The Seventh Seal

Documentary of a Gangsta

Rakim

Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis

6

End

93

Internal

38

Multi

157

Slant

3

Chain

Rhyme Groups — hover to spotlight
[Chorus]
[Verse 2]
That sound like blood money✦
And I ain't just talking✦ double dubbs club money✦
I'm talking✦ drug money,✦ move out the hood money✦
Double up money,✦ you can catch a slug money✦
This kid will murder✦ you, more than a business
If you live it for revenue, it's principle never✦ personal
Get rid of you if you blocking the bigger✦ picture
He on the block thinking of guap and getting richer✦
He flips some urban✦ blue, play with them keys
For them c-notes✦ so he can handle the whole piano✦
Hammers unloading ammo✦ if his army✦ ain't in harmony
He kill his own famo✦ like Tony✦ Soprano
He's trying to take it from minor✦ to major✦ in grind for the cake
His mind is made up, he'll die for the paper✦
Crime is second nature✦ when you love cash
Do him dirty,✦ he turn the ave. into✦ a blood bath
Here he come
[Chorus]
[Verse 3]
The heater✦ buss that mean the reaper✦ coming✦
Drug money✦ keep em bugging not the trees he puffing
Streets is buzzing about✦ the repercussion✦
But he so much in love with his bread the beef is nothing
He got metals for war just like a veteran
But now he bringing cheddar in more than he ever✦ been
Banked✦ up, he stepped his hustle pimp smoked✦ cold crack
Heroin game up, american gangster
Sleep with the fish while he rather✦ loot and
You like balling, he like stealing and shooting
Comrades, customers, competition✦ connects
And hustlers is wishing and plotting the day of his death
What's his focus? Keys is, even✦ when karma catching up
It's hard to set him up, he's always✦ holding heaters
But yo, they know his weakness so they gave that bread to him
Somebody put a gun to his head, guess what he said to em
[Chorus]

Technical Breakdown

7.1
Multisyllabic Rhymes8.5

Complexity of rhyme schemes (data-driven)

Internal Rhymes9.5

Rhymes within a line (data-driven)

Wordplay / Double Entendres7.5

Clever language, metaphors, punchlines

Cadence / Rhythm5.5

Flow variation and timing (data-driven)

Vocabulary Complexity8.0

Range and depth of words used (data-driven)

Delivery / Breath Control7.0

Performance and control

Computed Score7.06

Production

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Critic Analysis
RAPLEDGER BAROMETER™

Rakim utilizes persistent end-rhyme chains to maintain a hypnotic, cyclical flow that reinforces the bleak, inescapable nature of street life, punctuated by sharp, status-focused wordplay.

B
8.5
Multisyllabic
9.5
Internal Rhymes
5.5
Cadence / Flow
8
Vocabulary
7.5
Wordplay
7
Delivery
Multisyllabic internal rhymingEnd-rhyme chainsExtended metaphor (musical/financial)Assonant density
Rhyme Architecture: The verse relies on heavy AAAA patterns (money, money, money) that create a claustrophobic, rhythmic loop, shifting into dense internal slant rhymes (keys/c-notes/piano) to maintain momentum.
Verified Doubles & Entendres

"play with them keys / for them c-notes so he can handle the whole piano"

① Physical act of dealing drugs (keys of cocaine) to earn money (c-notes).② Metaphor for musical mastery; using notes (c-notes) to master the full instrument (piano/the game).

"take it from minor to major"

① Escalating a business operation from a small-time endeavor to a significant enterprise.② Musical theory reference; shifting from a minor key to a major key, mirroring the 'piano' motif.

Sophisticated vocabulary integration

Thematic consistency in the 'money' rhyme scheme

Effective use of narrative character development

Strong command of multisyllabic internal structures

Repetitive reliance on 'money' suffix for rhyme completion

Occasional simplification of syntax to maintain the rhyme lock

Limited dynamic shifts in cadence across the verse

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