Since his last album, 1999’s The Master, fans have eagerly awaited Rakim’s follow-up album. After Oh My God, a project with Dr. Dre fell through after numerous delays, The Seventh Seal was announced…and delayed numerous times.
Fans waiting for the album to drop on 7/7/07 as promised were disappointed, as nothing of the sort occurred. However, Rakim states that he still has intentions to drop the long-awaited album, which will drop via his own G&E Trust label.
“The number 7 has a lot of significance. The 7th letter of the alphabet
is G — that stands for God. There are 7 continents, 7 seas. The
‘Seventh Seal’ deals with that and also some revelations in the Bible,” said Ra to Billboard. “Some call it the end of the world
but for me it’s the end of the old and the beginning of the new. By me
naming my album that, I’m using it metaphorically in hip-hop. I’m
hoping to kill the old state of hip-hop and start with the new.”
Rakim further explained that there would be very few guests on the album, though a few collaborations would be recorded in the next few weeks.
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Songs intended to make the cut are “Divide and Conquer” and “Holy Are You.” “Divide and Conquer” speaks on “the state of mind of the hood and how divide can cause turmoil,” explained the rapper. “How Holy Are You” deals with “the laws we’re supposed to abide by, who we are, what our duties are,”
Currently, Rakim is prepping a DVD featuring interviews, unreleased tracks and live footage. In November, he will team up with Ghostface Killah and Brother Ali for the Hip-Hop Live! tour.
