Having already revolutionized
hip-hop
,
Eric B. & Rakim
came up with a second straight classic in their sophomore album,
Follow the Leader
, which basically follows the same blueprint for greatness, albeit with subtle refinements. Most noticeably,
Eric B.
's production is already moving beyond the minimalism of
Paid in Full
.
finds him changing things up more often: dropping in more samples, adding instruments from musician
Stevie Blass Griffin
, and generally creating a fuller sound over his rock-solid beats. It's still relatively spare, but the extra sonic weight helps keep things fresh. For his part,
Rakim
wasn't crowned the greatest MC of all time for the variety of his lyrical content, and
is no different. Yet even if he rarely deviates from boasting about his microphone prowess (and frankly, he's entitled), he employs uncommonly vivid and elaborate metaphors in doing so. A case in point is
"Microphone Fiend,"
which weaves references to substance addiction throughout in explaining why
can't keep away from the mic. The album-opening title cut is one of his most agile, up-tempo lyrical showcases, demonstrating why he's such a poetic inspiration for so many MCs even today.
"Lyrics of Fury"
manages to top it in terms of sheer force, using the break from
James Brown
's
"Funky Drummer"
before it saturated the airwaves. And, of course, there are several more turntable features for
may not have broken much new ground, but it captures one of the greatest pure
acts at the top of its form, and that's enough to make the album a classic. ~ Steve Huey