Rakim has premiered a new song called "King's Paradise" in a trailer for Netflix's Luke Cage season 2. In the clip, the legendary rapper can be seen performing at the Harlem's Paradise nightclub from the show, which has previously hosted performances from Raphael Saadiq, Jidenna, Faith Evans and more. The track is produced by , who serve as the music supervisors for the show, the second season of which launched on Netflix Friday. The song finds him honoring Harlem legends as spending quite a few bars detailing the heroism of Luke Cage, making for a song that plays a little bit more like an ad for the show than a Rakim song.
Eric B. & Rakim's classic track "I Ain't No Joke" also appears in the series.
Beyond its soundtrack, Luke Cage, has a notable hip-hop influence which was detailed in a recent interview with the Breakfast Club. The episode titles are inspired by song from Pete Rock and CLSmooth, and the goal for the second season was to match the impact of various classic sophomre albums. "We wanted to be the second record that elevated," said showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker. "We wanted to be the Low End Theory, we wanted to be Paul's Boutique, we wanted to be The Score. It was always about trying to replicate what worked and then take it to the next level."
Watch the Rakim clip above.