This is going to be the biggest hip-hop record ever, straight up and coming at you from Aftermath, baby, so fuck all of y’all.”Īn emphatic statement if ever there was one, it’s easy to see why the producer had high hopes for helming a new Rakim album. “We just signed Rakim to our label, straight up,” he said, “Rakim is on Aftermath, and the name of his album is going to be Oh My God. Announced while the Compton mastermind was on location at the video shoot for “Stan” in October 2000, Dre made the acquisition public in a brash fashion that captured the mood of his Interscope- backed imprint at the time. Just as his controversy-courting protégé Eminem had helped rescue him from a time where his position seemed precarious, Dre looked to pay it forward to one of the genre’s true innovators. In his time of need, a West Coast icon parachuted into his orbit with an outstretched hand. To put this sharp decline into perspective, his 1997 comeback album The 18th Letter secured the number four spot with ease. Even with its noteworthy attributes and an immense, Primo-crafted lead single “ When I B On Tha Mic,” the album peaked at number 72 on the Billboard charts. His sophomore solo album, 1999’s The Master was an accomplished body of work that featured phenomenal production from the likes of DJ Premier and Clark Kent while displaying his lyrical prowess in all its glory. The reverence for his skills hadn’t depleted, but he’d reached something of a crossroads when it came to shifting units. Still, there was a time where the New York native was languishing in the commercial doldrums.
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