Rakim Co-Sign On Jay Z?

Rap pioneer Rakim recently talked about Jay-Z being called the “Greatest Rapper Alive” or even a more recent title “The Greatest Rapper Of All-Time.” Rakim compared Jay-Z’s achievements to his own. “I think it’s only right that these new names and some of these other cats is gon’ get mentioned in that circle,” Rakim explained in an interview. “What I did and that feeling that I gave the game when I was at that forefront was then. The same feeling that I gave to certain people is a feeling that Jay is giving to certain people today. I gotta understand that the era calls for a different time where different people get the spotlight. My thing is, I just hope that what I did do is strong enough to last a few more years to keep my name in that loop for a few more years.”

Other Artists like Mos Def don’t like the titles that Jay-Z has been given. “My response was to me seeing an article where Jay-Z was referred to, with trade marks following it, as the ‘Greatest Rapper Alive,’” Mos explained. “Now that don’t have nothin’ to do with me, but if you saying that, that’s a trade claim…If you saying that, you saying you better than Slick Rick, whose still very alive and well? You saying you better than Rakim? You saying you better than Black Thought? People making that claim have never been in a position to defend that in an open forumn. I’m not talking about making a diss record or trying to go in on somebody’s girl…When people start coming out and making claims they’re gonna have to defend, like, who have you had to defend them against? It’s certainly been with people not on your level.” [Mos Def Questions Jay-Z's "Greatest Rapper Alive" Title In Rap]