Background and career
William Michael Griffin Jr. (born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name Rakim (), is an American rapper. He is one half of golden age hip-hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, with whom he released four albums: Paid in Full (1987), Follow the Leader (1988), Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em (1990), and Don't Sweat the Technique (1992). He also released five solo albums: The 18th Letter (1997), The Master (1999), The Seventh Seal (2009), G.O.D.'s Network: Reb7rth (2024) and The Re-Up (2025).
Rakim is considered a transformative figure in hip-hop. He helped to pioneer the use of internal rhymes and multisyllabic rhymes, and was among the first to demonstrate the possibilities of sitting down to write intricately crafted lyrics packed with clever word choices and metaphors rather than the more improvisational styles and simpler rhyme patterns that predominated before him. Rakim is also credited with creating the overall shift from the more simplistic old school flows to more complex flows. Rapper Kool Moe Dee explained: "Rakim is basically the inventor of flow. We were not even using the word flow until Rakim came along. It was called rhyming, it was called cadence, but it wasn't called flow. Rakim created flow!"
Paid in Full was named the greatest hip-hop album of all time by MTV in 2006, while Rakim himself was ranked No. 4 on MTV's list of the Greatest MCs of All Time. Steve Huey of AllMusic stated that "Rakim is near-universally acknowledged as one of the greatest MCs – perhaps the greatest – of all time within the hip-hop community". The editors of About.com ranked him No. 2 on their list of the 'Top 50 MCs of Our Time (1987–2007)'. In 2012, The Source ranked him No. 1 on their list of the "Top 50 Lyricists of All Time".
William Michael Griffin Jr. was born on January 28, 1968, in Wyandanch, New York. He is the nephew of the late R&B singer and actress Ruth Brown. He grew up in Wyandanch on Long Island and wrote his first rhyme at seven years old, about the cartoon character Mickey Mouse. He initially aspired to play professional football, and was a quarterback on his high school football team.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (2023-08-19), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
