''The 18th Letter'' is the debut solo album of American emcee

Rakim William Michael Griffin Jr. (born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name Rakim Allah or simply Rakim (), is an American rapper and record producer. One half of golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

, released November 4, 1997, on

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

in the United States. The album features production by

DJ Clark Kent Rodolfo Franklin Sr. (born September 28, 1967), known professionally as Clark Kent or DJ Clark Kent, is an American hip hop record producer, DJ and music executive of Panamanian descent. His crew of DJs is called "The Supermen", and his DJ moni ...

Pete Rock Peter O. Phillips (born June 21, 1970), better known by his stage name Pete Rock, is an American record producer, DJ and rapping, rapper. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time, and is often mentioned alongs ...

, Father Shaheed, Nick Wiz and

DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He is considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time. He was half of the hip hop duo ...

. It contains lyrical themes that concern hip hop's golden age, Rakim's rapping prowess, and the state of hip hop.

Background

It is his first release of new material, following a five-year hiatus after '' Don't Sweat the Technique'' (1992) as duo Eric B. & Rakim. The album's title refers to the letter "R" being the eighteenth letter of the

English alphabet The alphabet for Modern English is a Latin-script alphabet consisting of 26 letters, each having an upper- and lower-case form. The word ''alphabet'' is a compound of the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, '' alpha'' and '' beta''. ...

Deluxe version

A deluxe version of ''The 18th Letter'' was sold with the compilation disc ''The Book of Life'' (UD2-53111), an Eric B. & Rakim greatest hits collection. ''The Book of Life'' was also issued separately as a double vinyl LP.

Commercial performance

''The 18th Letter'' debuted at number four on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart and was certified

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

in the United States.

Track listing

Notes

* signifies a co- producer. *"The Mystery (Who Is God?)" contains scratches by DJ Sond

''The Book of Life''

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

''The 18th Letter & The Book of Life''

References

External links

*
The 18th Letter
' at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

*
The Microphone God
— By ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down productio ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:18th Letter, The Rakim albums 1997 debut albums Albums produced by DJ Premier Albums produced by Pete Rock Albums produced by Eric B. Universal Records albums Hip hop albums by American artists