Did you ever wonder where all your favorite rappers stole their rhymes from (besides their ghostwriters)? A likely place to look is this album. Eric B and Rakim are "pioneers" of old-school hip-hop, and Rakim is considered the best MC of all time by a wide variety of critics. Supposedly Rakim created some rhyme scheme that everyone bases their rhymes around now (no big deal). And Eric B revolutionized the production process by including jazzy riffs into his instrumentals (no big deal either). That being said, I'm going into this review pretty unbiased...
The Good:
1. I Ain't No Joke- The sampling, the jazz riffs, the horns, and the smooth delivery is what made this group as legendary as it is today. It's amazing how easy Rakim's flow is.
5. Move The Crowd- The instrumental seems like a separate entity from Rakim's verses. This song doesn't mesh very well... still decent though.
6. Paid In Full- The first time I heard this track, I recognized it from "CB4", which is pretty embarrassing. Kind of a boring track, the hook is non-existent... and Eric B is one ugly ass motherfucker, what girl is he talking about?
9. Eric B Is President- Eric B should be president after this superb production job... damn, this song is fire.
And we're done... that was relatively short, I might have to do more of these types of albums. I wasn't very impressed, as a hip hop head who enjoys 80's and 90's rap, this shit was boring. Eric B rarely displays his wizardry on a turntable and Rakim only sounds good on a select few songs.
0-20: Terrible listening experience
21-40: Maybe one good song
41-60: A few good songs
61-80: Half are good songs, half are weak
81-100: Great listening experience, almost all are great songs
Maybe I'm being harsh but I give this album a 71... I'd advise everyone to give it a listen as it is part of hip-hop history, but it's not the most entertaining piece of work I've ever heard.
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