Rakim Net Worth

Rakim net worth in 2026 is estimated at $2 million [1][2]. Rapper Birthday and LitNightzNews both report the $2 million figure, built from classic album royalties, touring, publishing and licensing of the Eric B. and Rakim catalog. His wealth sits in the catalog, which pays steadily from streaming and sampling.

Rakim most famous song is Paid in Full, the title track of the 1987 debut album with Eric B. [2]. MTV named Paid in Full the greatest hip hop album of all time in 2006, and the song remains one of the most sampled records in the genre. Eric B. Is President is the other standard from that record.

Yes, Rakim released G.O.D.’s Network: Reb7rth in 2024 and The Re-Up in 2025 [1]. The albums reunited him with classic collaborators and showed he is still recording in his late fifties, nearly forty years after his debut album appeared. He recorded them at his own pace with longtime collaborators.

Rakim aunt was Ruth Brown, the rhythm and blues singer who became one of the most successful artists of the 1950s [1]. Growing up around her music gave him an early education in soul, performance and the business of making records. She was one of the biggest rhythm and blues stars of her era.

Rakim was born William Michael Griffin Jr. on January 28, 1968, in Wyandanch, New York, which makes him 58 years old in 2026 [1]. He met Eric B. in 1985 and released the classic debut Paid in Full two years later. The duo split in 1992, and his solo debut arrived in 1997.

Rakim is called the God MC because his calm, complex rhyme style changed how rappers write [2]. His internal rhymes and relaxed flow set the standard for modern lyricism, and artists from Nas to Jay-Z to Eminem name him as their model. His relaxed delivery made complex rhymes sound effortless, which is why rappers still study him.