Follow the Leader [Vinyl]

Eric B. & Rakim | Format: Vinyl

Product Details

• Vinyl (July 21, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: 4 Men With Beards
• ASIN: B001WIH1DS
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #303,204 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

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 Hsu

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unimpeachable classic, February 4, 2004

By 

classof1977 "classof1977" (Midwestern US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Follow the Leader (Audio CD)

I bought this album on cassette in early '89 when I was in high school. It single-handedly taught me to take hip-hop seriously as art. The purity of Rakim's flow and subject matter on the first three tracks -- which have a slamming momentum and intensity -- makes this a classic landmark of rap formalism.

Folks tend to justify liking old tracks by saying "the rhymes and beats were good for the time," but Follow the Leader requires no such contextualizing. If some dude dropped the title track of this album today, people would still flip. Is any rapper with major-label status today kicking figures and similes with the integrity of Rakim in his prime?

"Follow me into a solo / get in the flow, and you can picture like a photo / Music mixed mellow maintains to make / Melodies for MCs, motivates the breaks / I'm everlastin, I can go on for days and days / With rhyme displays that engrave deep as X-rays / I can take a phrase that's rarely heard / Flip it; now it's a daily word ..."

When this pathbreaking album came out in the 80s, it was considered a mainstream rap release. It occupied the same cultural position that wack commercial rappers do today. Eric & Ra were in rotation on Yo! MTV Raps; their singles got air time on my local FM station. I'm hardly the first person to say this, but to compare the explosion of hip-hop creativity in the late 80s with the derelict, pimp/tight whips/Cristal rappers who dominate BET et al. today is to do some serious reflecting on a cultural decline.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for Hip Hop history - Rakim shines, January 19, 2001

By 

"1bigkid" (Sherman Oaks, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Follow the Leader (Audio CD)

I've been listening to Rakim ever since his first album - meaning I bought it when it first came out, not 5 years ago and calling myself a Rakim/Hip Hop fan. Anyone who enjoys Hip Hop and tries to appreciate it for its entirety must get this album. While "Paid in Full" is their most well-known achievement, it is "Follow the Leader" that is Rakim's crowning achievement of lyrical mastery. You won't be able to tell until you listen to other hip hop albums of the same date to appreciate Rakim's style and mastery that were years beyond other artists in his industry compared to the weak lyrics of his peers. The songs "Lyrics of Fury" and "Microphone Fiend" are amongst the most powerful freestyles to have been written, EVER. Look at all the wannabe cartel/Capone gangster rappers there are now. All the rappers claiming to "sip Mo'". It was Rakim who hit it first in his videos, but was smart enough not to keep it for so long to make it a gimmick.

While the album does run out of steam towards the end, if you're an old school lover to the fullest, or who enjoys that old Moog, electro-beat sound, then you may enjoy the end just as much as the beginning. Nevertheless, this album is a fantastic bargain and worth the first few songs where Rakim will never be imitated. Listen to "Lyrics of Fury" and think of any other lyricists who might even be able to match him without letting the beats ever overrun him. You'll realize why Rakim is revered as much as he is. If you want something "cool" to listen to, get "Paid in Full" (which you should own already) - but if you're ready to study lyrical mastery, this is it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a classic follow-up to a classic debut--, October 1, 2006

By 

Hype Currie "scholar of pop culture" (Detroit, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Follow the Leader (Exp) (Audio CD)

Rakim's status as a lyricist is unquestioned, and Eric B's beatmaking skills were at their peak here. From beginning to end, there's something to enjoy on this LP. Rakim's freestyles are great, and he would take time for progressive talk & social commentary, never succumbing to gangster-rap cliches.

For a group that never really had crossover success (unless you count the fact that the "Paid in Full" breakbeat showed up in any number of pop records), I'm glad that Universal/Chronicles is taking the time out to explore their hip-hop catalog and expose these pioneering releases to new audiences and old ones alike.

Newer listeners may be thrown off that there are INSTRUMENTALS on this LP, but for this era of rap, it was not unheard of for the DJ of the group (again, nowadays, kind of a rarity) to have a song that showcased their mixing & scratching skills.

I especially dig the fact that bonus cuts were included, like the "The R" extended mix, which opened the hip-hop radio mix show I listened to as a kid.