Eric B. & RakimBest Eric B. & Rakim Albums Ranked

Don't Sweat the Technique

rollingstone

8.0

“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 […]”

Paid In Full

pitchfork

7.8

“For a second, forget everything extraneous about Eric B. & Rakim: Rakim’s G.O.A.T. status; the debate over who was actually responsible for their music; the rumor that Eric had to get a steel rod in his spine after the dookie ropes fucked his neck up. After a dozen changes of rap fashion, when kids born in 1987 are graduating from high school, do these records still hold up? Do they deserve your m”

Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em

rollingstone

7.0

“There’s nothing trendy about this impassive duo, no Steely Dan bites or bits of Afrodelic rhetoric here. Eric B. and Rakim are hip-hop formalists devoted to upholding the Seventies funk canon and advancing rap’s original verbal mandate. Almost every track on their third album is built on poetic boasts and wicked J.B. samples, but dismissing […]”

Follow the Leader

rollingstone

6.0

“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 […]”