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What's in a name? How Dallas' Rakim Al-Jabbaar got to open for legends Eric B. and Rakim 

Rakim Al-Jabbaar has had a good year.

The local rapper won "The One," a talent contest he had to be talked into entering at Trees, the biggest venue he's played to date.

And on Wednesday, April 25, he will be the opening act for the man after which he's named, Rakim.

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"It's like a moment in my life that I was always waiting for but I never knew I was waiting for it," said Rakim Al-Jabbaar. "I only wanted an opportunity to meet him. I never thought I'd perform on the same stage with him. So it's really a surreal moment."

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His story is inspiring.

"The stars had to align for this opportunity to even present itself," said Al-Jabbaar. "If I don't do 'The One' competition, I don't get this opportunity. ... This is just the universe continuing me along my path for greatness."

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But this night is home to another storyline that's equally as compelling: Seminal hip-hop group Eric B. and Rakim are on tour in their first shows together since a one-off last year, playing the Bomb Factory. And according to Eric B., this show, this tour, isn't another one-off. It's just the first move.

"After the tour, we're back in the studio working on a bunch of different projects," Eric B. said. "We're doing our own project and different movie soundtracks and different TV shows. Just look forward to seeing some great things and don't be surprised. We're ready to go."

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And they're bringing more legends with them. The bill includes YoYo ("our sister and we love her and I think it's a perfect fit," said Eric B.) and DJ Spinderella, all hip-hop innovators like themselves.

The duo's Paid in Full was a leap forward in hip-hop when it was released in 1987. Eric B. layered melody and artful sampling of a familiar soul catalog with the lyricism of the one they call the "God M.C.," Rakim.

"James Brown ... hated me 'til the day he died," Eric B. said. "Because all the reporters from Europe were telling him, 'Hey, how'd it feel that Eric B. is resurrecting your career?' His hair used to stand up like Don King's, he was so hot. ... He didn't want to hear none of that."

Imitation followed. It's appropriate that this tour is called The Technique. The group is cited throughout hip-hop as an influence almost daily.

Even so, the duo went their separate ways for years. There were solo efforts lauded by hip-hop heads. And then a 30th anniversary rolled around, and the duo came back together for a celebratory show at New York's famed Apollo Theater. That show was "monumental." Made you look. Will they introduce anything new on the tour?

"No. We're gonna give you everything that you enjoy," Eric B. said, likening it to going to a restaurant that you love but haven't been to in awhile. "We're bringing you back to a familiar place. We're taking you back to where you were. And when you hear this record, you're gonna say, 'I remember where I was at.'"

This show is an arrow aimed right at the heart of hip-hop. And it's almost a homecoming for Eric B., whose sister Cathy has lived in Dallas for years, "since 'Kung Fu Fighting' was on the radio."

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He's as excited to see his sister as he is about the upcoming show.

"These shows right here are gonna be a movie," he said. "You never know who's gonna show up. Everybody's just calling saying I'll be there. OK. No problem."

Eric B. and Rakim don't have to bring the new. That's up to Al-Jabbaar. He's grateful for this opportunity that probably won't be his last. He's a consistent creator, able to write a rhyme while walking from one end of a short building to the next.

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It seems effortless, much like the way his namesake makes rhyming seem easy. There's an undercurrent of heaviness, though.

Al-Jabbaar's father was Big Al of Nemesis, an O.G. Dallas rap group. Big Al died when his son was 12, spurring him to write.

"Every interaction inspires you ... The last conversation we had was about me rapping," he said. "From the moment he passed, I picked the pen up and began to channel my anger and frustration of him being gone through writing and it led me to where I am today."

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And now he wants to do good by his name and Rakim's while honoring his father.

"I've witnessed people go so far that I know that my job is to only to make it further than them and keep pushing it forward for the generation after me," he said. "So the goal of the current hip-hop artist is to do what they claim to be impossible, like what Kendrick just did [he won a Pulitzer Prize for D.A.M.N.], something no one would ever think of. And we have to keep going and going so we can sustain this genre for hundreds of years."

It's a new beginning that sees no end for any of them.

"We're back," said Eric B. "We're back working."

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Eric B. and Rakim With YoYo, DJ Spinderella and Rakim Al-Jabbaar will perform Wednesday, April 25, at 8 p.m. at the Bomb Factory, 2713 Canton St., Dallas. $38-$163. Doors open at 7.

For more news, views and reviews, follow @DawnBurkes on Twitter.