Halftimeonline's exclusive with RAKIM part 2!

jbutters

Ya???ll know what it is. The long awaited second half of our 2-hour exclusive chat with Rakim.Source: http://www.halftimeonline.comAudio: http://www.halftimeonline.com/podcasts/rakiminterview2.mp3Halftimeonline: We were talking about the tracks you did at Aftermath. Were you planning on releasing those tracks, do you feel that they are too old or it???s not the message you want to put out right now?Rakim: #1 they are like three years old and they already leaked a few of them out on the internet. [They leaked] ???Welcome to the Hood??? and ???After U Die.??? I forget the others but I think it???s like five altogether. As far as me putting it on my new album they are a little too old for that. You might hear a couple more on a mixtape or something.Halftimeonline: I always hear a lot of artists talking about how location affects their writing like Wu Tang saying it when they went out to Cali. You being out there did you see any difference in your writing when you were doing some of the songs?Rakim: Yea, what it did was give me a broader view of California. It really let me understand that rappers are separated. You got the dirty south sound, Cali got their sound but being out there it gave me a more of a universal look at hip hop because when you are out in Cali the radio is 85% west coast. It was a nice experience. It let me know what they are doing and how they are living. Hearing it on records is one thing but living out there when you are waking up and going to sleep out there you really start to feel their pain and feel their struggle and all that. I learned a lot out there. Halftimeonline: There???s been a lot of talk about how things with you and Dre didn???t go the right way or go as planned but putting two artists like yourselves together in the room there had to be some magic happening even if it was only for one song. Were there some moments when you two were together where you like damn this is exactly what I came here for? If so what song showed that experience?Rakim: Well I think that Truth Hurts joint for one. There were a couple other joints that we did where there was a feeling in the studio when you lay that sixteen down and the vibe in the room let???s you know what that sixteen bars was. There were definitely times where it didn???t get to the end of the tunnel. Even if it didn???t get to the end of the tunnel those were the goals we were trying to reach to get to that destination. It was definitely a good learning experience and definitely good times. Every time we got into the studio we had fun. You know what Dre like to do as far as the sound of music they create but it just wasn???t for me at the time. That was the only problem we had. He wanted me to go one way real hard but I???d touch on it and step back out of that. When you???re trying to please both sides of the fence at the same time you really can???t do that. Halftimeonline: Obviously after that happened cats were like where???s Rakim? It???s almost to me that it???s similar to Tribe where the longer it takes for you to release something the greater the mystique grows. Do you ever think that people???s expectations will be so high that you may not be able to reach not what you feel would be good but what the fans are expecting?Rakim: No doubt. That???s one thing that comes into the picture but I use that as fuel more than pressure. Sometimes I look at new artists trying to come out or trying to make their name and it???s like they???re coming into the game blind. They don???t really know what the world is going to expect from them and they really trying to get in where they fit in but me I almost got the red carpet. So it???s a little easier so I use it as good fuel. Like you said with Ra it???s like the longer it takes the bigger the mystique is. I use that like look dude they waiting for you, they still love you and want to hear you. So with that right there that???s all I need. Now coming out and you don???t even have a fan base I think that???s harder. I think if I was just coming out right now it would be harder for me to do what I do than to deal with what people expect who have an understanding of what I do. It???s a little easier.Jbutters: When you came out onstage in Baltimore that???s the loudest I ever heard a crowd and I???ve seen practically everyone. We had never seen you perform so we were like we had to go but to see that happening and you haven???t put anything out and nobody cared.Marcus: There was no introduction either. Kid Capri just put on one of the hardest beats I ever heard in my life and you just walked onstage and people was like oh shit!Rakim: It???s love. I???m gonna tell you the truth it???s like I did BB Kings in January tore that up but that???s NY you kinda expect that. I did a few other shows in Central Park wrecked that shit but in the back of my mind I???m like damn I ain???t been to Baltimore in a while. I don???t even know what the vibe on Rakim is in Baltimore. That was one of the shows out of the two week tour that I was like when I go through Baltimore I want to leave a good impression. But when I stepped on the stage that???s what I mean bruh. It???s like that???s the welcome mat. That???s the key to the hood right there. It makes it a little easier for me to perform. It makes it a little easier for me to write and do what I do. That???s my goal right there and that???s my justice when I come out they make it easier for me. Please give Baltimore some love for me man because they definitely gave it to me. I???m gonna make sure I give them a special shout out on the album. That???s what it is. Halftimeonline: It???s not like we saw a Rakim mixtape or things that people are doing in terms of marketing. Obviously, like you said you???re different and you don???t have to do little marketing ploys to keep your name out there but seeing how things have changed how come you didn???t approach it using some of those things?Rakim: Well, some things are good for certain types of rappers. When 50 came out and did it you see every rapper trying to hit the mixtape circuit and it was almost like you had to do a mixtape before you get a deal. But like I said before whenever I sat down to write something it was never anything I took lightly. It was something that I???d want you, somebody in Japan, and somebody [over there to hear it]. When you do something and put your heart into it you and you think it???s that shit you want everybody that possibly listens to hip hop to listen to that shit. So I never wanted to do the mixtape circuit and 300,000 people hear it and that???s a chapter of my life and when I do another album I???m coming off of that chapter but the whole world didn???t hear that chapter so it???s like I would have to start over. I kinda write in sequences that I live through. So once I finish one album I know where to begin again. I never really liked the idea of doing mixtapes but at the same time it was a big thing a lot of people were doing it and it almost got to the point where if you didn???t touch the mixtape circuit it was like you didn???t care. Read or listen to the rest of this interview at http://www.halftimeonline.com