Eric B. & Rakim have made a point of distancing themselves from the current circumstances of hip hop. The musical timeline has reached a point in which the language we use to denote the art itself has lost its appeal or significance. The difference between the words "rap" and hip hop" sometimes serving as a moot point to people nowadays.
The duo lament that rappers are farther away from actualizing real messages in their music because they have lost the ability to "create meaningful change through words and verses."
"You are now witnessing the devolution of rap music. The death of poetry and smoothness," they warn. Last year, The duo got into a row with singer Eric Bellinger over the title of his mixtape, auspiciously named Eric B for President.
The older heads are quite evidently looking to round up the respect they are due for creating inroads. For his part, Rakim was instrumental in ushering a new cadence for rappers, and for incorporating multi rhyme schemes now made famous by contemporaries such as Migos and Young Thug.Perhaps Rakim has more in common with the current generation than he thinks, at least at second glance.
