'Knowledge of self': How a key phrase from Islam became a pillar of hip-hop
The popular phrase ‘knowledge of self’ — invoked by numerous rappers who adhere to Islam — is nearly a millennium old. Paul Hawthorne for Getty Images I was 9 years old when Eric B. and Rakim’s “Paid in Full” dropped. I have vivid memories of the bass-laden track booming out of car stereos and hearing it on Black radio, like Kiss FM’s top eight at 8 p.m. countdown. On the track “Move the Crowd,” Rakim – also known as “the God MC” – rhymes “All praise is due to Allah and that’s a blessing.” Growing up as a Black Muslim