Trueschool Monday #65

"This hip-hop and we is a nation
Don't you wanna hear more KRS-One on your radio station?
Instead of broadcasting how we smoke them trees
On the radio we need to hear more local emcees
Where you at?, c'mon where you at?
This is the difference between emceein' and rap
Rappers spit rhymes that're mostly illegal
Emcees spit rhymes to uplift their people..."

"Classic (Better Than I've Ever Been)" is Grammy nominated collaboration song between Kanye West, Nas, Rakim and KRS-One that is produced by Rick Rubin. The song was released as a single on February 20, 2007 by Nike Records. It was performed live at the Nike Air Force Ones 25th anniversary party shown on MTV2. Its remix, "Better Than I've Ever Been DJ Premier Remix", is produced by DJ Premier, and it features Rakim along with the aforementioned rappers. It features DJ Premier's signature scratches from prior songs such as Nas' "One Love" and "It Ain't Hard to Tell". The song was nominated for Best Rap Collaboration at the 50th Grammy Awards in 2008. Common was featured on the remix, scratched on the DJ Premier version.

Trueschool Monday #47

"When it's ugly, then the club is lovely
Thugs be sipping Henessey and bubbly
To my comrades that keep it flaming hot
On dangerous blocks, claiming spots
Where the goal is to be one of the top-ranked soldiers
Forty-five holders, one of the high rollers..."

William Michael Griffin Jr. (born January 28, 1968), known by his stage names Rakim (or simply Ra), Rakim Allah and R.A.K.I.M., is an American rapper. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and most skilled emcees of all time due to his exceptional flow and complex lyrical craftsmanship.
In addition to his career as a rap artist, he is a writer, and poet. Rakim's rapping, which pioneered the use of internal rhymes in hip hop, set a higher standard of lyricism in the genre and served as a template for future rappers. Rakim began his career as a emcee for part of one of the most important rap duos of the golden age hip hop era: Eric B. & Rakim.