Rakim Allah is most popular today as Rakim was born William Michael Griffin Jr. on January 28, 1968. He made a successful career in the rap genre and is today known as one among the most notable legendary American rappers. Many rap artists recognize Rakim to set an innovative rap style. One of his more ardent fans is Nas, who devoted a song to Rakim, "Unauthorized Biography of Rakim", on his album, Street's Disciple. Raekwon of the Wu-Tang Clan also gave a tribute to Rakim entitled "Rakim Tribute" which was issued on the The DaVinci Code: The Vatican Mixtape Vol. II in 2006.

In 1985 he formed a musical duo with Eric B. Subsequently they became one of the most well known and prestigious groups in hip hop history. The duo split in 1992 after issuing four albums. And Rakim began a solo career. In 1999, Rakim issued The Master, which was substantially less successful than its predecessor. Rakim signed with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment record label in the early 2000s. And started working on an album tentatively titled Oh, My God. Although working on the album, Rakim made guest appearances on a legion of Aftermath projects, including the successful single "Addictive" by Truth Hurts, the Dr. Dre-produced "The Watcher Part 2" by Jay-Z, and Eminem's 8 Mile soundtracks. However Rakim left the label in 2003 and signed with DreamWorks Records.

What distinguished Rakim from others were his five techniques, that he used to revive hip hop and motivate himself to never-before-achieved heights in lyricism were multi-syllabic rhymes, unconventional rhymes, internal rhymes, cliff-hangers and catch phrases. Before Rakim brought into the new style, hip hop rhyming generally consisted of one or two syllable rhymes like "cat" and "hat", or "city" and "pretty". Rakim formed a unique style with more composite multi-syllabic rhymes like "residence" and "presidents". He also employed unconventional rhymes that were never before found, or even thought of it seems. Until Rakim, conventional rhymes of words like "Mary" and "Harry" were worldwide. He is credited to be the first to introduce an unconventional rhyming proficiency. His creation of the cliffhanger is another technique that assisted him single-handedly take rapping to the next level and, complementing the twenty-first century. Prior, every verse used to close with a complete idea, but Rakim was the first to introduce the incomplete thought that drove the listener to wait for the next verse for fulfillment.

When performing at Stubb's BBQ, Austin, TX on March 17, 2007, Rakim declared that "The Seventh Seal" would be issued on July 7, 2007. Although the album has not yet been released but it is rumored that it will be issued on September 7, 2007. On July 21, 2007 Rakim brought out a mixtape with J-Love titled "Legends 1.2" that comprises many unreleased tracks from Rakim including 2 Dr. Dre produced tracks. The mixtape also includes numerous classic records from Rakim including "Getting Up Anthem", "When I Be On The Mic", "I Know You Got Soul", "Follow The Leader", "Microphone Fiend", "18th Letter", "Don't Sweat The Technique", and others as well. Rankim continues to perform, as an independent artist, presenting his innovative styles.