotta do what we gotta do. My man Premier, he is a professional. It didn't worry him at all. He was like "well whatever man, I'll make some new joints, send them to you and we will get it poppin' like that."

ThaFormula.com - What did you think of the Primo beats that were given to you. I mean is the album a decision between both you and Dre or is it mainly Dre's decision on what the beats are gonna be used?

Rakim - Well nah at the end of the day, I gotta write to it, but what I'm doin' right now, uh Dre is a multi-platinum artist, I'm an underground artist. I make joints for the underground. When it comes to makin' multi-sellin' CD's I'll leave that to Dre. I'ma trust him 100 percent on this.

ThaFormula.com - That track you did with Ayatollah was very nice though Rah...

Rakim - Yeah, but that was supposed to be for "The Wash" Soundtrack but I guess samples and us sending it in late and a bunch of other reasons, it was too late to make the soundtrack. I think also, somebody put it on the Internet.

ThaFormula.com - Is that gonna make it on the album?

Rakim - Well nah, I guess now they already used it up nah mean. But that was something we was holdin' you know for the end of the day to see if it was album material. He's supposed to send some more tracks.

ThaFormula.com - Also, I meant no disrespect Rah about what I said about the "R.A.K.I.M." track Rah...

Rakim - Nah, I respect that Bro, because it's like I know what everybody is expecting and I know what the Ayatollah shit was. That shit was straight fire. That was straight Rakim underground shit, but it's like I definitely respect that man cause my listeners man, that shit means a lot to me 'cause if it wasn't for them I wouldn't be me. So I want to do everything I can to make sure that when this shit drop they say, "ok, the God is bananas!"

ThaFormula.com - I just wanted to let you know what I hear some people in the streets are sayin' from a guy that's always on the streets...

Rakim - Well see what's good about that is when we sit down and decide what's gonna be on the album, that's gonna be a big talk right there. So I'm glad, especially coming from somebody who do interviews and somebody who's always in the streets and opinionating Hip-Hop man. So you know I needed that bro.

ThaFormula.com - I just want to be able to pop in the new Rakim LP and say "The God did it again!," 'cause this is one of the most important albums in Hip-Hop history at a very crucial time in Hip-Hop...

Rakim - And that's what I'ma try and do for you bro.

ThaFormula.com - Now I heard there was a little problem with the recent Source feature they ran on you. Is that true?

Rakim - Yeah, that was a lot of bullshit that jumped off after that you know what I mean?

ThaFormula.com - What exactly was the problem with that Rah?

Rakim - Well, what they were supposed to do was a little pre-interview and then they were supposed to do the big 5 page spread when the album dropped. There was a lot of questions that Aftermath asked the Source not to ask. So when we get up in there the kid wanted to ask what he wanted to ask anyway and you know it was Aftermath representative and my manager was in there and it was like yo, everytime he would go to ask a question, they was like,"nah you know he cant answer that." The brother got a little upset and you know wanted to ask what he wanted to ask, you know? Shit got a little heated and then once the shit was done, you know he printed it the way he wanted to print it.

ThaFormula.com - So a lot of the shit in the article like only 2 tracks being completed was bullshit?

Rakim - Yeah, cause we only played him one joint. Dre is trying to keep everything on the hush and I guess uh like I said, he printed the shit up the way he wanted to.

ThaFormula.com - So are you guys still working on this album and is it still an ongoing process?

Rakim - No doubt, everything is straight nah mean? Right now we trying to keep everything new.

ThaFormula.com - What people really wanna know is how close are we to getting this album and are you really close to finishing it?

Rakim - Hopefully it will drop in the summertime. Dre only got to do like another four tracks and I'ma do a couple of more in New York. I just spoke to my man Clark Kent. What I'm trying to do is cover all corners right now so you know get a couple of more tracks so that when we sit down at the end of the day and play everything we got I wanna make sure I got a big library to pick from.

ThaFormula.com - Who are you looking for to do production in the East?

Rakim - I'm speakin' to a couple of cats right now. I'm just waiting for the heaters. I'm looking for Primo, I'm waiting for my man Clark to send something through. I'm waiting for Just Blaze to send something through you know.

ThaFormula.com - Well we definitely wanna hear you over the hardest shit…

Rakim - Over the raw, ghetto grimy, ugly shit and you know it's wild though nah mean? Like through my career when I was straight grimy grimy, grimy. People would say "yo Rah why don't you do some radio friendly joints?" Then you do the radio friendly joints and its like, "nah Rah do the grimy, grimy joints." So the best thing for me man is to stick to my guns man. Grimy, grimy, Grimy!

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