Rakim Sweat Technique

Rakim releasing memoir, touring with Eric B and solo

Legendary rapper Rakim is releasing a memoir, Sweat The Technique, on September 24. An excerpt of the book description reads:

Part memoir, part writing guide, Sweat the Technique offers insight into how Rakim thinks about words, music, writing, and rhyming as it teaches writers of all levels how to hone their craft. It is also a rare glimpse into Rakim’s private life, full of entertaining personal stories from his youth on Long Island growing up in a home and community filled with musiciansto the clubs of New York and the studios of Los Angeles during his rise to the top of popular music. Rakim celebrates the influences that shaped his development, including the jazz music of John Coltrane and the spirituality of the streets, and shares anecdotes spotlighting personalities such as L. L. Cool J. and Dr. Dre, among others.

The God MC himself also told The Source a bit about the book back in June:

Why now for ‘Sweat The Technique‘? There’s been a lot of points of reflection in my life over the last couple of years. I turned 50; my first album turned 30. I’ve welcomed some new editions to my family and lost some beloved ones. I got back together with my partner Eric to tour and release a box set and, while we were doing interviews, the same questions all seemed to come up. A lot of those questions were rehashes of some issues that I wanted to finally speak about and, more importantly, almost none of them covered what my fans and supporters are always asking….which is pretty much ‘How do you do it?’ It made sense to put a little focus on the craft and where I, and hopefully the readers, can search for inspiration. After over three decades of being an artist who mostly speaks through his music, the time felt right to pull back the curtain.

You can pre-order your copy now.

As Rakim mentions above, he and Eric B reunited and have been touring together again, and they have more shows coming up this year in Boston, Delaware, Detroit, Dirtybird Campout West, and a Masters of the Mic show at Elizabeth, NJ’s Ritz Theatre on October 19 with EPMD, Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, and DJ Funk Flex. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (8/30).

Rakim also has some dates of his own, including Atlanta’s A3C Festival and a NYC show on November 8 at Sony Hall. Tickets for that show are on AmEx presale now and the public on-sale begins today (8/29) at noon. All dates are listed below.

Watch a recent live video of Eric B and Rakim below too…

Rakim — 2019 Tour Dates
9/18 Newport Blues Cafe Newport, RI
9/19 The Wilbur Boston, MA*
9/29 Exit/In Nashville, TN
9/30 The Granda Lawrence, KS
10/4 Dirtybird Campout West Waterford, CA*
10/8-13 A3C Festival Atlanta, GA
10/19 Masters of the Mic at Ritz Theatre Elizabeth, NJ*
11/8 Sony Hall New York, NY
11/22 The Queen Wilmington, DE*
12/1 Sound Board Detroit, MI*

* – w/ Eric B