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.
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.
