The Greatest American Band Debate: Eric B and Rakim

SeedSing is filled with music lovers. We can not agree on who is the best band from the States. The Greatest American Band Debate will be a regular feature where we discuss and compare bands who started in the good old USA. If you have any suggestions of bands we should debate Contact us seedsing.rdk@gmail.com

For the greatest American band debate, I'm going to get back to a band, although it's a duo, and I'm going to get back to rap. The band I'm going to nominate today is Eric B and Rakim.

Eric B and Rakim may be the most influential rap group of all time, even more so than Sugarhill Gang. Eric B and Rakim proved that you could make great music with only two guys. I know that I nominate and talk about a lot of two piece bands, the White Stripes, Ratatat, Run the Jewels and the Black Keys to name a few, but, at the very least, there would be no Run the Jewels if not for Eric B and Rakim. They are the quintessential two piece rap group. They had a short, but very prolific run in the music industry.

The duo exploded on the scene very early on, only a few years after rap became a big thing. Their first record, "Paid in Full", was released in 1987 and it was a hit. It was helped by the huge single "Eric B For President".  According to Wikipedia, this album, although rushed to release, influenced huge hip hop stars like Run DMC, KRS-One and Chuck D. This record showed the world that smooth, yet profound flow of Eric B. It also introduced us to the wizardry that was Rakim. He was a master of making beats and could write the hell out of a song. So could Eric B. He was a lyrical master. The song "Eric B For President" is a master class of rhyming and flowing that hip hop artists nowadays owe a huge debt to. Without this song's structure, a lot of famous rappers wouldn't have a clue at how to put their flows to a beat. "Eric B For President" laid the groundwork for modern hip hop cadence.

After the release and success of "Paid in Full", they signed a deal with MCA. They were now with a huge label and expectations were high, and they did not disappoint. Their second album is one of the all time greatest albums. In 1988 they released "Follow the Leader". This record is a masterpiece. The title track, "Follow the Leader" is epic. The song has a great beat, great lyrics and the message is fantastic. They basically shouted to the hip hop world that they were the leaders of the movement, and it's hard to argue with them. No one, at that time, was even close to how awesome Eric B and Rakim were. They owned the throne of hip hop. "Lyrics of Fury" is another classic. This song is another example at how great of an emcee Eric B was/is. He is a lyrical genius. And the way he raps on "Lyrics of Fury", watch out because he destroys the song. It's an incredible rap song. "Microphone Fiend" is another great track on this record. I love this song and it was introduced to me through Rage Against the Machine, a band I've already written about, but Eric B and Rakim's original version is the best. I love the angst and anger that this song brings and I love that, instead of fiending for drugs or money or violence, Eric B wants only a microphone. That's what he's fiending for and I love it. He needs that microphone to spit his lyrics out to the world and we, the audience, need it as well. It's my favorite song from the entire Eric B and Rakim songbook. The rest of that record is just as phenomenal, but those are the three standouts. The fact that it took so long to be acclaimed, it didn't get good early reviews and it wasn't until the late 90's and early 2000's that it became a classic, is shocking. the first time I heard this record, as a 20 year old, it immediately blew me away. I love this album.

In 1990 they released their third album, "Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em". it was okay, but it doesn't get the critical or commercial acclaim that their first two albums eventually got. The record is still really good. Songs like "Set 'Em Straight", "Untouchables" and the title track, "Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em" are all classic Eric B and Rakim and they all still, 100 percent old up as all time great hip hop songs. This album was also the first album to get a 5 mic rating in "Source" magazine. That's a huge honor and they were the first to earn it. This is a good album.

They released their final album as a duo in 1991 called "Don't Sweat the Technique". This was just another example of their awesomeness. They weren't getting along great in the studio, but they still made a very good album. Two of the songs on the record were also used in two big time movies in the early 90's. The song "What's on Your Mind" appeared in "House Party 2" and they recorded the theme song to the very underrated movie, "Juice". Both of those movies were huge at the time. "House Party 2" doesn't really hold up, but "Juice" is just as good now as it was in 1991. They broke up shortly after this album's release and they both did solo and side projects, but they never hit the same nerve as they did when they recorded together.

Eric B and Rakim were on the ballot for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but they didn't make it on their first try. That's insane to me because I believe they are the most influential rap group of all time. Eric B's writing and rhyming laid out the example of what a true emcee should sound and rap like, and Rakim's ear for looping and beat making is second to none. They belong and deserve to be in the Hall of Fame much more than some of the bands that are already in there. Eric B and Rakim are one of the best rap groups of all time and they are definitely the best rap duo of all time. They belong in this discussion for all the reasons I laid out.

Eric B for president indeed.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host for the X Millennial Man podcast. He is constantly fiending for the mic, but Ty only talks and does not rap. Yet. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.