Eric B & Rakim - Follow the Leader (Exp)
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Eric B & RakimEdition: Music CD
Format: Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2005-04-26
Music Label: Geffen Records
Free Music Notes for Follow the Leader (Exp)
Free Music Review: Who Is Number One if Not Best Then Better; Here's A Hint: The 18th Letter
Hit: 5 Stars
Coming off the heels of "Paid In Full", Eric B. and Rakim already cemented themselves as trailblazers. Many people questioned how they would follow up, after dropping what has been proclaimed in many circles as the greatest hip hop album of all-time. Eric B. and Rakim answered with a record just as devastating mixing superb production with mind blowing lyricism. In fact, if you are just getting into this record, you may be amazed at how many rhymes and ideas have been jacked from this offering. Rakim was so far ahead of the competition that he left them in the dust and forced to bite it thus dubbing the album, "Follow The Leader". To do this review justice you have to tackle the first three opening songs which is the stuff legends are made of. Sure, you may reference "Straight Outta Compton" or "Liquid Swords" but no album like this has had a greater one-two-three knockout punch.
The album starts with the title track. It's over five minutes of rapperfection. It has this hypnotic 'spacey production' with some menacing riffs that disappears and reappears at different intervals. Production is stellar and Rakims lyrics and breath control are impeccable. Every line is a quotable and a shining example of this is "I can take a phrase that's rarely heard/ flip it; now it's a daily word". After a killer opening, "Microphone Fiend" pops up. This is one of my all-time favorite rap songs. A true benchmark in emceeing. Once again the production sports a lethal beat with what sounds like sleigh bells in the background, giving it a dark but soulful feel. One of the few records I know word for word. Next up is "Lyrics of Fury" which may be the greatest display of lyricism put on wax. The crashing drums and guitars sounds chaotic and matches the intensity of the mic fiend who rips this track to shreds. HipHopDX has listed the second verse on their top 20 greatest verses ever list. In spite of these songs rightful place on the greatest hits release, the rest of the album is great to and it would be downright idiotic to stop here.
"Put Your hands Together" is excellent with a jazzy melody that boasts great jeep pumping production. Another favorite is "To The Listenters" with its signature 1980s groove as 'The R' tears into bitin' emcees. Lines like "Potholes are left in my path then I crash and bruise/Whoever refuse and cruise right past em" will have you breaking the rewind button. Another lyrical standout is "No Competition". Quotes won't do this record justice but pay attention to the second verse.
Competition is none, I'm the soul survivor
MC's get live but I get liver
It ain't a Memorex, live in concert
At every network, the R the expert
Whoever goes against causes friction
Introduction music where's the mixing
Ra will never die, tools they never try
To beat or defeat me, because whenever I
Put poetry in motion
>From the Nile, then out into the ocean
Three-fourths of water makes seven seas
A third of land three-sixty degrees
I circulate and remain to rotate
Seven days a week at a quake or a slow rate
Be prepared whenever I come
Competition is none
Overall, "Follow The Leader" is a stone cold classic. In my humble opinion, it is the best in the storybook career of Eric B. and Rakim. Even the videos that were made for the singles are groundbreaking and attribute to their legacy. Purchase this album and witness a dangerous display of emceeing that may never be reached again.
Follow the Leader (Exp) Poster
After getting paid in full on their near-perfect 1987 debut, success didn't spoil the legendary Eric B. and Rakim on their 1988 follow-up. A more complete "album" than their previous singles-dominated release, Follow the Leader still stands as one of the definitive documents of hip-hop's fabled golden age. Though Eric B contributes strong production and two early turntablist blueprints ("Eric B. Never Scared" and "Just a Beat"), this was clearly Rakim's time to shine. His smooth baritone flow never tires, even when the album's energy wanes in the second half. Rakim's verses on the album's first three tracks ("Follow the Leader," "Microphone Fiend," and "Lyrics of Fury") are the stuff of hip-hop legend, and the subject matter rarely strays from the swaggering, chest-thumping template of these three classics. On "Follow the Leader," he confidently boasts "I can take a phrase that's rarely heard / Flip it / Now it's a daily word." He ain't no joke. --Hua HsuPop Music CDs
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