You were hooked because this is the best rap you will ever hear. RAKIM was the definition of Hip-hop. He brought it to another level. Alot of rappers that came after were influenced by RAKIM. You can hear it in their music. One of the best legends ever.
I’m 48 and I grew up in the Bronx . I was a 70’s baby and a adolescent in the 80’s and a young man in the 90’s . Some of the greatest eras for all type of music
J Smith im 24 from south jamaica, queens. and being born in 94’, i didnt get a chance to experience this when it came out. thanks to my parents, i was blessed to hear all this 80’s and 90’s music, definitely favor this stuff over most of the current music nowadays. you’re definitely lucky as hell.
its funny you say that, i know song well, but it came on my pandora and i was thinking the same thing, this is real hip hop.. what happened to hip hop, its went so down hill...
True, but this track is ahead of it's time (or at the very least, timeless) in the mix/production. Hip Hop nowadays is so 'dated' (they just all use this obnoxious synth backing tracks)...while Eric B used (and performed LIVE) all these crazy mixing and sampling (awesome FAT/PHAT drum samples from the HUGE reverb-ish drum sounds of the 30-60!s) techniques that people try and emulate (poorly) via computer program, nowadays. It's weird, I find (even though the Rap genre is now the official biggest seller, as of 2017) the real golden age of Hip Hop was in the 80s and 90s. It's F'ed up. But i'm thinking music is like fashion....what was cool 20 or 30 years ago, WILL be again.
who cares either way? not swearing doesn't make it better in any way unless you're some christian grandma or something i really don't get what your point is
I have to say this first time I've ever heard this track , but i couldn't fast forward ... its so smooth , it reminds of the first time i fell in love with hip hop as a 6 year old , i love this beat , and the bells/whistles its so dope
I literally refuse to even hear what's happening in mainstream currently :') it's enough that my ears get auditorially assaulted in stores. It actual feels like mental pollution. It's no wonder ppls psyches tend to be absolutely trashed. The things that are being ingested/consumed..
This is 1988, at the height of the Crack epidemic. The way he takes the bleak image if being a 'fiend' and turning it into his love for the microphone is pure artistry. #namaste
Excellent reference and on point. We could walk out the door ever day and see the relentless, inescapable power of addiction. Flipped a term fraught with endless tragedy and horrors into one of the greatest songs ever made and a thing of beauty
Watching this, you realize why Rakim was so huge back in that era, he was ahead of time with his cadence, confidence and word play. He didn't babble, he spoke street and life knowledge. He was ahead of time, when people were doing "1-2-3-4 Jump on the floor" rhymes
@@KingBranBDM Thank you for Speaking of one of the GOATS in present tense... This has been and always will be on my play list since the 80's and will ALWAYS be turned up to 💯🎼🎶💪🤘
@@nookguy4318 Lupe Fiasco. Lyrical Bodybag, no question. "Holy assumption of man into the heaven's sphere Many mansions fit champions within its seven tiers Evangelists re-imagine every 11 years Pause for applause, evolves to what was never here Born to death, born to die, form the flesh, form the eyes A veritable storm of winged forms swarms the skies" Not even his best
@@nookguy4318 what are you talking about? He dropped a lyrical masterpiece a few months ago, this song was on it. Rakim hasn't dropped since like 2009, so what are you talking about?
No sexually explicit lyrics, no excessive cursing, reference to drug use, reference to women as b*****, or brothers as n******, or excessive materialism.......but still one of the greatest hip hop tracks of all time. Don't tell me it can't be done.
True bro. He kept it real,he hardly ever cussed. He still sounded just as good as the best. He didn't cuss in general. On any of his songs, u never heard any of that. That goes to show you that you don't have to cuss to sound dope as an MC
50 years old, was a fan of Eric B and Rakim in the beginning, still am today. I listen to this fondly. This to me in real hip hop. 80s and early 90s, can never be duplicated.
@@bazglsgw1208 I keep telling people... Rakim is the greatest MC in hip hop. Even Eminem looks up to him. Some may not like me mentioning Eminem, but you cannot deny he has talent.
@@humanblacklight Yeah lyrically Eminem is very good but i dont like his hook game anymore some of his cheesy chorases n hooks annoy me but hes a great mcee no doubt.
@@humanblacklight Em also looks up 2 Masta Ace hes one of Ems favorites listen to Aces cadance in Accnowlage n he sounds like Em but Ace been here since the 80s he prob gave Em the title for his Slaughterhouse group.
Wish RAKIM would make a new CD. Who cares about age. Other artists make music in there fifties and even sixties. Why not hip hop? Im a fan forever. If Phill Collins and others can doit,,,Why not Eric B and Rakim? Im 45 and would spend a grip to see them live today.
Michael white Back in '94 Eric B & Rakim was the ONLY album playing in *continual re-peat* in my house- and NO ONE was allowed or even DARED to switch or stop it from playing. When I'd ride w/ my boy, this shyt was BLASTIN on the loudspeakers & we'd ride all over the city! Today, 2015 - and I'm STILL BLASTIN this all over the hood ( even though I no longer reside in NYC but in #Greece ) - Eric & Rakim will travel with me to all the corners of the Universe! 🎤 Damn- I wish theyd make a *comeback* - I'd fly right back !!! 👊
He is the greatest rapper of all time .do ur math.he set d template with dat first album So it's an Abomination dat OutKast given dat when original boom bag comes from.newYork.nonsense shit
THE MOST INFLUENTIAL!!!!! THE MOST STUDIED!!!!!! THE MOST TALKED ABOUT!!!!!! THE BIGGEST GAME CHANGER!!!!! SIMPLY THE GREATEST PURE LYRICIST OF ALL TIME!!!!!
"I was a fiend! before I became a teen I melted microphones instead of cones of ice cream Music orientated so when hip hop was originated, fitted like pieces of puzzles: complicated" When you actually pay attention to Rakims lyrics, he makes a lot of sense. I love those first few bars. Sets the scene for the track.
So many styles come from this one album especially the NYC rappers. who were big time in the 90s and 2000s rakim rhyme patterns 20 years ahead of his time.
This track is one of the examples as to why no one ever tried Rakim. He was talking to anyone who wanted smoke any entertainer & that blow its already over before even starts.
I',m 54 from Montreal Canada and this song remains epic, new style, incredibly innovative, got a ton of attention. I feel fortunate to have heard it when it initially launched.
It's ironic because you've realized your mistake while hypocritically chastising someone for their grammar. It's funny because someone called you out. Learn from this.
You are just about the same age as me. I know that you remember when "PAID IN FULL" first came out. The album should go down as the one that changed HipHop. A lot of rappers have RAKIM 'S style in their music. To me there are 3 songs that took HipHop to the next level. The first was : " The Message". The second was: " Sucker MC". and the third was: " Dead Presidents".
Just RIDICULOUS wordplay! 30 years later & I can quote every word & still get as hyped as I was the 1st time I heard it. Even mote impressive is the fact that this is Slow Flow Rakim & he was THE MASTER of it. Then you compare this to Lyrics of Fury or Follow The Leader where he was rapping a thousand miles a minute & completely rewrote the rules on that too. NOBODY (Not Hova, BIGGIE, Nas, etc etc etc) is on this level. He is the GOAT by a mile!
I couldn’t agree more.... Rakim is still one of the coolest dudes to ever walk the earth......what Hendrix was to the electric guitar & Tool is to alternative/metal/prog, Rakim is to hip hop,he was just sooooo fuckin good 🤘🏻
@@selenadiaz2665 EPMD is great. I remember back in the day when we got Eric B and Rakim, EPMD, Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Slick Rick, Big Daddy Kane, etc. Freaking great time for rap. I even liked the very beginnings of West Coast Rap with Eazy E and NWA, but starting about 1999 or so it seemed to go straight downhill.
This is what TRUE HIP HOP IS.. I still rock this in 2021. I don't even listen to the wack stuff on radio..they don't make music like this anymore. 🤗👍😋🙏
@@Globalman43 that’s pretty naïve for you to think that . I’m 18 and think this music especially wu tang is way way way better than todays . But my generation will pass on drake and such rappers on. So no when you older fellas pass on to the next life, no disrespect, but this will be outdated as with everything In life. A lot of People my age don’t even know of rakim, big daddy Kane , krs 1, kool g , mob deep etc . It’s sad but it’s life
@@etx_jay That’s true but it’s about quality, not quantity. Rappers like Rakim are timeless. Hip Hop don’t want to Focus on young rappers today who want to follow after the old school rappers without the garbage that permeates Hip Hop today. Let’s face it Jayslokey, today’s hip hop sucks.
@@etx_jay I’m from the generation that Eric B and Rakim, Run DMC, EPMD, and Wu Tang came from and I know what I am talking about. Quality always outshines quantity.
@@courtgizzle word the fuck up. I turned 35 yesterday. (87) I'm thankful everyday I grew up when I did. The mix tape era. Not the birth but the perfection of hip hop. From wu to big to nas and Jay. Rakim and Q tip. Busta rhymes. Crunk and dirt south shit. David banner lik flip, plies, akon. I know I'm going into the 00s but I turned 13 then. But I had in my opinion the greatest musical childhood. And it all stemmed from this shit right here.
What would you say to someone who says that RAKIM is terrible, especially " MICROPHONE FIEND". And that he is not authentic, can't compare with good rappers and is definitely not in the top 25? This dude says he has crazy knowledge of hip-hop and has better taste in music than I have because I told him that saying Rakim is terrible means your knowledge of hip-hop is in the basement.
The greatest MC that ever lived.
Facts ❤
Krs one enters the chat
@deryckcumberbatch3629 it's close. It's close. But the Goat is Ra
@@deryckcumberbatch3629Nope
Chucky.
White guy here, from Alabama. 51 y/o; 70’s and 80’s kid. I knew nothing about hip hop/rap, but when I heard Eric B and Rakim, I was hooked.
Music is universal
When did you hear it? Just curious.
You were hooked because this is the best rap you will ever hear. RAKIM was the definition of Hip-hop. He brought it to another level. Alot of rappers that came after were influenced by RAKIM. You can hear it in their music. One of the best legends ever.
@@josephcanales-pb3ip Eminem speaks on Rakim…..
ua-cam.com/video/SjFGCJRRD0E/v-deo.htmlsi=DXD394Rp8pSvDzt-
@@josephcanales-pb3ipJay-Z speaks on Rakim…..
ua-cam.com/video/85BsBCg_fIQ/v-deo.htmlsi=i_VCPbYQDctlvcMY
E - F - F - E. - C. - T., A Smooth Operator Operating Corectly.....They don't call him DA GREAT RAKIM for nuthin....PURE GREATNESS !
That was a blatant diss to big daddy Kane
I’m 48 and I grew up in the Bronx . I was a 70’s baby and a adolescent in the 80’s and a young man in the 90’s .
Some of the greatest eras for all type of music
J Smith im 24 from south jamaica, queens. and being born in 94’, i didnt get a chance to experience this when it came out. thanks to my parents, i was blessed to hear all this 80’s and 90’s music, definitely favor this stuff over most of the current music nowadays. you’re definitely lucky as hell.
facts...right here with you 77
I'm right with you J from Detroit!!!
Same , Boston Rd,Webster and in Brooklyn, Marcy Ave, they was the best times
I am 50 never be another era like it!!!
Middle aged white guy here. The first time I heard Eric B & Rakim I was blown away. I was raised on hard rock but this was the shit. Classic! 👍
Did your parents raise you on Hardrock?
I hear You my Guy! This is definitely a classic and I was definitely blown away when I first heard this as well. DOPE!
Rakim is the one who got us all hooked...I'm a very feminine female but I love rap lol
No cursing. No N-word. No calling women out their name… just PURE LYRICS!!! DAMN I miss this music!!! 🤌🏾
well, to be fair, he talks about drugs and heroine in this.....
K RINO, Houston Tx,try it,i think you will like it
Facts 👌🏾
@andrewtheworldcitizen he compares his addiction to hip hop to drugs ..nothing more
Masterpiece!
his rhymes are pure wisdom, no cursing just plain wisdom in every sentence. I hope he is part of the museum of hip Hop in the Bronx for 2024.
The fact that this album isnt in the hall allready is a dis on all of hip hop
Everyday, I still bump this,, no cussing,,,just straight Lyric kings,,,Old school,,,Straight Mic knowledge...
No cursing, no chorus, no mumbling, just 99 BARS of flawless lyricism and perfect production… you kids trying to do this needs to take notes!
Exactly...you dont hear the words Bitch or Ni-gger not once... awesome
STRONG FACTS BRO!
FLAWLESS VICTORY!!!!
@@tonyinmiami99 😐bro u cant be saying that stuff
@@tonyinmiami99 ye you def not goin to heaven 💀
Make sure you tell your kids that this is what real Hip Hop is.
Oh I will lemon I will lmao
@@tekvsouvi😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊 CV
Great comment right here.
its funny you say that, i know song well, but it came on my pandora and i was thinking the same thing, this is real hip hop.. what happened to hip hop, its went so down hill...
21 is still GOAT 🔥🔥
4 minutes of straight bars and not one curse word. He your favorite rapper's favorite rapper.
Big Facts... Its documented 💯
He said hell tho 😳
ATC it’s in the bible
Riannaa TV it’s a joke
ATC i know lol
Who still Listening in 2024?
Me 💪💪💪
Me! He is one of the best
Me
Almost daily, I know every word. Been one of my favourite tracks since I was about 15 (2005)
💪🏽🏆
Rakim ran this whole track, no hook, no singing, no skits in the middle, just str8 bars
Young sensei 🔥🔥🔥
True, but this track is ahead of it's time (or at the very least, timeless) in the mix/production. Hip Hop nowadays is so 'dated' (they just all use this obnoxious synth backing tracks)...while Eric B used (and performed LIVE) all these crazy mixing and sampling (awesome FAT/PHAT drum samples from the HUGE reverb-ish drum sounds of the 30-60!s) techniques that people try and emulate (poorly) via computer program, nowadays.
It's weird, I find (even though the Rap genre is now the official biggest seller, as of 2017) the real golden age of Hip Hop was in the 80s and 90s. It's F'ed up.
But i'm thinking music is like fashion....what was cool 20 or 30 years ago, WILL be again.
Young sensei facts👊🏿👊🏿
Young sensei look it up Rakim did most of the beats. Most people don't know that. Eric B was just the front money that got them on.
faseforeal Right! Eric B didn't even like this kind of hip hop. He likes the booty shaking music and that's I think why they split.
As of Mexican American growing up in LA I idolized Rakim. The flows the bars are still cold and will live on forever.
K paza raza
Chingón
Me too
KDAY, all day!
Horale pinche carnal!!😂😂😂😂
@@josenavarrete1155 😂😂😂😂😂😂 chingon
He was like a time traveler from another dimension with his skill. Unmatched then and today.
Rakim flow is so captivating that you don't even realize that he's not using profanity in his music. The GOAT
Someone told me that back in the day, I didn't even notice, made it even better.
who cares either way? not swearing doesn't make it better in any way unless you're some christian grandma or something i really don't get what your point is
@@JeffGrubb1010 Went completely over your head I see. What do you know about hip hop?
2024 and I still listen to Rakim and get chills whenever I hear Microphone Fiend... And I'm 52 years old.
53
45
61 WORD!!!!!!!!
Did you hear the shook ones freestyle 😮
Bruh... This song is LITERALLY better than 100% of the so-called hip hop you hear on the radio in 2022.
I have to say this first time I've ever heard this track , but i couldn't fast forward ... its so smooth , it reminds of the first time i fell in love with hip hop as a 6 year old , i love this beat , and the bells/whistles its so dope
Truth!
Cuz they don't make beats like this no more it's bullshit.. I wanna find some one that can take it back for real..
Couldn't agree more mannn 👌👍👏🙌
I agree 100%....most rap from this era is 100% better than today's skinny Jean music
Who still banging this in 2020! Forever a classic !
Troy Crez ...still banging this in Amsterdam 2020!
In Hamburg city
Me he's the God mc
C'mon bro you already know lol
Classic hip-hop banger
Bangin it in N.Phx still.
I'm still listening to this classic in 2024,luv from D.C.!!!
Don’t see why not
Luv from Memphis!
Hip Hop purist here......loved our music without guns, misogyny and violence against our own people. 70's baby here!!!
This God MC was ahead of his time...31yrs later he sounds better than these new rappers/MC's.
I literally refuse to even hear what's happening in mainstream currently :') it's enough that my ears get auditorially assaulted in stores. It actual feels like mental pollution. It's no wonder ppls psyches tend to be absolutely trashed. The things that are being ingested/consumed..
Facts
U could also say everyone else was behind!!!!
You cant call this kids these days rappers/Mcs
That crap they make today is pop rap.. no heart in it.. its embarrassing
Didn't cuss one time and still killed it
That's what makes this top notch to me - Smoothalicious
Gasp! I never tripped off that!
Robert Hardison correct,he just blessed the mic
Robert Hardison yassssss!
Facts.
Because he had nothing to prove
This is 1988, at the height of the Crack epidemic. The way he takes the bleak image if being a 'fiend' and turning it into his love for the microphone is pure artistry. #namaste
That point is kinda undermined by the fact that he said that he'll shoot someone if he couldn't get on the mic.
Excellent reference and on point. We could walk out the door ever day and see the relentless, inescapable power of addiction.
Flipped a term fraught with endless tragedy and horrors into one of the greatest songs ever made and a thing of beauty
A master of his craft.
Some niggas just don't know. 🤷🏽♂️💨
Legendary the best rap song of all time imo
These are some of our greatest pioneers of hip hop. Why is there not a damn movie about the emergence of Eric B and Rakim !!??
A movie about the emergence of Hip- Hop is a great idea, the Golden era 80's, no era can match the 80's!!!
Right. We need an Eric B & Rakim biopic 🤲🏾😷🔑
@@jamesmoore9636 I'd say mid 80s to about 94 95ish is golden era
@@MusicPhene17 you got that👍
They are the standard!
This entire Album is a Complete masterpiece ❤
I'm 54..I lived this. Flawless. The Ra is the Goat.
This song came out in 88 and yet no rappers today can compete with this song
Rakim is and will always be the illest from ny
Tariq Naseer Me to
Ummmm Big L
Liko Bin Laden he said today..big L 💀
DJaySplitSecond my favorite of all time
Amazing how this still holds up in 2023. Beat and lyrics are impeccable
It's been said to death, but the rap music of today doesn't come anywhere close to these classics. The decline in quality is shocking.
You can put any number higher than the "2"s and it'll be true:):)
All this seriousness and no mention of guns or women and no cursing .... true talent
You ain't even lyin
Rakim made hip hop hard he was nice.
He did but not excessively
@Corey Mason lmao he said this right at the time i was reading your comment, just on time
So blessed I was around in the 80's hip hop. I was only 5.
That shit still bangs! Not one curse word, one of all-time rap geniuses. Rakim 4 ever.
4 minutes & 18 seconds of straight octane 🔥🔥🔥
Watching this, you realize why Rakim was so huge back in that era, he was ahead of time with his cadence, confidence and word play. He didn't babble, he spoke street and life knowledge.
He was ahead of time, when people were doing "1-2-3-4 Jump on the floor" rhymes
I read in an interview that Rakim was influenced by jazz. I can hear that in his rhyming flow.
You said 1 simple word that'a vastly overlooked CADENCE. I can tell from that word alone you KNOW hip hop.
@@Musicienne-DAB1995 he has a family of Jazz musicians.
@@KingBranBDM Thank you for Speaking of one of the GOATS in present tense... This has been and always will be on my play list since the 80's and will ALWAYS be turned up to 💯🎼🎶💪🤘
Flow
This is what a timeless MC sounds like this will be heat in 3000
Forever The Greatest 👑🎧🎤
Still one of the greatest MC's of all time
Fo Lyfe
B Moore the greatest...
"I was a fiend, before i became a teen. I melted microphones instead of cones of ice cream"
Fire. Str8 fire. Talent. Real shit.
Lol.... dem not listening 🤣
Me as a 23 white kid: 💃🏽🥳
@@garfieldrussell2481 their loss
GOAT wordsmith
Best verse in Hip Hop!!!
Rakim gives Hip Hop a good name, always has, always will...
ShoNuff
Shout out to anybody under 25 listening to this. We should be proud of ourselves.
No matter how much shitty music gets made present day, its comforting to know I have generations of great music behind me to listen to like this
13 actually
13
We need 2 save rap
3
Arguably the greatest hip hop track ever. The definition of an MC
Oooh... but what about 'My Melody'?
Have you seen or heard don't call me brother dark man X and the 18th letter
@@Musicienne-DAB1995 oh my god.. don’t make the debate harder man please 🙌🏽🔥🔥🔥
No doubt. And also one of the most influential.
My son is 22, he thinks trap is the s***, I told him, sit down and listen to this from pop's era...the real deal...
Trap came up in the 90s
Also not his Generation
So what did he think?
Nobody today can touch Rakim period!
He's in my top 10
j hip hop head 1PEROOOOOIDDDDD EXCLMATION MARK NO COMMA NO SEMI COLON NONE OF THAT.
@@nookguy4318 Lupe Fiasco. Lyrical Bodybag, no question.
"Holy assumption of man into the heaven's sphere
Many mansions fit champions within its seven tiers
Evangelists re-imagine every 11 years
Pause for applause, evolves to what was never here
Born to death, born to die, form the flesh, form the eyes
A veritable storm of winged forms swarms the skies"
Not even his best
@@nookguy4318 what are you talking about? He dropped a lyrical masterpiece a few months ago, this song was on it. Rakim hasn't dropped since like 2009, so what are you talking about?
@@nookguy4318 but Lupe still raps better. That snippet is better than 80% of Rakim's discography. Deny if you want.
Rakim murdered this track!
#Legendary
Marku Ben Yisrael I always thought Rakim is better than BDK and Slick Rick.
Yes he did
I'm 43, Pac and Biggie are nice but THIS Brother here and Chuck D SPIT some real 🔥🔥🔥🔥, before the 90's.
💯💯💯💯
Believe day, I'm 45 myself.
I don't know how many turntables I messed up fucking with this song
FACTS!!!!!!!!
He's called the God MC for a reason!!
#1 Lyricist of ALL TIME...
Sharmarke Mohamed Em is a bad boy...
True!!!
No sexually explicit lyrics, no excessive cursing, reference to drug use, reference to women as b*****, or brothers as n******, or excessive materialism.......but still one of the greatest hip hop tracks of all time.
Don't tell me it can't be done.
blakdog90 Yup. Rakim did it with class. I loved this guy. I wasn't into his religious philosphy but nonetheless he was freakin' awesome!
blakdog90 No repeat chorus or anthem songs, just keep rhyming and writing.
True bro. He kept it real,he hardly ever cussed. He still sounded just as good as the best. He didn't cuss in general. On any of his songs, u never heard any of that. That goes to show you that you don't have to cuss to sound dope as an MC
blakdog90 Thank you!
blakdog90 "It can be done but only I can do it" Rakim
50 years old, was a fan of Eric B and Rakim in the beginning, still am today. I listen to this fondly. This to me in real hip hop. 80s and early 90s, can never be duplicated.
Yup just turned 49 was listening to Eric b and Rakim from the beginning
Im 44 n this is still cold af 🎤
@@bazglsgw1208 I keep telling people... Rakim is the greatest MC in hip hop. Even Eminem looks up to him. Some may not like me mentioning Eminem, but you cannot deny he has talent.
@@humanblacklight Yeah lyrically Eminem is very good but i dont like his hook game anymore some of his cheesy chorases n hooks annoy me but hes a great mcee no doubt.
@@humanblacklight Em also looks up 2 Masta Ace hes one of Ems favorites listen to Aces cadance in Accnowlage n he sounds like Em but Ace been here since the 80s he prob gave Em the title for his Slaughterhouse group.
The goat rakim best of rap group of all time jamming 2023
This why Rakim is one Best Ever. He drop bars like no one that came across over the years.
Rakim is the best. Guru 2nd
Rakim is the G.O.A.T.!
He got more bars than a jail cell
Eh big daddy Kane
@@damianclarke8056For me, the R, then Nas…. my list stops there ✌️
The Greatest MC.
Action. Movies
Agreed
@@jaelynbrown9971 ??????
Don't let the white Boys in here they'll scream feminine I mean eminem wack ass
Without question.
Wish RAKIM would make a new CD. Who cares about age. Other artists make music in there fifties and even sixties. Why not hip hop? Im a fan forever. If Phill Collins and others can doit,,,Why not Eric B and Rakim? Im 45 and would spend a grip to see them live today.
Michael white Pretty sure he is coming out with an album this year
NO WAY!!! WOW Thanks for the info.
Michael white you right.age shouldn't matter if you got skillz
Timeless, so age don't count in the booth, when your flow stay submerged in the fountain of youth
Michael white Back in '94 Eric B & Rakim was the ONLY album playing in *continual re-peat* in my house- and NO ONE was allowed or even DARED to switch or stop it from playing. When I'd ride w/ my boy, this shyt was BLASTIN on the loudspeakers & we'd ride all over the city!
Today, 2015 - and I'm STILL BLASTIN this all over the hood ( even though I no longer reside in NYC but in #Greece ) - Eric & Rakim will travel with me to all the corners of the Universe! 🎤
Damn- I wish theyd make a *comeback* - I'd fly right back !!! 👊
The Flow alone...
Yes yes yes! It's like a flow orgasm of lyrics..word ...then drops back to the beat..
This album can get put on right now and still pop!! I played it at my wedding and people went crazy!
My fav album. Thanks, friend.
He is the greatest rapper of all time .do ur math.he set d template with dat first album
So it's an Abomination dat OutKast given dat when original boom bag comes from.newYork.nonsense shit
Wish I got an invite to the wedding
Niceeeee
"feed me hip-hop and I will start tremblin" Now that's hip-hop!
this line gives me chills bro
It's connected to the Gremlin line before it. In the Gremlins movies, the would turn evil and violent if they got hit with water.
Didn't realize till now how much I love the sound when a DJ scratches ... don't hear it much in current music now
The REAL GOAT !
THE MOST INFLUENTIAL!!!!! THE MOST STUDIED!!!!!! THE MOST TALKED ABOUT!!!!!! THE BIGGEST GAME CHANGER!!!!! SIMPLY THE GREATEST PURE LYRICIST OF ALL TIME!!!!!
dabx170 co fuckin sign
dabx170 Rakim,KRS one,and Big Daddy Kane changed hip hop forevermore
+Claude White All are true lyricist
Man this goes so hard. Period.
RAKIM: To sound so hard yet to have such intelligent lyrics and still be so harmonious. 🫡
Without doubt one of the greatest songs and MC's of all time in hip hop
I’m only 11 and listen to this. Legends.
"I was a fiend!
before I became a teen I melted microphones instead of cones of ice cream
Music orientated so when hip hop was originated, fitted like pieces of puzzles: complicated"
When you actually pay attention to Rakims lyrics, he makes a lot of sense. I love those first few bars. Sets the scene for the track.
"I wrote the rhyme that broke the bulls back if that slow em down I carry full pack" CLASSIC GOAT SHIT
Fully agreed
If you don't get chills when you hear this song you're "Dead" plain and simple!!
For real
So many styles come from this one album especially the NYC rappers. who were big time in the 90s and 2000s rakim rhyme patterns 20 years ahead of his time.
Yep, rhyming within rhymes.
Every single line is incredible. The rhymes, the flow, the beat, everything is on point
He made it sound like it was coming from the top of his head... but he'd actually planned each line meticulously.
This track is one of the examples as to why no one ever tried Rakim. He was talking to anyone who wanted smoke any entertainer & that blow its already over before even starts.
No filler
30yrs later and this still sick AF 😎
I',m 54 from Montreal Canada and this song remains epic, new style, incredibly innovative, got a ton of attention. I feel fortunate to have heard it when it initially launched.
Rakim had a huge impact on Canadian hip-hop, if you listen to a lot of late 80s-early 90s Canadian rap, it all sounds very similar to rakim style.
Yo' after all these years RAKIM is (STILL) that dude.....his music still flows.
No rapper dominated the 80's like Rakim, in my opinion. Simply the best.
Carlos Boyer LL
Kane
Rakim, Kane, Kool G. and KRS. That's it.
LL Cool J was the biggest tho...he wasn't the best but he dominated the 80s
The industry must have didn't have anything else if he dominated it
Rakim's influence is insane, all the way from Nas to Rage Against the Machine
Lexus Jones rage actually covered this song
Dude i didnt know it was a cover song. I thought it was a rage song
Chandra Budiman renegades album are all covers
@@chandraabudiman Rakim did this in 88
Top 3 of the world's best MCs ever.
Straight lyrical genius
Lyrical genius
Rakim is the GOAT!! Dude was dropping bars with ZERO curse words and it still hits hard. 👊👊👊👊
The most lyrical rap record in music history. Rakim made other rappers raise their game when it came to rhyming.
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤
Rakim
The real goat son
Damn I remember hearing this song every day walking through Harlem in 89
one of the baddest hip hop videos of all time
Grammar*
actually, "baddest" is a slang for the best, much like "badass"
It's ironic because you've realized your mistake while hypocritically chastising someone for their grammar. It's funny because someone called you out. Learn from this.
Bassmint Productions Central Best. Rap. Song. Ever.
Dylan Coffey Ok What's Better ?
When hip hop was great and Rakim was a god on the mic!
+LaDaryl Barker He still is a God.
Lee Ames No Doubt
I grew up listening to 90’s rap. But Rakim is my favorite rapper’s favorite rapper
I’m 52 years old. This brings a smile to my face
You are just about the same age as me. I know that you remember when "PAID IN FULL" first came out. The album should go down as the one that changed HipHop. A lot of rappers have RAKIM 'S style in their music. To me there are 3 songs that took HipHop to the next level. The first was : " The Message". The second was: " Sucker MC". and the third was: " Dead Presidents".
No booties popping, no strippers, nothing but b- boys Mcs poetry telling his story #1
💯💯💯💯
Oh yeah!
I feel that 💯
yknight. Yo. Word.
Theres a difference betwern an M.C and a Rapper. Rakim is an M.C.
Master of the Ceremony
FACTS! Like the youngstas say.
BIG FACTS
J cole, Kendrick and it’s a couple of cats I call M.C these other mf they rappers
Sam C Also Mic Controller
Just RIDICULOUS wordplay! 30 years later & I can quote every word & still get as hyped as I was the 1st time I heard it. Even mote impressive is the fact that this is Slow Flow Rakim & he was THE MASTER of it. Then you compare this to Lyrics of Fury or Follow The Leader where he was rapping a thousand miles a minute & completely rewrote the rules on that too. NOBODY (Not Hova, BIGGIE, Nas, etc etc etc) is on this level. He is the GOAT by a mile!
Always and forever 💯 the God mc
I couldn’t agree more.... Rakim is still one of the coolest dudes to ever walk the earth......what Hendrix was to the electric guitar & Tool is to alternative/metal/prog, Rakim is to hip hop,he was just sooooo fuckin good 🤘🏻
God MC
Damn you took the word right out of my mouth!!!! I'm sorry Jay can't even handle this...To me him and LL CANT BE TOUCHED
agree
Dude still sounds so Modern to me !!!! TOP 5 PERIOD.
Teenager in the 80's. Fun doesn't even begin to describe it. Swear to God.
They'll never know how good it could of been and how much they give up in this new era.
And we didn't know how good we had it.
2024
Let me be clear.If the R is not in the convo. Than there is no such thing as the GOAT!!!!!!!!!!
Truth!!
Damn right Chucky no convo without the R
@@mauricesantinomf 🧐
Rakim is SIC 4 this1..... Literally still better than any new MC today
As a 14 year old teenager I’m basically obsessed with these old school classics this generation doesn’t make good music like this
Check out Main Source
And EPMD
Check out KRS1 as well
@@selenadiaz2665 EPMD is great. I remember back in the day when we got Eric B and Rakim, EPMD, Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Slick Rick, Big Daddy Kane, etc. Freaking great time for rap.
I even liked the very beginnings of West Coast Rap with Eazy E and NWA, but starting about 1999 or so it seemed to go straight downhill.
DEATH GRIPS. WORD.
This is my favorite song. Nothing but bars.
This is what TRUE HIP HOP IS..
I still rock this in 2021.
I don't even listen to the wack stuff on radio..they don't make music like this anymore. 🤗👍😋🙏
No they don’t. This is a masterpiece. Today’s rappers need to take notes. That wack stuff will be passé and outdated. Old school Hip Hop is timeless.
@@Globalman43 that’s pretty naïve for you to think that . I’m 18 and think this music especially wu tang is way way way better than todays . But my generation will pass on drake and such rappers on. So no when you older fellas pass on to the next life, no disrespect, but this will be outdated as with everything In life. A lot of People my age don’t even know of rakim, big daddy Kane , krs 1, kool g , mob deep etc . It’s sad but it’s life
@@etx_jay That’s true but it’s about quality, not quantity. Rappers like Rakim are timeless. Hip Hop don’t want to Focus on young rappers today who want to follow after the old school rappers without the garbage that permeates Hip Hop today. Let’s face it Jayslokey, today’s hip hop sucks.
@@etx_jay I’m from the generation that Eric B and Rakim, Run DMC, EPMD, and Wu Tang came from and I know what I am talking about. Quality always outshines quantity.
Whoever give this timeless classic a thumbs down is in the wrong genre. This is for true hip hopsters only.
it's people who used to own a microphone, but rakim destroyed it.
If anyone gave this a thumbs down they just shouldn't listen to hip-hop anymore cuz it's clear that they don't know a thing about it!!
I was only 5 when this was released. Damn, thank you lord I was born in 80s hip hop.
Off the mind
@@courtgizzle word the fuck up. I turned 35 yesterday. (87) I'm thankful everyday I grew up when I did. The mix tape era. Not the birth but the perfection of hip hop. From wu to big to nas and Jay. Rakim and Q tip. Busta rhymes. Crunk and dirt south shit. David banner lik flip, plies, akon. I know I'm going into the 00s but I turned 13 then. But I had in my opinion the greatest musical childhood. And it all stemmed from this shit right here.
Rakim is the true GOAT of hip-hop
What would you say to someone who says that RAKIM is terrible, especially " MICROPHONE FIEND". And that he is not authentic, can't compare with good rappers and is definitely not in the top 25? This dude says he has crazy knowledge of hip-hop and has better taste in music than I have because I told him that saying Rakim is terrible means your knowledge of hip-hop is in the basement.
This is "REAL" Hip Hop ladies and gentlemen.....and definitely to the Millennials!!!
@@pepperhead5557 with the exception of M&M ... Those other two were before the Millennial Area👍
@@pepperhead5557Lol No. That is Gen X ?
Why are you millenials always claiming everything Our GenerAtion ?
Like seriously ? All three are also Gen X ?
You were children
NOT The Generation
What The Fuck ?
This is nothing Millenials
lyrical as hell. i have so much respect for him. idk why everyone talks about biggie and pac but don't mention rakim.
D3BBI3 because he’s alive
D3BBI3
Kenneth The Golden Child
He's your favorite MC's, Favorite MC's, Favorite MC...
Biggie and Tupac have become cliché and simply people dont do any research
Lyrical masterpiece.. this here the real hip hop 🎤🎤🎤❤
MY ERA IS UNDEFEATED!!!!🎤🎤🎤🔥🔥🔥🫡🫡🫡
GOING ON 40 YEARS OLD, AND STILL SOUND LIKE IT WAS RECORDED LAST NIGHT!!!!!!!!! STRONG ISLAND STAND UP!!!!!!!!
Way, Way, Way, ahead of his Time! The greatest to rock a MIC
+Diallo Comanche no.. right on time.
this can never be touched...ever!!!!!
Been one of my favorite mc’s for 40 years