Rakim, G.O.Ds NETWORK – REB7RTH ⭐️❌❌❌❌
If you’re excited about the first Rakim album in 15 years like I was, don’t be. No, I’m not being cynical or overly negative. Rakim literally only raps two verses on this album. Yes, you read that right. Two verses on an album that is billed under his name. I’ve never been more confused by an album in my life.
This album is pretty much nothing but features, and all clearly recorded with no real reference to each other, and some seemingly recorded in completely different years. One track has the late Nipsey Hussle on it, so that has to date to 2019 or before, and then on another track someone name drops Pfizer. So chances are that was around the time of the COVID vaccine in 2021. So this has obviously been in the works for a long time.
This over abundance of features makes for some unintentionally funny moments. One hilarious feature is Snoop Dogg, who shows up for only 30 seconds on an outro, where he just says “Look up in the sky / We are two, I am the one” twice, and then adlibs “If wasn’t Snoop Dogg, I wouldn’t mind being Rakim.” That’s it. I think Rakim just wanted Snoop Dogg’s name on the album.
Favorite song: I guess the opening track, “BE ILL” just for the simple fact that, at that point, I still thought I was going to be listening to a Rakim album.
