Eric B. (first picture) was born in Queens in ’65 and Rakim (second picture) in Long Island. Rakim converted to Islam when he was 16 and was much influenced by The Nation of Gods And Earths which is where he took his name – Rakim Allah – from. Eric B. (Eric Barrier) was the producer and DJ, Rakim the rapper.
Eric played drums and trumpet in high school, switching to turntables before he graduated. He soon started DJing for the WLBS radio station in New York where he met a promoter, Alvin Toney, from Queens. Eric was looking for rappers to collaborate with and the promoter recommended as the first choice, Freddie Foxx, who lived in Long Island. They went to Freddie’s house but he wasn’t there so instead they went to the second choice, Rakim, and the pair started collaborating.
Rakim’s friend and roommate Marley Marl let them use his home studio. The first track they recorded, “Eric B. Is President”, was released as a single on the independent Zakia Records in ’86. But after Def Jam’s founder Russell Simmons heard it, the duo were signed to Island Records and began recording an album in Manhattan’s Power Play Studios in early 1987
Early tracks were quite minimalist in their production. On “Eric B. Is President”, Eric sampled the bassline from Fonda Rae’s “Over Like A Fat Rat” plus the beat from James Brown’s “Funky President (People Its Bad)”.
(Incase you want to check them out, the Fonda Rae track is on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRj0V9Q9D9A and the James Brown track is on Youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_ODghRTeyQ ).
The classic James Brown loop used in the track was groundbreaking at the time. Stetasonic later rapped that “James Brown was old until Eric and Ra came out”. Allmusic has said that ‘Eric B. was hugely influential and his taste for hard-hitting James Brown samples, touched off a stampede through the Godfather of Soul’s back catalogue, that continues to this day”. Rakim insisted in a Rolling Stone interview, “I don’t think we were the first ones to use James Brown, but we were the first to use it right.”
“Eric B. Is President”:
Lyrically, Rakim was also ground breaking. As Wikipedia puts it, “At the time rappers like Run-DMC, Chuck D and KRS-One had been leaping on the mic shouting with energy and irreverence, but Rakim took a methodical approach to his microphone fiending. He had a slow flow, and every line was blunt, mesmeric.” Steve Huey praised his “literate imagery, velvet-smooth flow, and unpredictable, off-the-beat rhythms.”
Rakim still tops fan polls as the greatest MC of all time. Allmusic says “He crafted his rhymes like poetry, filling his lines with elaborate metaphors and complex internal rhymes, and he played the beat like a jazzman, earning a reputation as the smoothest-flowing MC ever to pick up a mic. His articulation was clear, his delivery seemingly effortless, and his influence on subsequent MCs incalculable. Together, their peerless technique on the microphone and turntables upped the ante for all who followed them, and their advancement of Hip Hop as an art form has been acknowledged by everyone from Gang Starr to the Wu-Tang Clan to Eminem.”
In his writing technique, Rakim was innovative because his dedication to the craft enabled him to create lyrics that were more intricate than was usual at the time. While many rappers developed their technique through improvisation, his strength was writing. For example, his use of internal rhymes, where words rhyme not just at the end of a line but also in other places, was unique.
Rakim later said, “[I] used to write my rhymes in the studio and go right into the booth and read them. When I hear my first album today I hear myself reading my rhymes – but I’m my worst critic. That’s what I hear, though – because that’s what it was. I’d go into the studio, put the beat down, write the song in like an hour, and go into the booth and read it from the paper…”
The B-Side of “Eric B. Is President” was “My Melody”:
Another contributor to their sound was Rakim’s brother Stevie Blass Griffin. He was a multi-instrumentalist and performed on the first album “Paid in Full” as well as its follow up, “Follow The Leader”.
The track “I Know You Got Soul” Sampled the Bobby Byrd song of the same name as well as James Brown:
Or alternatively here is a live performance of “I Know You Got Soul” from ’91 at The Apollo where the crowd reaction shows just how massive the duo were:
Here is the original video for the title track from the album “Paid In Full”:
Incidentally, at the time, the concept of getting paid in full for rapping, was also groundbreaking. The Vibe History of Hip Hop states it “was the first album that told both fellow rappers and consumers that there was a lot of money to be made in the rap business. It was hard to believe that brothers really could get paid in full with all the handshaking and radio payola going on – nevertheless, the album sold more than gold”.
“I Ain’t No Joke” was also on their debut album and this video has the lyrics too:
Because of this track, “As The Rhyme Goes On”, Eminem was inspired to lift some lines for his “The Way I Am”:
The legacy of Paid In Full continues to this day. Wikipedia explains that “Rakim’s rapping set a blueprint for future rappers and helped secure East Coast Hip Hop’s reputation for innovative lyrical technique. William Cobb stated in his book To the Break of Dawn that his rapping had “stepped outside” of the preceding era of old school Hip Hop and that while the vocabulary and lyrical dexterity of newer rappers had improved, it was “nowhere near what Rakim introduced to the genre”. The New York Times‘ Dimitri Ehrlich, who described the album as “an artistic and commercial benchmark”, credited Rakim for helping “give birth to a musical genre” and leading “a quiet musical revolution, introducing a soft-spoken rapping style.”
Regarding the influence of Eric B.’s contribution, “Paid in Full, which contains gritty, heavy, and dark beats, marked the beginning of heavy sampling in Hip Hop records. Of the album’s ten tracks, three are instrumentals. As a DJ, Eric B. had reinstated the art of live turntable mixing. And his soul-filled sampling became influential in future Hip Hop production.”
Their second album, “Follow The Leader” was less minimalistic – Eric used more samples and more live instrumentation courtesy of Stevie. Rakim also used more vivid and elaborate metaphors, for example comparing his love for rapping with being addicted to drugs in the song “Microphone Fiend”:
“Follow The Leader” – original video:
“Lyrics of Fury” – this track used the beat from James Brown’s “Funky Drummer” before it was well known:
The E-notes website explains ‘From the 90s Hip Hop had an ever-widening mainstream audience and rap began to separate into “schools”: the “gangsta” sound of N.W.A., Ice-T and the Geto Boys; the “Native Tongues” psychedelic funk-rap of De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest; the consciousness-raising of Public Enemy and Boogie Down Productions; and, of course, the highly staged pop rap of Hammer and Kriss Kross. Eric B. and Rakim, however, remained true to their own unique sound, described by Rolling Stone’s Alan Light as “Rakim’s cool, menacing delivery of intricate rhymes over Eric’s subtly shifting beats.” The Voice’s George elaborated, revealing, “Rakim’s intonation itself conjures wintry images of cold-blooded killers, chilly ghetto streets and steely-eyed hustlers. There’s a knowing restraint in his voice that injects danger into even harmless phrases.”‘
So in 1990 Eric B. and Rakim released their third album, “Let The Rhythm Hit ‘Em”. Allmusic states that rap fans began to lose interest in the duo at this point because there were many other new acts on the scene. Rakim did some message raps on this album such as “In The Ghetto”. I really like the music on this one too:
Also on the album was “Step Back”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31GYKGx2L6I and another track was “No Omega”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ9zYRIvFp4 although I’m not feeling these that much.
He later said about his relative lack of commercial success: “You could sell a couple records and keep your integrity or you could go pop and sell a bunch of records and be gone tomorrow. I was trying to stick to my guns at that point.”
Tracks that didn’t feature on the duo’s albums around this time included:
“Set ‘Em Straight” which featured on a compilation Let the Rhythm Hit ‘Em in 1990:
“Know The Ledge” was a track on the soundtrack to the film Juice in ’91:
and “What’s On Your Mind” was on the soundtrack to House Party II:
Their fourth album “Don’t Sweat The Technique” got better reviews than their third. The Boston Herald complimented Eric B.’s “diverse mix of beats and melodies … from hard funk to more subdued blues and jazz”, concluding that “The potent combination of articulate raps and catchy beats makes ‘Don’t Sweat‘ a real burner”
The track called “Don’t Sweat The Technique” was very funky (original video):
“What’s Going On” was also on this album: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTW9nTY5bU0
Other songs were “What’s On Your Mind”, the opening track, which was a commercially successful ballad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18LIKBPOCow
And another track, against the Gulf War, was “Casualties of War” (original video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHXFKjfrlqI
This was the last album the duo did together. Wikipedia explains “During the recording of the album, both members expressed an interest in recording solo albums. However, Eric B. refused to sign the label’s release contract, fearful that Rakim would abandon him. This led to a court case involving the two musicians and their former label. The legal wrangling eventually led to the duo dissolving completely. Eric B. has clarified that the monetary problems stemmed from labels like Island and others claiming ownership of the masters — not from any financial disputes between him and Rakim.”
Eric B. released a self-titled solo album in ’95 on the independent label 95th Street Recordings, which he both produced and rapped on, which was not very well received. There has been some controversy regarding the extent to which Eric B. was the producer on Eric B. and Rakim tracks. Marley Marl, MC Shan and Large Professor are among some producers and engineers that have been said to have contributed to the tracks.
Rakim, now a solo artist, released a single in ’93, “Heat It Up” which featured on the soundtrack for the Mario Van Peebles film Gunmen. Here is one of several different versions that exist:
Finally in ’97 Rakim released a solo album – The 18th Letter, which features production by Clark Kent, Pete Rock, Nick Wiz, and DJ Premier. Some versions of the album included a greatest hits CD called The Book of Life too.
I love this track, “Guess Who’s Back”:
Track four was “Its Been A Long Time”:
“When I’m Flowin'” was a more chilled track:
In ’99 Rakim released another album The Master, and this track from it is “Waiting For The World To End”:
“All Night Long” was the fifth track on the album:
Here is the track “When I B On The Mic” which was a single:
“Strong Island” track 15:
And a love song “I’ll Be There”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us7knVTD0WE
In 2000 Rakim signed to Dr. Dre’s Aftermath record label and started work on an album to be titled Oh, My God. It underwent numerous changes in artistic direction and personnel and was delayed several times.
While working on the album, Rakim made guest appearances on numerous Aftermath projects, including the hit single “Addictive” by Truth Hurts, as well as the Dr. Dre-produced “The Watcher Part 2” by Jay-Z, and Eminem’s 8 Mile soundtrack.
However, Rakim left the label in 2003 and Oh, My God was indefinitely shelved. After Rakim eventually left he stated that the reason he departed the label was because of creative differences with Dre. Rakim used a metaphorical example that Dre wanted Rakim to write about killing someone, while Rakim wanted to write about the resurrection of someone. Rakim signed with Dreamworks Records shortly afterward, but the label closed shortly after that.
Rakim released a live album – The Archive, Live, Lost and Found – in 2008, featuring live performances, unreleased and rare material.
He released his third solo album, The Seventh Seal in 2009. He explained “The number 7 has a lot of significance. The seventh letter of the [Supreme] alphabet is G—that stands for God. There are seven continents, seven seas. The Seventh Seal deals with that and also some revelations in the Bible. Some call it the end of the world, but for me it’s the end of the old and the beginning of the new. By me naming my album that, I’m using it metaphorically in Hip Hop. I’m hoping to kill the old state of hip hop and start with the new.”
Tracks from The Seventh Seal included “Walk These Streets”:
And the single “Holy Are You”:
Rakim’s influence today is in rappers who have used his unique rapping style and attribute it as inspiration: Rappers such as GZA, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon from Wu-Tang Clan, NaS, Kool G. Rap, Jay-Z, The Notorious B.I.G., Eminem and many more.
Rakim’s website: www.Rakim.com
Eric B. and Rakim’s website: http://www.ericbnrakim.com/
Eric B. and Rakim on Twitter: https://twitter.com/EricBandRakim
Eric B. on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ERICB
Rakim on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rakimgodmc
1ncredible 