Rakim

William Michael Griffin Jr., better known by his stage name Rakim, is an American rapper. He is one half of golden age hip-hop duo Eric B.

The Ra—William Michael Griffin Jr.—didn't just rap; he rewired what rapping could be, turning the microphone into an instrument that bent and stretched around beats rather than simply riding them. With Eric B., he cut *Paid in Full* and *Follow the Leader* on Def Jam, albums that converted the entire East Coast to his gospel of internal rhyme schemes and multi-syllabic wordplay that made predecessors sound primitive overnight. Nas grew up genuinely studying him, absorbing not just technique but that spiritual approach to lyrics; Jay-Z and Eminem would later cite him among their greatest five, the kind of reverence reserved for architects of language itself.