Not long before hip-hop gave way to gangsta rap in the late '80s, Rakim was the new-school MC of the moment, using a smooth baritone to become the jazz soloist of mystic Afrocentric rap. Along with his street-militant Strong Island alter ego, Chuck D of Public Enemy, Rakim reigned with metaphoric weapons – the microphone and a numerological method of urban storytelling. Fusing spacey Bambaataa stylings with funk samplings, Rakim and his DJ Eric B. blew up many of the classic tracks of the period, including "Eric B. Is President," "Paid in Full," "Follow the Leader" and "I Know You Got Soul."

After endless bureaucratic delays and a contractual separation from Eric B., The 18th Letter is Rakim's first release since 1992's Don't Sweat the Technique. With all-star guest producers like DJ Clark Kent and Pete Rock taking turns, the album reintroduces a hip-hop world still shaken from the deaths of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls to a voice that flows like a rap saxophone. On "It's Been a Long Time," Rakim proclaims that "The rebirth of hip-hop'll be dropped now/'Cause the crowd didn't hear original in a while" – the focus is on skills, not cars, drugs or gats.

Staccato stories about old club scenes ("Remember That"), Nubian goddess worship ("Show Me Love") and ghetto mysticism ("The Mystery [Who Is God?]") are embellished with lush R&B and edgy Wu-Tang aural textures. Some of the best tracks rely on resampling old Eric B. and Rakim hits (which is still a whole lot better than culling bass lines from Sting). An accompanying CD, The Book of Life, compiles 15 of this ground-breaking duo's biggest hits, recapturing the time when rap was closer to poetry than to pornography. (RS 774)

ED MORALES