Eric B. & Rakim

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Template:Infobox band Eric B. & Rakim was an East Coast hip hop duo that popularised the jazz-influenced hip hop of the late 1980s. Despite spawning no major chart hits, the duo is generally considered to be one of the most influential and groundbreaking hip-hop groups ever. This is due to both Eric B.'s jazzy production and Rakim's revolutionary rapping style; which was smooth, seemingly effortless, and used remarkably complex rhyming schemes, involving internal-rhymes and sophisticated metaphors. It is the general consensus that almost all modern MCs have been influenced in some way by Rakim's rapping technique. Eric B.'s use of a James Brown sample in "I Know You Got Soul" introduced the "godfather rap" period of heavy use of old R&B and soul music as background music for hip-hop songs.

Eric Barrier (Eric B.) and William Griffin (Rakim) began recording together in the middle of the decade with "Eric B. Is President" (1986 in music) from Zakia records in Harlem, New York City. Paid in Full and Follow the Leader were their full-length debuts and were hits by hip hop's standards at the time. Their last album together was Don't Sweat The Technique (1992 in music). During the recording of that album, both members of the duo expressed an interest in creating solo albums. However, Eric B. refused to sign the label's release contract, fearful that Rakim would abandon him. This led to a long and messy court battle, between the two musicians, plus their ex-label MCA.

Eric B. has begun a solo career on his own 95th Street Records label, as well as serving on various production teams (including working with Dr. Dre for a brief period).

In the late 1990s, Rakim released two solo albums. The first, The 18th Letter, was a surprise success commercially, and was generally praised by critics. His second album, The Master, was not as successful, and met with harsher critical opinion. In 2000, he signed with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, and the two began work on an album tentatively titled Oh My God. However, in July 2003, the Aftermath website announced that Rakim and Dr. Dre had parted ways due to creative differences.

Eric B. and Rakim were paid tribute by the popular band Rage Against the Machine, by way of a cover of Microphone Fiend. They are also known to be among Zach de la Rocha's favourite groups.

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