The 18th Letter was Rakim's first solo release and came after a five-year hiatus following the release of 1992's Don't Sweat the Technique alongside Eric B. The album debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200 and featured production from Hip-Hop's elite, including the aforementioned Pete Rock, Clark Kent, and DJ Premier among others.
Rakim is recognized as a pivotal emcee who ultimately shaped the sound and landscape of Hip-Hop. "In terms of emceeing, Rakim? He's the Alpha and Omega," Phonte told Rock The Bells in an interview this year. "He's very much like a Richard Pryor, or like a J. Dilla in the sense that it's so hard to explain his importance to people who didn't know a world before him."
Chuck D agreed with the sentiment in a post earlier this year. "Facts RAKIM & KRS ONE CHANGED THE way we all rhymed," he wrote on Twitter. "They were the FIRST MCS that literally made the beat chase them instead of vice versa. They single-handedly did to RAP what Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington did for jazz w phrasing & composition. If this is too cryptic oh well."
Rakim will be celebrating The 18th Letter at SOB's in NYC on Oct. 27 and The House of Blues in Cleveland on Oct. 28.
