Video: Rakim: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

<p><iframe src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;youtube&period;com&sol;embed&sol;iU0&lowbar;cYjm8HE" width&equals;"560" height&equals;"315" frameborder&equals;"0" allowfullscreen&equals;"allowfullscreen"><&sol;iframe><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>June 25&comma; 2018 &vert; Abby O&&num;8217&semi;Neill &&num;8212&semi; It had been nearly a decade since Rakim released new music&comma; but that drought ended Friday when the godfather of rap lyricism and one half of the revered duo Eric B &amp&semi; Rakim released a new song&comma; &&num;8220&semi;King&&num;8217&semi;s Paradise&period;&&num;8221&semi; The track was written for Season 2 of Marvel&&num;8217&semi;s Luke Cage&comma; which premiered on Netflix the same day&comma; but it wasn&&num;8217&semi;t entirely new to select NPR staff&semi; they heard it days earlier when the God MC performed at the Tiny Desk&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The New York rap icon wasn&&num;8217&semi;t the only legend in the building that day&period; Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest — who produced and co-wrote &&num;8220&semi;King&&num;8217&semi;s Paradise&&num;8221&semi; with keyboardist Adrian Younge under their new project The Midnight Hour — played bass&comma; and rising blues torchbearer Christone &&num;8220&semi;Kingfish&&num;8221&semi; Ingram sat in on guitar&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;King&&num;8217&semi;s Paradise&&num;8221&semi; pays homage to the heroes of the Harlem Renaissance as well as its fictional superhero&comma; the bulletproof Luke Cage&period; Rakim tipped his hat to Philip Payton Jr&period;&comma; Joe Lewis&comma; Lena Horne&comma; Malcolm X&comma; Maya Angelou and Louis Armstrong&comma; before concluding with a few bars about the comic book-inspired series&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Younge then led the nine-member backing band through two of Rakim&&num;8217&semi;s undeniable classics&colon; &&num;8220&semi;Paid in Full&&num;8221&semi; and &&num;8220&semi;Know the Ledge&period;&&num;8221&semi; For the former&comma; drummer David Henderson rolled right in with the unmistakable breakbeat&comma; — originally sampled from The Soul Searchers &&num;8220&semi;Ashley&&num;8217&semi;s Roachclip&period;&&num;8221&semi; Muhammad&comma; who&&num;8217&semi;s been playing bass since age 19 despite being known for his production and DJ work&comma; provided the low end for &&num;8220&semi;Know The Ledge&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Rakim released his first single 32 years ago&comma; yet the timbre of his voice and Dali Llama aura remain strong&period; Let&&num;8217&semi;s hope this is the beginning of another renaissance&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Set List<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;King&&num;8217&semi;s Paradise&&num;8221&semi;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8220&semi;Paid In Full&&num;8221&semi;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8220&semi;Know The Ledge&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>MUSICIANS<br &sol;>&NewLine;Rakim &lpar;vocals&rpar;&comma; Adrian Younge &lpar;keys&rpar;&comma; Ali Shaheed Muhammad &lpar;bass&rpar;&comma; Jack Waterson &lpar;guitar&rpar;&comma; David Henderson &lpar;drums&rpar;&comma; Loren Oden &lpar;vocals&rpar;&comma; Saudia Mills &lpar;vocals&rpar;&comma; Angela Munoz &lpar;vocals&rpar;&comma; Stephanie Yu &lpar;violin&rpar;&comma; Bryan Hernandez-Luch &lpar;violin&rpar;&comma; DeAndre Shaifer &lpar;trumpet&rpar; &comma; Jordan Pettay &lpar;saxophone&rpar;&comma; Joi Gilliam &lpar;vocalist&rpar;&comma; Christone Ingram &lpar;Kingfish&rpar; &lpar;guitar&rpar;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>CREDITS<br &sol;>&NewLine;Producers&colon; Abby O&&num;8217&semi;Neill&comma; Morgan Noelle Smith&semi; Creative Director&colon; Bob Boilen&semi; Audio Engineer&colon; Josh Rogosin&semi; Videographers&colon; Morgan Noelle Smith&comma; Khun Minn Ohn&comma; Maia Stern&comma; Beck Harlan&comma; Kara Frame&semi; Production Assistants&colon; Catherine Zhang&comma; Téa Mottolese&semi; Photo&colon; Eslah Attar&sol;NPR&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;