Título: Rakim
Seção: 2007-09: The Seventh Seal
Background: Rakim is the nephew of the late American R&B singer and actress Ruth Brown. He grew up in Wyandanch, New York, and became involved in the New York hip hop scene when he was eighteen years old. Eric B. brought him to Marley Marl's house to record "Eric B. Is President" in 1986. Rakim, then known as Kid Wizard in 1985, made his first recordings live at Wyandanch High School.

Conteúdo: Rakim retreated to his Connecticut estate to work leisurely on music. Not having released an album since 1999, he eschewed touring in favor of infrequent gigs. Rakim was able to retain the tracks he had made with Dr. Dre and, in 2006, announced that he would release a new studio album, The Seventh Seal. The album was delayed into 2009; instead, he followed up with a live album, The Archive: Live, Lost & Found, in 2008. In an interview with Billboard in 2007, when asked about story behind The Seventh Seal's title, Rakim said,  The number 7 has a lot of significance. The seventh letter of the [Supreme] alphabet is G--that stands for God. There are seven continents, seven seas. The Seventh Seal deals with that and also some revelations in the Bible. 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.  In another interview with Billboard in 2009, he stated,  The seals are from the Bible--Revelations and the coming of the Apocalypse. But Islam, Judaism, Christianity--all have a version of the same events. The Lion of Judah breaks the seven seals one by one, each imparting knowledge and inflicting catastrophe, ending with seven trumpets announcing the end of Times. After the Apocalypse, God rises from the ashes to recreate the Kingdom, taking only the greatest elements from the past with them. When yo

user: What was the seventh seal

assistant: Rakim was able to retain the tracks he had made with Dr. Dre and, in 2006, announced that he would release a new studio album, The Seventh Seal.

user: What songs were on this album?

assistant: Holy Are You", which was released on July 14, 2009, and "Walk These Streets" which was released on October 7, 2009.

user: What artists were featured on this album

assistant: Nottz, J. Wells, Needlz, Jake One, and Nick Wiz

user: Was this album successful

assistant: album sold 12,000 copies in the United States by November 22, 2009,

user: Are there any other interesting aspects of this article?

assistant: The number 7 has a lot of significance. The seventh letter of the [Supreme] alphabet is G--that stands for God. There are seven continents, seven seas.

user: What did critics think of this album?

assistant: The Seventh Seal received generally mixed or average reviews from most music critics; it holds an aggregate score of 59/100 at Metacritic.

user: What did Rakim do after the album?

assistant: Rakim retreated to his Connecticut estate to work leisurely on music.

user: WWhat other music did he work on?

assistant: Rakim was able to retain the tracks he had made with Dr. Dre and, in 2006, announced that he would release a new studio album,