Billboard Interview: Rakim

Billboard, by way of Reuters, spoke with Rakim regarding his latest album, The Seventh Seal, asking the usual questions re: New York hip-hop and the Aftermath saga.

“The majority of this album has that melodic New York sound — I just tried to make it a good, all-around New York album,” he says. “That’s why I did songs like ‘Euphoria,’ with (New York rappers) Jadakiss, Busta Rhymes and Styles P — I wanted to make sure our presence was felt.”

New York is kind of all over the place with its sound right now. Overall, I think the substance of hip-hop is a little shallow and I think listeners and consumers realize that. We need to get back to a little more consciousness — to the essence of hip-hop, not just partying and negativity.

Here’s the link to the whole interview, via Reuters.