Rakim goes on tour, new album still on horizon :: Music News :: Articles

For the next month, rap godfather Rakim will be performing in the first Hip Hop Live! tour, sharing a stage with Ghostface Killah, Brother Ali and-- get this-- a live backing band, the Rhythm Roots Allstars.

The legend talked to Billboard.com about the tour and the status of his upcoming album The Seventh Seal, which still has no release date.

"The number 7 has a lot of significance. The 7th letter of the alphabet is G -- that stands for God. There are 7 continents, 7 seas. The 'Seventh Seal' deals with that and also some revelations in the Bible," Rakim told Billboard. "Some call it the end of the world but for me it's the end of the old and the beginning of the new. By me naming my album that, I'm using it metaphorically in hip-hop. I'm hoping to kill the old state of hip-hop and start with the new."

And here I thought the album would be a reference to the Ingmar Bergman film.

Dates:

October:

29 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ House of Blues
30 - San Diego, Calif. @ 4th & B
31 - Long Beach, Calif. @ The Vault

November:

1 - Santa Cruz, Calif. @ Catalyst Club
2 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Mezzanine
3 - Portland, Ore. @ Roseland
4 - Seattle, Wash. @ Showbox
7 - Park City, Utah @ Harry O's
8 - Denver, Colo. @ Ogden Theatre
9 - Aspen, Colo. @ Belly Up
10 - Kansas City, Mo. @ Beaumont Theatre
11 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ First Avenue
12 - Chicago, Ill. @ House of Blues
13 - Bloomington, Ind. @ Bluebird
15 - New Haven, Conn. @ Toad's Place
16 - New York, N.Y. @ Nokia Theatre
17 - Baltimore, Md. @ Sonar
18 - Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club
21 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ Trocadero