Eric B and Rakim

On their fourth and final LP, the quintessential Queens duo still brings the heat, with a solid mix of hard-thumping beats and Rakim's untouchable mic skills. From the bass-heavy title track to the frantic "Know the Ledge" and the thought-provoking "Casualties of War," this is a slept-on gem.

The music Eric B. and Rakim make kicks because it sneaks into the ear like careless
whispers before exploding on the brain like dynamite. Eric B.'s tracks are mellow and
mean, while Rakim's lyrics are at once eloquent and threatening. Describing his inimitable
style in the classic track "I Got Soul," from Paid in Full (1987), Rakim roared, "I can take a
phrase that's rarely heard/Flip it – now it's a daily word." With that he defined th... More >

Rakim didn't really frag that general in Iraq--wasn't even there. He's just trafficking in the metaphors nightmares are made of, exploiting the interface between horror movies and the postmodern imagination. Putting it literally: "My intellect wrecks and disconnects/Your cerebral cortex/Your cerebellum is next." And metaphorically: "I took a kid and cut off his eyelids/Killing him slow so he could see what I did/And if he don't understand what I said/I push in his eyeballs way to the back of his head/So he could see what he's getting into/A part of the mind that he's never been to." As for the star of the show, Rakim calls Eric B.'s new groove--a jazzy minimalist funk trailing uncentered horn hooks--relaxing with pep. When he hits it right, it's like the mouth you love doing the spot you forgot. (Grade - A-)