Eric B. & Rakim

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Eric B. & Rakim was a hip hop duo from New York, with DJ Eric B. and rapper Rakim. Eric Barrier came from Queens. At school he played trumpet and drums, switched to turntables and became a DJ at the radio station WBLS. Looking for a rapper, he was led by a promoter to William Griffin from Wyandanch on Long Island, who called himself Rakim. In a basement Eric B. began mixing records for him. Their first single, Eric B. Is President (1986), he built on the bass line of Over Like a Fat Rat by Fonda Rae.

Music and breakthrough

The debut album Paid in Full appeared in 1987, recorded in about a week. Rakim often wrote his lyrics on the spot in the studio. Singles such as I Ain't No Joke and I Know You Got Soul used samples of James Brown, and a remix of Paid in Full by the British duo Coldcut made them known in Europe too. Follow the Leader (1988), with Lyrics of Fury and Microphone Fiend, Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em (1990) and Don't Sweat the Technique (1992) followed. After a business dispute they split up.

Influence

Where rappers such as Run-DMC and Chuck D shouted loudly and energetically, Rakim rapped slowly and with control, letting every line fall emphatically. Eric B. looked for loops and samples full of soul, and in doing so pointed the way for many later producers. For many they were the best DJ-and-rapper duo of hip hop's golden years. Their own work was in turn sampled, among others in Pump Up the Volume by M|A|R|R|S.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 1987Paid in Full
• 1988Follow the Leader
• 1990Let the Rhythm Hit ’Em
• 1992Don’t Sweat the Technique

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• Mixtape 9: The Instrument^NL Reader

See also

• Let the Rhythm Hit ’Em
• Don’t Sweat the Technique