Grant Jones2024 appears to be the year of the return, following last year’s 50th birthday celebrations. The cake has long left the system, the hangover now a fading memory, and rappers have awakened with renewed passion and fresh fire in their bellies. LL Cool J announced he’s readying an album for a September release. We’ve already had a return from Tha Dogg Pound, and Common hooked up with Pete Rock for the recent “The Auditorium Vol. 1”, the first in a series of records. Even Will Smith is returning. Speaking of which, Jazzy Jeff is working on an album with Rakim, but before we are treated to that, the God MC has delivered an EP as an appetiser, as he admits he too “feels like the battery in his back has been re-energised”.
Before we even get to the music, the name of this project is worth clearing up. Aside from the continued fascination with capitalizing each letter, G.O.D. doesn’t stand for anything – it’s just referring to Rakim’s nickname – the God MC. “Seventh Seal” was Rakim’s seventh album which arrived in 2009, so shoving a ‘7’ in the name of this one has nothing to do with it being his seventh. The “Network” is doing the heavy lifting here, as this is a record that showcases other emcees, rather than the God himself. Similar to fellow rap heavyweights such as Inspectah Deck, Guru and Redman, Rakim isn’t really associated with being a producer, despite crafting some of the most iconic songs in the genre. Much has been made of how much (or little) Eric B did behind the boards on the duo’s earlier output, and Rakim even admits in recent interviews that he has always produced tracks: “I did a lot of the Eric B & Rakim music, but never really let it be known”.
He feels reborn after a tough time during the COVID-19 pandemic, including a failed deal with Jay-Z and contracting the virus four times. The name “Rebirth” originates from a song called “Reborn” that he was working on with Jazzy Jeff, but it’s difficult to gauge whether he really is experiencing a renaissance, considering there are so few verses here to judge. “Be Ill” fits the matter-of-fact deliveries of Kurupt and Masta Killa, and the same can be said of Rakim, who kicks the track off. This is the most successful collaboration, as their styles combine effectively, and Rakim sounds suitably precise, even if he’s clearly showing his age in the video.
If you told me that Rakim was assembling a record with some of the best rappers around, “Pendulum Swing” is what I envision. La the Darkman didn’t immediately spring to mind, but King Crooked, Canibus and Chino XL on the same track is probably illegal in 49 States. The beat is a revisit of the phenomenal “Come Thru” beat that sold many copies of the “Violator Vol. 2” compilation back in 2001 and fits the modis operandi. It’s only right we delve into the Chino XL (R.I.P.) verse, which is what the song inevitably culminates in:
“Rakim Allah let the beast loose (Yeah), somebody better call the paramedics
I said pair of medics, ’cause you gon’ be needing at least two
Scribblin’ written religion, head-on collision, metal airbags couldn’t stop me
My word scriptures don’t just burn bridges, they collapse ’em like the Francis Scott Key
Your favorite coke rapper don’t wanna do it with big Chi (Ahem)
Clearly you can hear the crack in my voice like I’m going through puberty
Since been in plastic cassette tapes, the Puerto Rican bastard superhero without capes
I’m the reason why they invented faster rewind buttons in the first place
Notebooks for my rhymes are ostrich-sized, get me ostracized
I don’t care how many hoodies my opp eyes, hope he buys my merch and dies
The star and the seven, I’m the prosperous weapon that has formed against you
You better have Jon Taffer on speed dial to get your bars rescued (It’s crazy)
Chino XL, but I’m every size when I’m spitting
A small medium at large like a midget psychic that just escaped outta prison (Fuck outta here)
Westbound with the alphanumeric, crowds in and out of America wanna call the cleric
You just inherited derelict genetics out of generic
Adobo spice, you can inherit, you imbecile (Yeah), you’re running out of time in a tomb with turmeric
Admit it, don’t be discouraged, you pathetic idiot, you are consumed with Derek
I’m clapping at you like Tibetan rituals, driving out the evil
I’m prime and regal, I’m lethal, don’t let the IQ deceive you
The haiku is brutal, sharper than the tip of a heroin needle
I’m leaving you bleeding (What), and leaning fetal, you ain’t half of half of Chino
I’m putting that on everything like red and green Tapatio (It’s crazy)
Even if the record skips, I’m the sickest heretic born in darkness
It’s a rare shift, mind readers go insane around Chino when using their gifts
And apparently my therapist needed to be airlifted, I’m a perilous parent-less, fighting effortless
I’ll more than barely beat a bear to death effortless with my bare fist
I’ll bear gifts that are dreadful
If there was a button that wiped out humanity, I’d on purpose accidentally press it like, “What does this do?”
If this is his final verse, obliterating a song on a Rakim album feels like a suitable high few can ever replicate. These lyrical collectives fit Rakim’s production, as he keeps his beats relatively simple, with some light scratching included when he’s not adding a hook himself. “Now Is The Time” is a grimier affair, with B.G. and Hus Kingpin providing something more ignorant and straightforward. There are a number of deceased rappers collaborating, indicating that Rakim has been working on these songs for a few years, and it lends the “Rebirth” theme a haunting quality you’d expect from some bizarre project funded by AI tech bros.
DMX (R.I.P.) and Fred the Godson (R.I.P.) assist Skyzoo and 38 Spesh on “God’s Playground”, but it’s the one song that runs too long and a bit like the later Snoop feature, it’s DMX talking rather than rhyming. I can’t really complain, as it’s the most powerful performance on the album, because few emcees can evoke such emotion from reading out a prayer, particularly when it focuses on death. It’s almost self-aware, from beyond the grave:
“God, we thank You for this gathering of souls
We say that with two more gathered in Your name
But You are present, and we thank You for Your presence
We ask that Your grace and blessings are upon the show this evening
We pray that any obstacle the Devil plans to place in our path be removed
We pray that there are no fightings, no stabbings, no shootings
No arrests, no drunk drivings or altercations, or incidents whatsoever
We pray that we are able to touch one person for Your namesake, for Your glory
That if we do so, then we’ve done something wonderful with our lives
We thank You, Lord, for the things that we realize are blessings
Things that most people take for granted
When’s the last time somebody said
“Thank You God for that last breath of air?”
“Thank You for that last sip of water?”
But without these things, we perish
So right now, as a group, we just thank God for the things that
That we realize are actual blessings
But that we still take for granted
We humble ourselves before You
We ask that You guide our steps, that You have Your will
You have Your way in our lives
Father, we didn’t make us, so we don’t know what to do with us
We thank You for the power that You give us in the spoken word”
The power of the spoken word is something Rakim specializes in, possessing such a smooth, effortless style late into his 50s, and when he does B On The Mic, he shows he’s still got it. Production on the song “International” is again, decent, but the verses and hook have the feel of four different songs woven together, and the vocal quality varies between each emcee. The hook is actually recycled from an old Rakim track too, which was disappointing considering it’s one of the songs where all the artists are alive. The final track, “Sign of Se7en”, is more successful, with the ever-reliable Method Man, Prodigy (R.I.P.), Big Twins, and an X-Raided verse that felt suitably vicious.
The West Coast gets its own supergroup moment, with Nipsey Hussle (R.I.P.) teaming with a gruff-sounding Planet Asia and the newer name Louis King “Love Is The Message”. Snoop Dogg even pops by to talk s*** to close out the instrumental, but calling it a feature is a little cheeky.
I’m not going to compare this to the God MC’s other albums, because this is a glorified EP presented by Rakim. His production is solid throughout, nothing special and seasoned listeners will be familiar with some of the samples. The guest list is a who’s who of great emcees, but performances aren’t as consistent as I’d like given the talent on display; one minute you’ve got X-Raided or Chino XL rhyming like their life depends on it, and the next you get Joell Ortiz phoning in a selection of non-descript rhymes. What makes “G.O.D.’s Network” fascinating is its unique selling point. Nope, not the age-old “let’s get as many great emcees as possible onto one project” that this is being marketed as, but Rakim has done something I don’t think anyone has tried before. He’s gone to a 38-year-old rap lyric and crafted it into a reality. The lyric in question is from “My Melody”:
“I take seven emcees put ’em in a line
And add seven more brothers who think they can rhyme
Well, it’ll take seven more before I go for mine
Now that’s twenty-one emcees ate up at the same time“
There are 21 known emcees rhyming on “G.O.D.’s Network”. Okay, it’s a convenient coincidence perhaps, and it’s 22 if you include newcomer Louis King, but that only highlights this project’s primary flaw. The idea, the ingredients and the expertise are all here, its just each emcee offers varying levels of their capability. Nonetheless, the brief bits of Rakim rhyming has raised my anticipation levels for his next album.