Surprising news for Rakim

But what's truly surprising is his main role in this project.

While the legendary God MC delivers vocals on six out of the album's seven tracks, his primary contribution wasn't as a rapper.

Instead, Rakim took on the role of producer and even provided scratches for the project.

G.O.D's Network - REB7RTH features an impressive lineup of guest artists, including Kurupt, Masta Killa, Method Man, and B.G. Additionally, the album includes contributions from four late rappers, thanks to executive producer Matt "M80" Markoff.

Nipsey Hussle, Fred the Godson, and Prodigy all lend their rhymes, while DMX appears by way of a prayer. Markoff explained that all these vocals were

In other Rakim news, the iconic rapper recently responded to Will Smith's revelation that he was trying to emulate Rakim's style on the hit song "Summertime."

During CBS' A Grammy Salute to 50 Years of Hip Hop TV special, Smith admitted this to Rakim backstage, saying,

To commemorate the 33rd anniversary of his and DJ Jazzy Jeff's album Homebase, Smith reposted the clip on Instagram on Tuesday (July 23).

Rakim quickly slid into the comments section with an exciting proposal, writing,

While Smith has yet to respond, the idea has garnered enthusiastic support from fans, with one follower commenting,

Source HiphopDX: Rakim Returns With First Album In 15 Years & His Role Is A Surprise