*Hangin’ out with Rakim…

Even when I was very young, 9 or 10 years old… I was fanatical about hip-hop. More so than most kids my age. They were mostly obsessed with toys and cartoons and shit. I mean… don’t get me wrong, I LOVED G.I. Joe’s and Transformers too… but I studied Big Daddy Kane and EPMD more than the average little kid.

And even at that young age… I knew there was something different about Rakim.

Something that set him apart from everyone else rapping. I wasn’t intellectual enough at that point to grasp the depth of his lyrics… but it sounded fuckin’ crazy to me. When you’re that young, you’re not as worldly… and your imagination runs away with you. So compared to every other rapper in that era, Rakim sounded like… a fuckin’… WIZARD or something.

Rakim quickly became my favorite rapper… and held that position indefinitely.

As the years went on, he became even iller… and more of an enigma.

The Way he carried himself in videos, and Yo! MTV Raps appearances, was like an ancient mystical wise man, who knew some shit that the rest of us didn’t. He was calm, cool, collect and genius. You can’t front… if you paid attention to Rakim, that’s how he was.

His (& Eric B.’s) album “Let The Rhythm Hit Em” was so dark and grimey… and further fueled my imagination and education.

The song “In The Ghetto”, was the first time I ever heard the word “apartheid“… and it also put simple, yet profound things, in to perspective for me. Case in point :

“Thinking how hard it was to be born/ Me, being cream with no physical form/ Millions of cells with one destination/ To reach the best part… that’s life, creation/ 9 months later, a job well done…/ Make way… ’cause here I come”

They tried to teach that shit to us in school… but hearin’ it the way Ra presented it, put a different pep in my step.

Anyway… let’s fast forward 8 years.

1998. Me and Open Mic had just finished our “Sure Shot Affair” demo.

One night we went to a show in Boston to see 7L & Eso perform… they were opening up for Rakim. I shook Rakim’s hand, and briefly built with his road manager at the time, the legendary Bill Blass (R.I.P.).

*That’s Bill, far left*

Large Professor referenced Bill, on “Live At The Barbecue”:

“You’ll be as crispy as my man Bill Blass”.

Anyway…..

Bill told me that the next day, they’d be doing a show at Eastern Connecticut State University (ECSU), which is in Willimantic, CT… where I’m pretty much from. Bill said I should come through and he’d put me on the list.

The next day Open Mic was working, so I rolled with one of my best friends, Louie. If you’re a fan of my shit, you’ve definitely heard me talk about Louie on pretty much every album.

*That’s Louie with the Yankees hat and black hoodie*

So Louie and I head over to Eastern, in his beat up ass 1987 Chevy Cavalier… which looked like this :

We saw the tour bus pull in, and appeared to be lost on the small campus. I walked over to the bus and the door opened… out steps Bill Blass, and he was visually relieved to see me. He didn’t know where they were supposed to go, and they were running out of time. I helped them find the office and everything was running smooth. He said “You’re gonna be our “go to guy”… which I had no problem with.

Me and Louie followed Bill on the bus, which normally is a “no no”. Dudes do not want other dudes on their bus, who they don’t know well. It’s just an unspoken tour rule… but this was an exception. Rakim greeted me again… way cooler than I anticipated. I basically thought he’d be polite but not acknowledge me… that wasn’t the case. He was way more talkative and social than I ever pictured, being that I had that mystical image/persona of Rakim chiseled in my brain for so long.

I’ve never really been “star struck” (except when Jay-Z walked up on me and Motive one time at the 40-40)…

But I was in awe…

I was in awe the way Malcolm X must have felt, the first time he met Elijah Muhhamad. I almost couldn’t look him in the eyes. This was the God. I was overwhelmed.

I know all that seems crazy… or might sound corny to a couple of you… but I’m telling you exactly how I felt at that moment.

Ra had his sons with him on the bus, who were about 5 and 8 (I’m guessing)… and a small entourage. One guy I remember named Mike D (no, not Mike D from Beastie Boys) was funny as fuck.

I pulled out a box of Altoids mints, and offered him one… and he said “What the fuck is that? Some acid or some shit? I know you white people fuck with drugs heavy”.

Ra quickly intervened and schooled Mike on what Altoids were. Me and Louie were dying laughing over the absurdity of the whole conversation.

Moving on…

The guys wanted to head to their hotel for a little while before the show later that night… and asked if I’d show them where it was, ‘cause they weren’t familar  with the area. When the girl from the school told me which hotel it was… I had a good “idea” of where it was, but I wasn’t positive. However… I didn’t tell anyone that… I just said “Ok… no problem… I know where it is.”

So Louie and I jumped in his ‘87 Cavalier and led Rakim’s tour bus off in the direction of uncertainty. We’re driving and driving for about 40 minutes before I decide “FUCK… I have NO CLUE where this fuckin’ hotel is!”. They put them up somewhere in the BOONIES. I had Louie pull over, and I jump out of the car to talk to Bill. I was nervous, because I definitely felt like I fucked up.

Bill didn’t seem to care… he said “Fuck it… let’s just get back so we can do sound check”. He told me to jump on the bus with them, so they don’t get lost… and we followed Louie’s hooptie back to campus.

At this point Ra asked me “So, what is it, that you do?…” and I told him “I’m an emcee”. He seemed amused by that idea, and told me I should spit something for them. They were probably under the assumption, that I’d be some horribly corny white kid.

You have to understand… this was before Eminem blew up. He only had “Just Dont Give A Fuck” out… this was before “Hi… My Name Is”. So people’s perception of white artists, was still tainted by the Vanilla Ice era… even though it was so long ago.

I kicked a verse for them, that was full of my normal punchlines, and some alien references and shit… and they lost their fuckin’ minds on the bus. They definitely weren’t expecting that.

Rakim got up and gave me a pound.

Rakim told me I’m incredible. After that moment… no negative review, no criticism, no hate ever mattered. I don’t give a fuck what anyone ever has to say… because Rakim told me I’m “incredible”.

When we got back, they had set up a green room area for Ra, which was pretty much a class room, that had a TV, with a Play Station in it… and food for Ra, entourage and kids.They brought the food out, everyone was eating… but I was playing the back, trying to be humble… and Rakim himself said “Yo, make sure Apathy eats too.”. I know that seems trivial… but it was a huge deal to me. That was the realeast shit.

Open Mic got out of work and joined up with us a little later. We watched Ra perform and he tore shit the fuck down. I’ll NEVER EVER EVER forget… he performed “Follow The Leader” SITTING DOWN… IN A CHAIR… and the crowd went fuckin’ INSANE! I still have never seen a rapper command that much power and respect. Ever.

Rakim is truly, and always will be an enigma.

I had Ra sign The 18th Letter CD and cassette that I bought a few months prior in late ‘97… and he signed a shirt for me. I still have the shirt. Never wore it. He signed it “Apathy, Rakim Allah, Peace”.

I have no shame with being a fan, and showing love like that to an artist that had such a huge impact in my life.

I hear a lot of kids say “I dont wanna be on your dick or be a fan boy” or apologize in other ways… or even say “No homo” after giving me a compliment to me… and I think that’s fucking ABSURD.

Without fans, this music is nothing.

I will continue to be a fan. A FANATICAL fan. And meeting my idols, means more to me than anything. Hip-Hop is my life… and always has been. I thank Rakim for the music… and being a good, humble person… and one of the best memories of my life. Word up.

R.I.P. Bill Blass.