A Short History of Eric B and Rakim

It was 1987 and hip-hop had already become the new music of America. There were international tours for the likes of Run DMC and The Beastie Boys. Public Enemy had released their debut album to much acclaim and had attracted the finest in rap talent to their Brooklyn based studio. Hip-hop was working its way into independent alternative music and the club scene too. In London there was the house, hip-hop, and post-punk popsters M/A/R/R/S getting all the attention. However, when hip-hop hit the mainstream it chose to forget its heritage. Hip-hop as it was meant to sound didn't arrive in the mainstream until Eric B and Rakim arrived on the scene.

The art of live mixing and the role of the DJ had been forgotten for a while until Eric B came along. He mirrored the Wheel of Steel adventures of Grandmaster Flash. Eric B showed that hip-hop was about having an MC who didn't let his ego flood the breaks, but instead drop powerful, yet concise rhymes where needed. Real hip-hop was about moving the crowd, showing the rhymes and perfecting the beats. Something which has been long forgotten.

Eric B studied under Marley Marl in 1985. He was a talented musician who could play guitar, trumpet and piano yet left them all behind when he discovered the Technics 1200. Rakim also lived in Manhattan and had adopted a part sing-part speak style before he could sing, and he was a musician also who could play sax and was a big fan of John Coltrane. Rakim's rapping was influenced by jazz. It was laid-back, cool and multi-textured.

Another thing that Eric B had going for him. A massive record collection, which he used to great effect on the album 'Paid In Full'. The album also features the amazing voice of Rakim. They had to use kick drum microphones to records Rakim's powerful and rich voice as it was prone to distortion because of its depth. His voice wasn't angry, but it was sinister in its controlled emotion. Obviously Snoop and Tupac were listening. Their debut includes the track "I Know You Got Soul' which has Rakim's great, low vocal over a light motown backdrop via the jackson 5's 'I Want You Back', Dennis Edwards' 'Don't Look Any Further' and the godfather of soul himself, James Brown. The cut is a masterclass in looping technique and turntablism, and a blueprint for the coming generation of hip-hop producers.

The track 'I Know You Got Soul' was sampled for 'Pump Up The Volume', and Coldcut, in 1987, charted the duo with his remix of 'Paid In Full'. The duo by then had released their second album 'Follow The Leader' which was more street-rap than party-vibe and the hits stopped. Hip-hop went gangster and was co-opted by 'the man' as the visuals replaced the talent.