#eric b and rakim

[canmking]

E r i c - B // R a k i m

[todayinhiphophistory]

Today in Hip Hop History:

Eric B. and Rakim released their second album Follow The Leader July 26, 1988

[creativelywise]

[hiphophardware]

"Timeless, so age don't count in the booth

When your flow stay submerged in the fountain of youth"

- Rakim

Rakim - Sweat the Technique: Revelations on Creativity from the Lyrical Genius

[timmurleyart]

The ruler’s back. 💵☝🏽🎤🎧

[medullam]

Rakim [1987]

[singonavine71]

[culturalappreciator]

[ghost-37]

[rocktavian]

So I was recently listening to Raising Hell— (my first time listening to a full Run-DMC album front to back, in fact)— and I think it’s finally clicked for me exactly why Rakim was such a game-changer when he debuted.

You hear a lot about the way Rakim raised the bar in terms of the technical sophistication of his rhymes – certainly there’s no disputing that, for instance, he pushed internal rhyming farther than anyone else was doing at the time. But just as essential, and what (in my experience) often goes overlooked in the popular memory, is the impact he had on flow and delivery. Run-DMC are a great comparison here because they showcased the prevailing pre-Rakim style in its purest form: very stentorian and rhythmic, aligning fairly rigidly to the beat. By contrast, Rakim adopts a smoother, more conversational style that doesn’t punch the rhyming syllables as intensely, and that style lets him be a lot more loose and flexible with his delivery. He’ll split a sentence across lines, he’ll change up his cadence seamlessly, he’ll hit the rhymes at unpredictable points within a line – in short, Rakim walked all over the beat in a way that nobody else in 1987 was able to.

I think a strong case study of the before-and-after here is when you go from "It's Tricky":

I'm not bragging, people nagging 'cause they think I'm a star Always tearing what I'm wearing, I think they're going too far A girl named Carol follows Darryl every gig we play Then D dissed her and dismissed her, now she's jocking Jay

To "Paid in Full":

So I walk up the street, whistling this Feeling out of place 'cause, man, do I miss A pen and a paper, a stereo, a tape of Me and Eric B. and a nice big plate of Fish, which is my favorite dish But without no money, it's still a wish

Both songs are great, but you can absolutely tell that Rakim was taking flow to a new level here. I’ve always heard that his arrival was a seismic shift in hip-hop and it’s exciting to have fully wrapped my head around why.

[canmking]

R a k i m T h e G o d M C

[todayinhiphophistory]

Today in Hip Hop History:

Eric B. & Rakim released their debut album Paid In Full July 7, 1987

[creativelywise]

[warhead]

[timmurleyart]

It takes two. 💵☝🏽🎤🎧