- On View
- Musical Crossroads Gallery
- Museum Maps
- Objects in this Location
- Exhibition
- Musical Crossroads
- Date
- 1997
- Medium
- metal, foam, plastic, and wire
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 10 × 2 1/4 × 2 1/4 in. (25.4 × 5.7 × 5.7 cm)
- Description
- A wireless microphone used by Rakim to record the album "The 18th Letter" (1997). The hand-held microphone has a circular silver mesh wire grill covering the foam interior of the microphone. The grill is attached to a black plastic cylindrical handle with text printed in silver type near the attachment reading "SHURE" and "BETA 58A" twice around. The handle is made from two pieces, with a small square digital display screen on the top half of the handle bordered by gray plastic, with "L3 638-698 MHz" printed in white type below it. White type reading "UR2" on two opposing sides is printed at the bottom of the lower half of the handle. A smaller round-edged cylindrical piece of black plastic protudes from the bottom of the handle. The bottom half of the handle (b) screws off to reveal a battery chamber that holds two (2) AA batteries. Opposite the battery chamber is a digital push-button menu with four buttons reading clockwise from top: up-facing arrow, "enter", down-facing arrow, "exit". The button menu is directly below the digital display screen on the exterior of the top half of the handle. Beneath the buttons is a manufacturer's label with serial and model numbers, and a key for the menu buttons.
- Classification
- Tools and Equipment
- Type
- microphones
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Rakim
- Object number
- 2016.10.1
- Restrictions & Rights
- No Known Copyright Restrictions
- Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




