In commemoration of the god Rakim’s upcoming birthday (January 28th), close friend and longtime egotripland contributor Michael A. Gonzales has been so kind as to bless us with a brand new preface to his excellent profile on the R, which was originally published in ego trip magazine issue #11 back in 1997. The respected journalist, who is the contributing editor of HYCIDE, the co-editor of the erotica journal Open and a regular blogger at blackadelicpop, caught up with Rakim shortly before the release of the The 18th Letter album and got the MC to open up about early childhood memories of rhyming, his working relationship with Eric B and his experience collaborating with DJ Premier. It’s a compelling read, to say the least.


Rakim Story: http://www.egotripland.co...w_ego_trip