Eric B. & Rakim – Let The Rhythm Hit 'Em 2xLP - (From The Complete Collection 1986-1992 Box Set)

Geffen / 4th & Broadway / UNI / MCA (2018, Reissue)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for thirty plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

For the next few Ed Lover Wednesdays, I'm going to go through each of the records in this Eric B & Rakim box set.  I only had the album Don't Sweat The Technique in my vinyl collection when I decided I needed to get the others.  When I started poking around, it just made more sense to buy this box set as opposed to the other records individually.

Eric B. & Rakim's third album, Let The Rhythm Hit 'Em, came out in 1990, two years after Follow The Leader.  A lot changed in hip hop over those tho years, but I feel like we were still probably a year away from a real explosion of innovation that was lurking around the corner in 1991.  As such, this album's production does feel a little bit dated with today's ears, but when you compare it to other records that came out in 1990 or earlier, it's pretty cream of the crop stuff.

It's a big leap forward from Follow The Leader, which in itself was a gargantuan step up from Paid In Full on the production side of things.  The bass is fuller, the beats are more complex and it's enjoyable the same way a lot of the early Boogie Down Production records are.  For someone my age, it's stuff that happened slightly before my time, but the impact of records like this cannot be understated.

Lyrically, Rakim once again just uncorks insane rhyme after insane rhyme.  He had so few peers during this early run and it's really understandable why he is so revered for what he brought to the table on all of these albums.  He's a natural story teller that is just as comfortable weaving complex narratives as he is just battling.  Again, I would like have more nostalgia for Let The Rhythm Hit 'Em had I had it in the early 90s, but there is no denying just how great this record is.

Eric B. & Rakim – Let The Rhythm Hit 'Em:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lbyoTa-vRaviQtMPp7DMyZ8G_8EYCST9E