Rakim
William Griffin Jr. was a saxophone player and John Coltrane devotee from Wyandanch, Long Island before he became 'Rakim' — and it shows in the unhurried, syncopated cadence he brought to rap the moment he teamed with DJ Eric B. in 1986. 'Eric B. Is President' and the album 'Paid in Full' replaced the era's shout-it-till-it-rhymes style with something closer to jazz phrasing: laid-back but mathematically precise. Kool Moe Dee summed up the shift bluntly — Rakim is basically the inventor of flow.
Rakim has named Grandmaster Caz as one of the three MCs — his self-described 'Mount Rushmore' — whose wordplay and phrasing 'sent him on his way' as a teenage writer.
listen forListen to Caz's 'Weekend' and then Rakim's 'Eric B. Is President' — the same playful internal wordplay is there, just slowed down and stretched into Rakim's more deliberate cadence.
Rakim has cited Melle Mel alongside Caz and Kool Moe Dee as one of his defining teenage influences, and Mel's commanding, authoritative delivery set a bar Rakim measured his own voice against.
listen forCompare Melle Mel's booming verses on 'The Message' with Rakim's 'My Melody' — both project total command of the mic, even as Rakim trades Mel's shouted force for something cooler and more conversational.
Rakim listed Kool Moe Dee among his 'Mount Rushmore' of teenage influences, drawn to the sharp, technical precision Moe Dee brought to the Treacherous Three's routines.
listen forListen to the Treacherous Three's 'Feel the Heartbeat' and then Rakim's 'Microphone Fiend' — both showcase a rapper locking precisely into the pocket of the beat rather than riding on top of it.