Black History Month-Remembering Lakim Shabazz-First rapper to Shoot a video in Egypt

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As we continue to celebrate Black History month, lets do it with Lakim Shabazz. He was one of the dopest rappers to bless the mic back in the early 90s who came with hit after hit..  He was all about raising consciousness and was even featured on the front cover of the Source Magazine along with Paris and Big Daddy Kane when they did a story on the influence Islam was having on Hip Hop. Lakim was down with the 5 percenters aka the Nation of Gods and Earths.

One of the things I really liked about Lakim was he would lace his songs with samples.. Most notable was him snatching Kwame Toure, than known as Stokely Carmichael and inserting him in the song ‘Lost Tribe of Shabazz’ where he said ‘Our People Will Survive America’. His albums Pure Righteousness  and Lost Tribe of Shabazz are definitely gems well worth seeking…If you can find them, pick them up. I loved the production by Mark The 45 King and later Diamond D.

The other noteworthy thing about Lakim was he was the first rapper to head off to Africa (Egypt) to shoot his video…he wasn’t about renting women cars and fancy mansions he didn’t own..  He was all about connecting our experience with the motherland. Too bad his efforts came at a time when shows like video and radio  outlets were shying away from lyrics they deemed ‘too militant’ or too Afrocentric 

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  1. e-scribblah says

    good pick davey. pure righteousness was one of the most slept-on albums of that day. 45 king’s production was impressive. lost tribe was even more Afrocentric and almost as good. i remember that Source cover too, that was one of the best articles they ever did.

    whatever happened to lakim? what about two kings in a cipher? didnt one of them become one of Puffy’s producers?

    fyi, stokely carmichael changed his name to Kwame Toure two decades before he recorded with shabazz, when he was living in Guinea, west Africa. He also appears on BDP’s “Edutainment” album.

    • hey E…
      The quote I was referencing was actually a sample from the Free Huey rally in 68.. when Stokely spoke.. Parts from that speech have been sampled by everyone including the line I referenced.. Then he was Stokely.. By the time Shabazz’s album came out he was of course Kwame..

  2. This is actually a good post for once… What is this guy doing these days, selling incense on 125th street?

  3. e-scribblah says

    oh, i get it. he sampled stokely…thanks for the clarification, dave.

    man, i miss those days. that’s when hip-hop was crackin’ and bursting with knowledge. it was time to build…even “the sauce” was comin’ correct back then.

    • I miss those days as well… If u ever get a chance peep that entire Rally.. You will hear so many samples from there its crazy.. good thing the panthers werent the RIAA.. cause they would get paid.. But then again that rally was historic, HRap brown, Bobby Seal, Stokley, Ron Dellums.. it was a historic moment..

  4. e-scribblah says

    i’ve always maintained that sampling in hip-hop is a derivative of ancestor worship, so sampling stokely in a song which refers directly to black ancestry (African Hebrews, i.e. the Lost tribe of Shabazz) is like a double dose of DNA.

    this is an excellent choice for BHM, as it actually deals with the theme of our history as something we should know more about.

    keep ’em comin!

  5. dj kenny krush says

    davey , i read your site daily and never post. i just wanted you to know how good it feels to be around true hip hop…thanks

  6. Rod The Lover Of HipHop says

    Davey, I have been coming to this site practically on a daily basis for a number of years and never posted anything until now. This is my 1st time posting something and I have to tell you how awesome you are for all that you do on this site! I feel the same way dj kenny krush feels! It is really good to see that you acknowledge Lakim Shabazz like this! I clearly remember how dope he was. I also remember buying this album when it first came out in 1990 and admiring so much the style of production and his lyrical skills and content. In fact, I knew one of the producers from that album, The Mighty Maestro. I clearly remember him telling me himself that Lakim Shabazz was a really dope emcee. I also remember how ground breaking it was (then and even now) to do a HipHop video in Kemet (Egypt) and on the continent of Africa, for that matter. I also can recall when some folks were making the mistake of saying that Ludicris was the 1st HipHop artist to do a video in Africa for his video “Pimpin All Over The World.” Maybe those were folks that believed that Kemet (Egypt) is not in Africa. I love what you are doing Bro.Davey!

    I have a fun trivia.
    Does anyone remember a HipHop group called ‘Positively Black?’ They put out a really cool album back in ’89. I heard that they too were from New Jersey- I’m not sure.

    • LOl hey Rod, thanks for hollaring.. and thanks for the props yes, I do recall Positively Black.. u took that way back.. I have to go really check the archives for that one..

      D

  7. My Cousin lock, u influence a lot of people to stay on the right path and I was one of those people.
    Demetriof
    us, bangy, Brian, and me of course, love u man. Email me. Peace.