Eric B and Rakim

While their debut album Paid In Full is an undisputed classic, Eric B & Rakim's sophomore LP is even doper. They've stepped up the production level dramatically, and Rakim's intelligent lyricism and sizzling verses never let up. Every track bangs, but "Microphone Fiend," "The R" and "No Competition" are especially sick. An exceptional release through and through.

On 'Follow the Leader,' Eric B. and Rakim's second album, Rakim (a.k.a. William Griffin)
spends too much time trashing other rappers and reasserting his supremacy in the genre.
Still, he has a point. Set to a menacing bass throb, spooky special effects and Rakim's rush
of rhymes, the title track more than lives up to the high standard set by "Paid in Full," the
duo's powerful '87 single. Like "Paid in Full," "Follow the Leader" doesn't leap off... More >

Ahh, sampling--it'll turn a minimalist into a melodist every time. If like me you've found their Brownian motion grooveful but a touch austere, maybe you'll get hooked by the obscure Arabian-nights snatches (first a snatch of the snatch, then finally completion), or the girls (speeded-up guys?) singing (this can't be, beatmasters please advise) "You're so stupid, you're so rough." Or the symphonic intro. Or maybe Rakim's ever-increasing words-per-minute ratio--the man loves language like a young Bob D. Beatmaster's P.S.: It's the f*cking Eagles, speeded up, singing "You're so smooth, the world's so rough." (Grade - A-)