Follow the Leader

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Performer: Eric B. & Rakim
Distributor: City Hall

Notes: Eric B. & Rakim: Rakim (rap); Eric B. (scratches). Additional personnel: Stevie Blass Griffin (various instruments). Recorded at Power Play Studio, New York. New York team who met in 1985 and have gone on to become an important duo in Rap's short history. Their debut album, PAID IN FULL, caused great legal waves via its explicit use of samples (Eric B is often credited with putting the funk back into rap music via his James Brown signatures). Rakim was responsible for introducing a more relaxed, intuitive delivery which was a distinct advance on the thumping bravado of Run DMC and LL Cool J, and is best sampled on this influential and instructive album. The title track, "Lyrics Of Fury" and "Microphone Fiend" provided the fullest possible evidence of the duo's skill.

Rolling Stone - 3 Stars - Good

With a smoother, more hypnotically listenable version of Run-DMC's streetwise forthrightness, Eric B. & Rakim added another layer of depth to 1980s rap music. Among the first acts to articulate a hip-hop worldview, the duo represented the first flowering of rap into a full-blown subculture. Rakim's skill as one of hip-hop's premier wordsmiths carried him over four records of mindblowing rhymes, exemplified by classic singles like "Microphone Fiend" and "Juice (Know the Ledge)." The duo even sparked the long-running trend of hip-hop acts guesting on R&B hits in 1989, with Jody Watley's top ten hit "Friends." The pair parted ways in 1992 with Rakim embarking on a hit-or-miss solo career.

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