The Seventh Seal

The Seventh Seal is the third solo studio album by American rapper Rakim. It was released November 17, 2009, after several delays on Rakim's own Ra Records, TVM, and SMC Recordings and distributed through Fontana and Universal Music Group. Considered a comeback album after a ten-year hiatus, the album features the singles "Holy Are You," which was released on July 14, 2009, and "Walk These Streets" released on October 7, 2009. It features production from Nottz, Needlz, Jake One, and Nick Wiz. The album sold 12,000 copies in the United States by November 22, 2009, according to SoundScan. Upon its release, The Seventh Seal received generally mixed or average reviews from most music critics, based on an aggregate score of 59/100 from Metacritic. Background Recording The original title for the album was Oh, My God, with the original release date set for 2002, but Rakim left Dr. Dre's Aftermath record label and the project was shelved. The official reason for Rakim's departure was creative differences with Dre.