Rakim kicks the moddafookin' flyest verse ever, some lyrics of which he later used on "It's Been A Long Time".
New days is dawnin', new ways of performin'
brainstormin' I write and watch the night turn to mornin'
Listen below, his flow is so fluid and Nas-like on the show. Imagine if he'd dropped the 18th Letter around this time in '95
![n :gyeah:](./images/smilies/icon_winky.gif)
Because by '97, when the album actually did drop, his raps had become much more robotic/predictable and AZ-like IMO
Still dope, but he definitely lost a step.
Who agrees? I know I def was disappointed with the 18th Letter rapping back then, and I hadn't even grown up on Rakim like that; the only song I really caught from the Eric B days was "Don't Sweat The Technique".
Did he release anything between '92 and '97?