In the British power metal heroes DragonForce, guitarist Herman Li doesn’t just shred a mile a zeptosecond; he seemingly does it all.

He mixes. He edits the music videos. He programs the video screens. It's a work ethic and attention to detail matched by every member of the band who all play a role that transcends their instrument. DragonForce's other founding guitarist, Sam Totman, builds their fantastical stage props. (No joke: he cuts the wood and everything.)

“I’m there dealing with stuff until the end, really,” Li, who originally hails from Hong Kong, tells GRAMMY.com from the band's tour bus. They had just rocked Madrid, and he’s in his personal office in the bus’s upstairs lounge, juggling a myriad of tasks.

“I’ve got three, four computers laid out here — my special little table,” Li says. “And I go, ‘What happened during today’s show that we can fix, make better?

Li’s talking about manifold logistics: the programming of the lights, confetti, pyrotechnics, and other elements. But it's a method he applies to his entire career, where he’s never succumbed to complacency, despite his prodigious ability.

That approach is on full display on Warp Speed Warriors, DragonForce’s ninth album and first since 2019, released on March 15. By the sound of tunes like “Power of the Triforce,” “Doomsday Party,” and their cover of Taylor Swift’s “Wildest Dreams,” their eccentricity and passion remain undimmed.

2024 marks the GRAMMY nominees’ 25th year in this very specific lane. Beating the odds, they rode their synthesis of power metal, fantasy themes, and video game soundtracks to the top — but Li insists he’s got lightyears to go.

“We're students of the art forever,” the virtuoso says. “If I think I'm a great guitar player, better than anyone else, that means I really need to learn.” 

This interview has been edited for clarity.

You just got off stage in Madrid. How was the vibe up there?

Spain is always really awesome. And even though we drove, like, 21 hours on the tour bus, you know, from the last show which was in Germany, to here — it was worth every second. People are very passionate about music here.

We're doing songs on the new album, like, “Power of the Triforce,” “Doomsday Party.” We even did the Taylor Swift cover, “Wildest Dreams” [chuckles] at the show. We’ve got a good mix of stuff. And obviously, the classic, “Through the Fire and Flames.”

The Taylor song must go over well these days.

It's been pretty crazy. I definitely mess around with them, I tell the audience, “This is probably your only chance to be able to do a circle pit or headbang to a Taylor Swift song. So, be that 1% in the world to be able to do it!” It's been fun, and people have been talking about it a lot, actually.

I think music is something that you can learn forever and get better at continuously in your life. It’s a lifetime journey, right? So, I would say Warp Speed Warriors is a collective of everything I’ve done in my life — a snapshot of my life in terms of my achievement in music.

I’m learning a lot, still. If you go back to the previous album, or the first album, you can see a real gap between what we’ve learned.

Interesting. Can you expand on that?

Well, I think when you start off playing music, you just think about yourself — how you write your music. I will say at the beginning, when we first started, we just obsessed about trying to get our unique sound. We really had to lean into it — what we do, that’s different from everyone else out there.

We were known for playing fast, melodic and intense music, with some kind of humor and fun to it. So, we really leaned into it, and made every single song have those elements, for four albums in a row.

Then everyone said, “DragonForce is the fast band,” and after the fourth album, we were able to play midtempo songs, slower songs, experiment a bit more. Because, obviously, we like more than one style of music. This makes music more fun. You only live once, so to only play one style, it's kind of like you wasted your life in some way.

What are your memories of establishing DragonForce’s aesthetic early on?

I think it’s just about being extremely stubborn. A lot of artists, they have a vision, right? And if you have that vision, you’ve got to follow through, because everybody’s going to tell you you’re wrong. Everyone told us we were wrong, and we weren’t going to get anywhere.

I think that was one of the drivers that made us lean into it even more — to have more fast songs, more guitars, be more over the top. And we still live by that. When you go to a DragonForce show, there is more of everything, there’s the production — everything we can fit onto that truck, we have on that stage.

We don’t hire people to do the production for us. We actually, hands on, do it ourselves. The other guitar player, Sam [Totman], built those stage props himself — cutting up wood, painting, doing all the stuff. I programmed the show, to synchronize the video and audio, to make a full experience.

As you get older, you look at music not just as how you play the song, but what the audience sees when you perform. That makes it even more great, because I can learn about playing guitar better. And then, I can learn about production or audio; there’s so much to learn.

And by learning more stuff, I can craft my own style — not just depending on fast, intense, long guitar solo songs. The whole package of DragonForce is beyond just the audio now. When you go to the show, the visual part has our own identity.

You know, I can’t complain. Music is just so fun. There’s just so much more creative stuff you can get into. It’s fulfilling, at the same time, to learn something new.

I’m curious about the conditions in which people told you guys you were wrong.

You know, I just said that to a fan at VIP. They bought one of our early albums — I think the second album, Sonic Firestorm, and they said, “Why haven’t I seen the original in print for a long time?”

I told him, “Look, I remember when this album was about to come out, the record label we were signed to said, ‘You guys will never make it in America. Your music will never fit in America. We’re not going to release there. Forget about it.” Obviously, all that led to a GRAMMY nomination four years later.

So, obviously, I didn’t listen to him at all. You grow your thick skin, right? To do what you want to do in music. I always say it’s never too late to start playing guitar, never too late to start playing music, never too late to do anything.

I'll tell you how crazy I am. I didn't want to learn another recording software after doing Pro Tools for 20-something years. And I just learned it two weeks ago, Ableton Live. I reprogrammed the whole show, all the changes, media effects, the video screen onto Ableton Live, and I finished after two weeks — every day on the tour bus.

Tell me more about being a young guy, increasingly fixated on the guitar.

I used to play like eight hours a day. When I first started playing guitar at 16, I thought I was too late because you see a lot of musicians starting much earlier. But I realized you can't start something until you're inspired. Something hits you and you want to do it.

My process was: play guitar every second I had. In school when there's a break time, lunch break, I had the guitar. I always played. I got home, I played the guitar. And when I went to bed, I made sure there was music continuously being played while I was asleep.

**Let’s talk about the creative process behind Warp Speed Warriors. What was the first tune that really got hammered in, where you all thought “We have a record”?**

To be honest, nothing, actually. We work on everything together, and we call it the league — like a football league. "OK, this one is winning, this one is sounding better. Okay, we better work on this one. This one's better. Needs some work." And we slowly work on everything to bring it all at the same level. That's how we always do it on each album. No one gets left behind.

We hadn’t done an album since 2019 and it still feels like you don’t have enough time, believe it or not. Every time, it’s a rush. And this time, doing the collabs suddenly created double the amount of mixing, for more versions.

I think the biggest problem we always have is: when we make an album, we have to go on tour. It breaks the groove. Sometimes you kind of lose it. I know it feels fresh to come back, but sometimes you just want to finish it as soon as possible.

But I would say, for an album that you work long enough, if it still sounds good after it’s been finished for two years, then it's good. You don't bother it.

Bring the Warp Speed Warriors process to the finish line.

It was actually quite stressful to finish it, to be honest, because of all the collab versions. What have I done to myself?

Because we’re not only talking about the collab version of the audio; I did a separate video edit for the collab version of the same song. When I delivered that album, it was a relief for me in certain ways. Like, Oh, finally done.

Now you have to deal with doing less creative stuff, like editing videos. There's creative in that, but playing the guitar, where you got to put in your best performance, that is the hardest thing. That is a snapshot of your life people are going to remember forever. 

I guess when I finished all my guitar solos, that was a relief, actually. Rhythm is easier. Solos are much harder.

Are you a punch-in guy? Do you agonize over every second? Or do you just let it fly?

The older I get, the more I let it fly. Press the button. If it doesn’t work, press it again. Just record the thing. In the old days, I would press it, record it, and zoom in and look at the waveform to see if I was perfectly on time with the grid or not. It was so bad — an OCD kind of thing.

But now I understand. When you listen to older albums — the best albums, the classic albums — they’re not on the grid. They sound better.

You’ve spent the last few years designing a new guitar to play on stage. Let’s hear about that.

I was given a thumbs up from PRS guitars to make whatever I want. I’d manipulate drawings on the computer and send them pictures, and they would make it. It took, I guess, four years, using the best material they can get their hands on.

I guess people get a bit shocked by how I treat the guitar that was made that expensive. I just treat it like a tool. I throw it every night. But one thing is so great on this tour that I really like was some of the local technicians working the show; they were big guitar fans.

I said, "Well, just plug it in, go and play it." They're all worried they're going to scratch it. “Just play it, hit the whammy bar, pull the string, bend the strings, it doesn't matter. Whatever you do will be less than what I do.”

I'm really aggressive on the guitar. And seeing the smile of people when they play a guitar like that has made me really happy. They go, "Wow, I can't believe it. I've never played something like this."

Can you go into the specs a little more?

I don't know if you're too familiar with PRS guitars, but it's unlike any other PRS guitar. It's easy to play and it's still got the great sound that you expect from PRS guitars.

The way I approach the guitar is this. I'm not that great of a guitar player, so I need something that is the easiest for me to play. I need something that makes life much easier for me, so I'm approaching it in that way that I need all the assistance I can get. So, it is really the easiest guitar to play while sounding great with all the pickup sounds that I want from a single coil, classic single coil sound, all the way to a humbucker that screams at you. So, I try to design it that way.

I have 300 guitars, so I have enough guitars of reference to know what I like about the guitar. It's been fun designing something like that. I never dreamed as a kid that a company like that would say, "Well, do whatever you want. Here you go."

You play guitar in DragonForce and you own 300 guitars. You don’t think you’re “that great of a guitar player?” Are you just being humble? What’s up?

I always say that me and Sam have never said we're great guitar players. We're students of the art forever.

If I think I'm a great guitar player, better than anyone else, that means I really need to learn. Because there's so much stuff out there from acoustic stuff, jazz stuff. I love listening to so much guitar and sometimes I wish I could play like that. I wish I could spend the time and play like that. But at the same time, I also say to myself I cannot try to play like someone else. I can only be me.

Coheed And Cambria's Claudio Sanchez On The Reaction To Vaxis: Act II — A Window of the Waking Mind & The Future Of The Band

Ah, Memorial Day — America's unofficial kickoff to summer. While you're firing up the grill, chilling the lemonade and filling up the kiddie pool, don't forget the real reason many of us get to celebrate with a three-day weekend: to honor those sacrifices made by our fallen heroes.

In an effort to ensure that those heroes will never be forgotten, in 2000 the National Moment of Remembrance Act was passed and signed into law by former President George W. Bush. The act encourages all Americans to participate in a minute of silence wherever they may be at 3 p.m. on Memorial Day.

Once those 60 seconds have passed we encourage you to crank up the tunes in honor of those brave soldiers who have sacrificed their lives in the name of freedom with these 10 songs that will rock Memorial Day.

"Hero"
Mariah Carey, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance nominee, 1994

This song is truly a dedication to the heroes who had the strength to cast their fears aside and carry on. While some of these heroes never make it back home, we can rest assured that they are not forgotten. Carey, a five-time GRAMMY winner, heroically climbed to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with this song in 1993.

"Travelin' Soldier"
Dixie Chicks, Best Country Album for Home, 2002

On their sixth hit to reach No. 1 on the Country Songs chart, the Dixie Chicks deliver a melodious tale that not only recognizes soldiers, but the people and loved ones they've left behind. In this case, it was a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair. 

"Soldier"
Destiny's Child Featuring T.I. & Lil Wayne, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration nominee, 2005

In this GRAMMY-nominated collaboration Beyoncé and the ladies of Destiny's Child call for a partner who is strong, fearless and credible on the streets. Sounds like a soldier to us. This track was also strong on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 3 in 2004.

"Heroes Of Our Time"
DragonForce, Best Metal Performance nominee, 2008

Whether you're remembering a hero of our time, your time or anyone's time this Memorial Day, those who fought for freedom will never be forgotten, and "freedom will rise again," sings this GRAMMY-nominated metal outfit.

"I Dreamed There Was No War"
Eagles, Best Pop Instrumental Performance, 2008

When you just can't find the words to say this Memorial Day, listen to the soft instrumental sounds of this Eagles track off Long Road Out Of Eden, their sixth album to top the Billboard 200.

GRAMMY Memorial Day Playlist

"American Bad Ass"
Kid Rock, Best Hard Rock Performance nominee, 2000

The same Detroit rap-rocker who coined the term "bawitdaba" sings about the shameless, indestructible American bada** in this GRAMMY-nominated performance. One would have to be a bada** to face war and improvised explosive devices.

"I Will Remember You"
Sarah McLachlan, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, 1999

Perhaps one of the most appropriate anthems for the National Moment of Remembrance, this song was first released in 1995 on The Brothers McMullen soundtrack, and was not forgotten when it won the 1999 GRAMMY for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

"War"
Edwin Starr, Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male nominee, 1970

Starr sings in protest of war on this classic track that helped him achieve legendary status in the soul circuit, but does not fail to recognize the tears that are brought to those who have gone off to fight and lost their lives. Per Starr's words: "War, good gawd ya'll/what is it good for?/Absolutely nothing!" The song's importance was further solidified in 1999 when it was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame.

"Freedom At 21"
Jack White, Best Rock Song nominee, 2012

White couldn't be more right when he sings, "We are so free/It is good to be free." Thank you, brave soldiers, for our freedom.

"Brave"
Sara Bareilles, Best Pop Solo Performance nominee, 2013

Honestly, Bareilles wants to see you, and all of our heroes, be brave. So this Memorial Day, show just how big your brave is.

What songs will you listen to this Memorial Day? Drop us a comment and let us know.

On May 5, 1868, three years following the end of the Civil War, the Grand Army of the Republic established Decoration Day, encouraging the nation to decorate the graves of fallen war veterans with flowers on May 30. By the end of the 19th century memorial ceremonies were celebrated on May 30 across the nation, and in 1971 Congress officially declared every last Monday in May as Memorial Day.

In 2000 the National Moment of Remembrance Act was passed and signed into law by former President George W. Bush in an effort to ensure that those sacrifices made by America's fallen heroes will never be forgotten. The act encourages all Americans to participate in a minute of silence wherever they may be at 3 p.m. on Memorial Day.

Once those 60 seconds have passed we encourage you to crank up the tunes in honor of those brave soldiers who have sacrificed their lives in the name of freedom with our GRAMMY Memorial Day playlist. 

"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" (iTunes>)
The Andrews Sisters, GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, Inducted 2000

By the time the United States headed into World War II, this sisterly trio was established as one of the most successful female vocal groups of that era, frequently appearing at military bases and traveling overseas to perform for troops. They're also remembered for dressing up in military outfits and singing this signature GRAMMY Hall Of Fame tune.

"Hero" (iTunes>)
Mariah Carey, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance nominee, 1994

This song is truly a dedication to the heroes who had the strength to cast their fears aside and carry on. While some of these heroes never make it back home, we can rest assured that they are not forgotten. Carey, a five-time GRAMMY winner, heroically climbed to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with this song in 1993.

"Soldier" (iTunes>)
Destiny's Child Featuring T.I. & Lil Wayne, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration nominee, 2005

In this GRAMMY-nominated collaboration, Beyoncé and the ladies of Destiny's Child call for a partner who is strong, fearless and credible on the streets. Sounds like a soldier to us. This track was also strong on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 3 in 2004.

"Travelin' Soldier" (iTunes>)
Dixie Chicks, Best Country Album for Home, 2002

On their sixth hit to reach No. 1 on the Country Songs chart, the Dixie Chicks deliver a melodious tale that not only recognizes soldiers, but the people and loved ones they've left behind. In this case, it was a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair.

"Heroes Of Our Time" (iTunes>)
DragonForce, Best Metal Performance nominee, 2008

Whether you're remembering a hero of our time, your time or anyone's time this Memorial Day, those who fought for freedom will never be forgotten, and "freedom will rise again," sings this GRAMMY-nominated metal outfit.

GRAMMY Memorial Day Playlist

"I Dreamed There Was No War" (iTunes>)
Eagles, Best Pop Instrumental Performance, 2008

When you just can't find the words to say this Memorial Day, listen to the soft instrumental sounds of this Eagles track off Long Road Out Of Eden, their sixth album to top the Billboard 200.

"The Battle Of New Orleans" (iTunes>)
Johnny Horton, GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, Inducted 2002

This GRAMMY Hall Of Fame track recounts the renowned Battle of New Orleans in 1815 in which American forces defeated the British forces' attempt to capture the Big Easy. The song also won a GRAMMY in 1959 for Best Country & Western Performance.

American Gangster
Jay-Z, Best Rap Album nominee, 2008

Jay-Z could no doubt have a few things in common with a soldier — he was raised in the rough Marcy Houses of Brooklyn, N.Y., and worked his way from rags to riches. While some soldiers will never make tangible riches, dying for one's country is certainly more noble by far.

"American Bad Ass"
Kid Rock, Best Hard Rock Performance nominee, 2000

The same Detroit rap-rocker who coined the term "bawitdaba" sings about the shameless, indestructible American badass in this GRAMMY-nominated performance. One would have to be a badass to face war and improvised explosive devices.

"Hero (From Spider-Man)" (iTunes>)
Chad Kroeger Featuring Josey Scott, Best Rock Song nominee, 2002

The story of Spider-Man is not for the faint of heart, and neither is the story of a fallen soldier, but both stories tell the tale of a hero. And it's a hero that can save us, according to Kroeger and Scott on this tune, originally recorded for the Spider-Man soundtrack.

"I Will Remember You" (iTunes>)
Sarah McLachlan, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, 1999

Perhaps one of the most appropriate anthems for the National Moment of Remembrance, this song was first released in 1995 on The Brothers McMullen soundtrack, and was not forgotten in 1999 when it won a GRAMMY.

"Soldier Of Love" (iTunes>)
Sade, Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals, 2010

While Sade sings about an internal battle on this GRAMMY-winning track, it's still a battle nonetheless. And Sade clearly won the fight, topping the Billboard 200 with the album of the same name, the group's first studio release in almost a decade.

"A Soldier's Joy" (iTunes>)
Randy Scruggs & Vince Gill, Best Country Instrumental Performance, 1998

This remake of the classic fiddle tune features Gill on electric guitar and Scruggs on acoustic guitar, and would be a joy with which to remember any soldier. It must have also been a joy for Gill when this tune earned him his 13th GRAMMY at the time. (Gill now has 20 GRAMMYs.)

"War" (iTunes>)
Edwin Starr, Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male nominee, 1970

Starr sings in protest of war on this classic track that helped him achieve legendary status in the soul circuit, but does not fail to recognize the tears that are brought to those who have gone off to fight and lost their lives. Per Starr's words: "War, good God ya'll/what is it good for?/Absolutely nothing!"

"Freedom At 21" (iTunes>)
Jack White, Best Rock Song nominee, 2012

White couldn't be more right when he sings, "We are so free/It is good to be free." Thank you, brave soldiers, for our freedom.

What songs will you listen to this Memorial Day? Drop us a comment and let us know.

The GRAMMY Awards and the Summer Olympics are unarguably the pinnacles of their respective fields. Indeed, most recording artists dream of making an acceptance speech for their magnum opus during the biggest night on the music industry calendar, while athletes competing in any of the Games’ 32 different disciplines are continually motivated by the lure of the podium.

But how often have the two intertwined since the first GRAMMY ceremony took place a year before Rome 1960?

Well, perhaps more than you think. Sure, the musical efforts from basketballers Shaquille O’Neal (gold at Atlanta 1996), Kobe Bryant (gold at Beijing 2008 and London 2012), and Damian Lillard (gold at Tokyo 2020) might not have registered with the Recording Academy. Likewise, those from track and field hero Carl Lewis (nine golds and one silver from four consecutive Games), light middleweight boxer Roy Jones Jr. (silver at Seoul 1988), and near-superhuman sprinter Usain Bolt (eight golds from Beijing, London, and Rio 2016).

But there are a handful of sportsmen (sadly, not yet sportswomen) who have competed for both gold medals and golden gramophones. There are also pop stars who have attempted to capture the blood, sweat, and tears of the quadrennial spectacle in musical form — whether as an official anthem, television theme, or simply a motivational tool — and been rewarded with GRAMMY recognition for their efforts.

With the Olympics’ return to Paris just around the corner (July 26-Aug.11), what better time to celebrate those occasions when the Games and the GRAMMYs align?

It seems fair to say that Gloria Estefan, the Cuban hitmaker who helped to bring Latin pop to the masses, and avant-garde eccentric Björk, wouldn't appear to have much in common. They have, however, both received GRAMMY nominations in the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance category for their respective Olympics themes.

Estefan was recognized at the 1997 ceremony for "Reach," the gospel-tinged power ballad that embodied the spirit of the previous year's Atlanta Games. Iceland's finest musical export picked up a nod for "Oceania," the swooping experimental number she co-produced with Warp label founder Mark Bell which helped to soundtrack the opening ceremony of Athens 2004. And both went home empty-handed, the former losing to Toni Braxton's "Un-Break My Heart" and the latter to Norah Jones' "Sunrise."

The incomparable Whitney Houston might not have added to her GRAMMY haul at the 1989 ceremony — Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" prevented her from converting her sole nod, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, into a win — but she still stole the show. Houston owned opened the 31st GRAMMY Awards with a performance of "One Moment in Time," the nominated track that had defined NBC's coverage of the Seoul Games.

Co-written by Albert Hammond, produced by Narada Michael Walden and featuring the London Symphony Orchestra, the UK chart-topping single certainly had a first-class pedigree. But it was Houston's lung-busting vocals that made the torch song such a sports montage favorite. The iconic diva once again stirred the emotions on the music industry's biggest night of the year with a rendition that's since become a staple of her many hits collections.

Read more: Songbook: A Guide To Whitney Houston's Iconic Discography, From Her '80s Pop Reign To Soundtrack Smashes

Shakira fought off some interesting company to win 2001's Best Latin Pop Album GRAMMY. Alongside records from Luis Miguel and Alejandro Sanz, the category also included Christina Aguilera's first Spanish-language affair, and a bilingual effort from champion boxer Oscar De La Hoya.

The American became a national sensation overnight when he won the men's lightweight boxing gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. But despite new material from seasoned hitmaker Diane Warren and a cover of Bee Gees' classic "Run to Me," his 13-track self-titled debut didn't exactly set the charts alight. Despite the GRAMMY nod, De La Hoya hasn't entered the recording studio since.

But when it comes to GRAMMY-nominated boxers, then the man who famously floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee is undoubtedly the don. Shortly before he changed his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali, the light heavyweight gold medalist of the 1960 Rome Games was recognized for his amusing repartee in the Best Comedy Performance category. Hailed by some as a progenitor of the rap artform, I Am the Greatest lost out to a man slightly different in stature: portly parodist Allan Sherman.   

And the sporting icon also had to experience another rare defeat 13 years later when his reading of The Adventures Of Ali And His Gang Vs. Mr. Tooth Decay lost out to Hermione Gingold & Karl Böhm's Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf/Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals in 1977’s Best Recording for Children.

Legendary composer John Williams is one of the most-nominated artists in GRAMMY history having amassed 76 nods since his work on detective series "Checkmate" was recognized in Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media in 1962. Two of his wins in this remarkable tally have been Games-related.

In 1985, Williams won Best Instrumental Composition for "Olympic Fanfare and Theme," which he wrote and arranged for the Los Angeles Games the year prior. In 1989, the conductor received a nod in the same category for "Olympic Spirit," another majestic instrumental produced for NBC’s coverage of Seoul '88.

Interestingly, Wiliams isn't a particularly avid sports fan, but as he told The New York Times, he can still relate to those going for gold. "The human spirit stretching to prove itself is also typical of what musicians attempt to achieve in a symphonic effort."

Magic Johnson’s Educational Guide Wins Best Spoken Word Album  

Basketball appears to produce more aspiring musicians than any sport. Marvin Bagley III, Lonzo Ball, and Brandon Clarke are just a few of the NBA names to have released albums in the last few years. But the only time a hooper has been recognized at the GRAMMYs is for an audiobook.   

The year before guiding Team USA to the men's basketball gold at Barcelona 1992, Magic Johnson had bravely revealed that he'd contracted HIV, defying the stigma that surrounded it at the time. The year after his Olympic triumph, the iconic shooting guard was honored for joining the fight against the disease. Johnson won the Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Album GRAMMY for What You Can Do To Avoid AIDS, a compassionate guide designed to educate the youth of America whose proceeds went to the sportsman's eponymous foundation.   

Based on the real-life exploits of British runners Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell at the 1924 Paris Olympics, period drama Chariots of Fire won Best Picture at the 1982 Oscars. But it’s the titular number from Vangelis' anachronistic synth-based score that remains its crowning glory.

First played as the aspiring Olympians train beachside in the slow-motion opening flashback, the instrumental not only topped the Billboard Hot 100, it also picked up a GRAMMY nod for Record of the Year. "Chariots of Fire" has since become synonymous with the more modern iteration of the Games, appearing in the BBC's coverage of Seoul '88, gracing the start of the men's 100m final at Atlanta '96, and perhaps most famously of all, being performed at London 2012's opening ceremony by none other than Rowan Atkinson's rubber-faced buffoon Mr. Bean.

Read more: 10 Essential Vangelis Albums: Remembering The Electronic Music Pioneer

Every album comes with a backstory, but not many come with two. Rakim's new project G.O.D's Network (REB7RTH), out July 26, came together in a few quick months, from signing a deal in February 2024 to completion in June. The process was spurred by one dedicated A&R person frantically combing through his network of rappers to get guest verses over beats produced by the God MC himself.

But to hear that A&R man, Matt "M80" Markoff, tell it, creating the seven-song project didn't take four months. It took four years.

"I've known [Rakim's longtime manager] Matt [Kemp] and Rakim since 2007," Markoff tells me when I get him on the phone in late June. "They're used to getting calls from me a couple of times a year just for, like, show referrals, verse referrals, things of that nature."

Back at the beginning of the pandemic, Markoff had been talking to the folks at Fat Beats, the venerable record store-turned-distributor that's a huge name in independent hip-hop. He mentioned Rakim's name to the company, and Fat Beats responded that they'd love a project from the God MC. The original pitch, Markoff remembers, was "a three or four song EP with some remixes."

Rakim quoted his price, Fat Beats agreed, and the project was underway, with the emcee meeting with producers to look for beats. But Rakim, who hasn't released a solo album since 2009's The Seventh Seal, is not one to be hurried.

"Ra was having [DJ] Premier and Pete Rock and Ninth Wonder and some of these people come to the studio," Markoff says. "Because of scheduling conflicts and stuff and, you know, normal course of life, it just wasn't right. The vibe wasn't there."

That's where Jazzy Jeff came into play. Rakim and the legendary DJ began working together and, per Markoff, it "just meshed." It seemed like, instead of a handful of songs, a full-length record was in the offing.

"As soon as they finish the first song, I walk into Fat Beats and say, ‘Hey, this is what we're doing now,'" the A&R man recalls. "Instead of Rakim with random producers, it's Rakim/Jazzy Jeff. That'll be huge."

Then…nothing.

A few years pass, and the Rakim and Jazzy Jeff project is still unfinished. (Rakim described its status as "We have a couple records already done.") Fat Beats, which was on the auction block (it was eventually sold in March 2024), wants its money back. Rakim obliges, and everyone seems set to forget about the whole thing.

Markoff, however, was not about to give up on working with the man he calls "my favorite emcee of all time."

The revamped album started its life as not an album at all. Instead, the original conception was a model Markoff had used before: licensing beats by people not typically thought of as producers. In this case, he'd be offering aspiring rappers the chance to get beats by arguably the most influential rapper of all time. 

"He's taken people who are not necessarily known as producers and put together beat packages for them," manager Matt Kemp says of Markoff. "And then, one of the things he does is he goes out and he licenses those beats through a company that he has. If you're a European artist that wouldn't necessarily have access to things like that, you can get it."

So that, as of February of this year, was the (revamped) plan: have Rakim do six beats and one verse, and sell non-exclusive licenses, so that any rapper, anywhere in the world, who wants to use them in a song of their own could do so. This, indeed, was a vision that was followed through all the way to the finish line — you can see the end result released July 12, priced between $700-$1,050 depending on what you want to do with the beats and the rhyme, here.

But along the way to creating that package, things got significantly more complicated. As Rakim was making the beats, he found he really liked them. In some cases, he even wanted to rhyme on them himself.

"As the beats started coming together and Rakim was really in the studio and we started putting the rhymes onto them, we realized that it was bigger just than that [original vision]," Matt Kemp said.

The wheels started turning. Rakim, the God MC, as a producer? That would be a project worth sharing with the world, not just a few aspiring artists.

As it turns out, unbeknownst even to many Ra fans, the rapper has been making beats since the beginning. In fact, he produced — and played drums on — one of Eric B and Rakim's classic songs, 1992's "Juice (Know the Ledge)." So producing an entire project didn't seem like such a big stretch after all. 

"I always was attached to making beats," Rakim explains to me. "But I got to the point where I'm confident with my production now. I got the chance to produce the album and jumped at the opportunity." 

Rakim, as has been well documented over the years, comes from a musical family. His older brother Ronnie was a keyboard player of some note with his own claim on rap history, his other brother Stevie is also keyboardist who performed on some Eric B. and Rakim songs, and the rapper's aunt is the late R&B legend Ruth Brown. So when making beats, Ra will often play drums, bass, guitar, or piano. (He cops to enlisting one of his brothers if the keyboard part gets too complicated.)

He describes his production style this way: "You try to add on to the sample, and enhance certain sounds that you hear. Or you might just add a melody that you feel enhances the sample as well." 

In addition to playing instruments on the project, Rakim also plays the turntable.

"I always knew how to DJ, and I like being able to enjoy the project from a different seat," he tells me. "I enjoyed putting the music together, coming up with the scratch patterns."

So with the musical side of the equation firmly in place, what about the vocals? Rakim was inspired to add verses on a few songs, and hooks on a few more.

"It's mostly a project that I was supposed to be producing," he explains. "In the midst of that, there's certain beats that I'm playing and I'm like, ‘I gotta rhyme on this one,' or, ‘I got a rhyme that fits this one perfectly.'"

The question was, what to write about? After a decade and a half without an album, the rapper had a lot to discuss, and needed to find new ways to say it.

For the project's lead single, "BE ILL," he got in plenty of internal rhymes. And the song's tempo allowed him to come up with different rhythms.

"When tracks are at that speed, I'm able to manipulate time and space to come up with different rhythms because I have so much time and space to deal with," he says. "It was one of them songs I loved rhyming to. Just having fun with words and phrases, and at the same time having so much on my mind to say."

"I'm trying to say a lot of things," Ra admits when discussing his writing on the album. "It's hard to just come back and say a verse when you've been gone so long. So I tried to be very specific and cautious with the words that I chose, and try to be entertaining at the same time. So it was a little nerve wracking."

Even with Rakim's vocal contributions (he ends up with either verses or hooks on six of the project's seven tracks), more was needed to complete the songs. That's where Markoff really got going.

"Literally, I didn't waste a single day," he remembers. "I was calling the artists in my network. I reached out to each artist one by one, and let each artist go through the folder [of beats] with me and make their picks."

Among the artists Markoff reached out to were several members of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has a long relationship with the crew, having worked with them on several projects including the well-regarded 2005 album Wu-Tang Meet the Indie Culture.

Markoff recalls the exact moment when he lined up Wu member Masta Killa for his appearance on what became "BE ILL."

"I was at the first ever Wu-Tang Clan residency in Vegas, and I told Masta Killa, ‘Dude, I just got these Rakim beats 10 minutes ago.' I played 10 seconds of the second beat, which was the beat for ‘BE ILL.' And he was like, ‘That's the one.'" 

A different Wu-Tang show was responsible for one of the album's other notable guest appearances, Cash Money stalwart B.G. The two met at the concert, and the Louisiana rapper was in the studio "48 hours later," Markoff recalls.

For a handful of artists he had good long-term relationships with, Markoff let them choose which of Rakim's beats they wanted to rap over. In addition to Masta Killa, he names Chino XL, Hus Kingpin, 38 Spesh, and TriState as being on that short list. After that, he says, it was all his decision. 

The end result is a list of some of the top rappers in his Rolodex: Kool G. Rap, Method Man, Kurupt, Canibus, KXNG Crooked, Skyzoo, Joell Ortiz, and many more — including an outro from Snoop Dogg. But one of the most surprising things on the tracklist is that a number of the guests aren't alive anymore.

Nipsey Hussle, Prodigy, DMX, and Fred the Godson have verses on the record. All of them were people Markoff had worked with in some capacity over the course of his career. He says that all of the verses were "in my stash or under my ownership." So when he was looking for material for the Rakim project, they were a perfect fit.

The Nipsey Hussle contribution in particular stood out so much that the entire song, "Love Is the Message," was designed around it. The project's engineer placed Neighborhood Nip's verse first, and everyone else listened to that when recording.

"We kind of glorified who he is, and came up with the title ‘Love Is the Message' to put everything in perspective," Rakim tells me. "So everybody vibed off of that and everything that we implemented had to have that feel or had to be in that direction." 

One thing Rakim noticed as he was listening to the contributions coming in? Many of them were paying tribute to him. In particular, B.G. says in his verse that he's "on a song with the greatest." 

"To hear things like that from my peers is a beautiful thing," says Rakim, who also admits to tearing up when hearing Snoop Dogg praise him on the outro of one of the album's songs. "Hip-hop is one of the more, I guess, feisty genres. It's hard to get that love from your peers. So it's a real blessing to hear it from people like that, to hear what they think of you and to say that on records. A lot of people might think that of you, but would never say it on a record."

For Markoff, B.G.'s tribute was particularly meaningful because of the rapper's history. He began his career in a duo, and later a quartet, with another rapper sometimes considered the greatest of all time, Lil Wayne.

"For B.G. to have that history, but acknowledge Rakim — I was speechless," Markoff confides. "It was really cool to see. It's like, ‘I'm not just going to say my partner, my friend, my confidant Lil Wayne's the best because we grew up together.'"

Finally, after all the guest verses came in, the project was ready. Seven songs, entirely produced by Rakim, with raps by him and a broad cross-section of artists. The question, then: what exactly is this project? An album? An EP? Rakim's big comeback? A teaser for his eventual full-length return?

To Markoff, none of these labels are important. He's not concerned about fans being disappointed that a project under Rakim's name features only a handful of the rapper's verses.

 "The fan is going to look at it however they want to look at it," he says. "The negative people will stay negative. It wouldn't matter if it was the greatest album of all time. The positive people that are so grateful that I stepped up to the plate to help bring new Rakim music to the world are going to love it."

After all, he continues, "The whole point originally when we started making it was letting his peers shine on Rakim beats. The fact that this project morphed into something that Rakim literally is on 95% of, I couldn't have asked for more of a blessing."

So Matt Markoff, the boy who fell in love with Rakim's music at 12 is now, three decades later, putting out music from his hero.

"Dream fulfilled," he says right before we hang up. "Now I gotta figure out what I'm going to do for the rest of my life."