Dallas rapper Rakim Al-Jabbaar has carved out his own buzzworthy lane in the regional landscape with superior lyrical abilities and the blend of southern lingo with out-of-the-ordinary style. The emerging rhyme slayer looks to build on his momentum and exhibit diversity with the release of his new album, intriguingly titled Big Baby Thanos. He released the project independently at the tail end of March.
The album is inspired by Thanos, the ultimate villain of the Marvel cinematic universe who snapped half of life from existence to bring balance to the universe, the Bun B and Scarface collaborator wants to bring balance back to hip-hop. Rakim’s fifth album is compelling, with 11 versatile tracks, but in that, he still maintains the undeniable lyrical prowess that has made him an artist to watch in 2023. The album is Rakim’s best work yet, as he accompanied by the best in the city.
“I had the support of some of the best producers in the city,” says Rakim Al-Jabbaar. “The best engineer in the city, the best A and R in the city, the best women in the city, the best spirits in the city. Shout out to all the dead homies. You know how we do?”
The album’s standout tracks are “Reasonable Doubt,” “HRT BRK HTL,” and “Elementary Dreams.” When interviewed about the project, Rakim said that it was important for this project to entertain hip-hop fans with appealing storytelling, fiction or non-fiction.
“The main thing I want to place an emphasis on is that as hip-hop artists, we make music for ourselves and for other people,” he said. “So sometimes we telling our story, sometimes we telling somebody else’s story, and it’s not always the truth. We don’t live every single word that we speak on these rhymes, right? And I believe that the children need to know that. So they don’t need to think that they need to emulate everything that they hear, or if they going to be a rapper, that they got to be a nigga that’s sliding and killing niggas and shit just to spit a rhyme. You know what I’m saying? Your job is to be the voice of your community, and you supposed to speak on what you see out there in the streets, but that doesn’t mean that you got to participate in it to have that voice.”
Listen to Rakim Al-Jabbaar’s new album Big Baby Thanos down below.
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*This article was written by Bryson “Boom” Paul*
