Eric B. & Rakim - Follow The Leader (Official Music Video)
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- Опубликовано: 1 окт 2024
- Official music video for "Follow The Leader" performed by Eric B. & Rakim, the first single from their second studio album of the same name.
Follow the Leader album reached the 22nd spot on the U.S. Billboard Top Pop Albums and ranked seventh on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop chart. The album spawned four singles: "Follow the Leader", "Microphone Fiend", "The R", and "Lyrics of Fury".
Director: Scott Kalvert
Follow Eric B & Rakim:
/ ericbandrakim
/ ericb
/ therealdjericb
/ rakimallah
/ thegodrakim
#FollowTheLeader #EricB&Rakim
Music video by Eric B. & Rakim performing Follow The Leader. (C) 1988 UNI Records Inc.
This man single handedly changed the tone of hip hop in the 80’s and still relevant 30 plus years later.
No other rapper can compare
@@gabrielleelliott2487
Rakim birthed alot of rappers in the game, and that's why he's The God MC cause he layed the foundation with his lyrical style and ability 💯
I can totally relate to this because I wasn't a big fan of hip hop in comparison to others. It was cool hearing groups like fat boys, sugar hill,etc,but I was enthralled with the genre like that until Run DMC came out with walk this way,then I moved to another state and one of the first rappers I heard was Rakim,Ice T and later Kool Moe D,etc and the rest was history.
Years later when I got into the sounds of Granddaddy IU I've had ppl ask me if it was Rakim when they heard me playing him,so he is definitely an influence on those coming up behind him.
Indeed!!
1:06
For anyone who could understand this, Rakim is to hip hop what Charlie Parker is to jazz. He didn't start it, but he absolutely revolutionized it and set the bar for every MC/musician's skills and technique afterwards.
Him and krs 1
Cosign
Absolute 100% Right
+Isidro Santa Maria 100
+Isidro Santa Maria True word !
Rakim can't even stop his flow for a shave.
Lol ikr he a beasr
spread the word! good stuff. saw this on yo MTV raps. hooked
gyrusscalvary right
Lol right!!!
BugsnBeers Your profile picture...
Literally untouchable. So fresh, like it was released tomorrow. No one can stand with Rakim, a true poet and artist.
This song is so ahead of its time, its parents havent met.
Probably best rapper, ever. Lots of greats mention him as such. 18th letter baby.
Can't put LL out the way!!!!!!! He got bars!!!!!!
This is your favorite rapper's Favorite Rapper!!
his lyrics is very fun. last time heard the man who could bring out killer verse is Andre 3000 and pusha t
Every time I listen to Rakim I feel my IQ increasing.
Same lmfao it's crazy
ikr
looooooooool
lmfao ikr my ICQ so high on dis
Zmago Pushibrk...
I was going through the same sensation!!!!
This man literally took the wire a snitch had to record the squad plans, and starting spitting bars to the informants!😂Gangsta!
That was hard but the hardest was gettin a shave and the barber cut him, he grabbed his jaw and started spittin rhymes like he was talking to his son. Lol
) jgl
I love how Rakim is metaphorically taking us to space.
Yes, yes, yes. Its genius
at magnificent speeds around the universe
And it’s so visual you can actually see the journey
He was 20 with this flow
Yep
Rakim is 30 years ahead of his time.
I would agree but when i think about it he was in the right time, todays rap is shit compared to 80s-90s
99199 2:47 @@TheProdigyAccordion
The god of hip hop . RAKIM 😊😊
Rakim was teaching science while STILL having the charisma. Had the swag, lyricism, appeal (pause), skill, and more importantly KNOWLEDGE and ARTICULATION.
And he didn't have to use profanities. Every lyric clear with a message!
He introduced concepts and topics in Hip Hop such as Gnostic knowledge (Freemasonry, Cosmic thought, Egyptology). Rakims parents were musicians and part of the late 60s/early 70s Progressive Jazz movement fusing jazz, funk, rock, classical, punk and found sounds (early sampling?) So that was a factor as well. Rakim is Hip Hop Perfected!
Well said 🕶️💪🏽
REAL SHIT right here. Still the greatest MC of all time.
This ish is TIMELESS. Forever lasting. All time bumpin'. WORD!
Xavier Vega Got em
Xavier Vega OF ALL TIME.....THATS WORD !!!!!!
Xavier Vega he is
Xavier Vega ALL TIME BABY
In just 8 bars of this song he has outrapped 95% of today’s rap era.
hardly anyone these days compares to this level of lyrical ability
The only modern day artist on his level is Kedrick Lamar.
Did you say rap or crap? :p Cant tell the difference nowadays. Now this is awesome.
Real talk ...
We were witnessing greatness during those day. I didn't even realize it back then. Glad I was there ( juke box, video vibrations, rap city, etc.)
He raps 4 minutes straight without cussing or using the N word.
Because you actually had to have talent and skillz back then. Now that the population has been reverse educated stupidity reins Supreme.
I've never heard him say it since 86
He also raps 4 minutes without breathing.
He said, "Let's travel at *evanescent* speeds around the universe" not "Let's travel at magnificent speeds around the universe".
Most people don't even know that word. Look it up! Rakim is the god MC!
I know right. Rhymes like this, these younger brothers need to learn.
From the minute the beat starts, you know this ain't the type of brotha to play with on the mic. I just love Rakim. Such a fan. He was the 80's protocol for lyricism.
AGREED. In the history of Hip Hop, there is none like Rakim. Not one.
@minusthebarsblostand 2:25 g
U bet2w 🧊 3:11
He would cook 99% of these bums rapping now.
Haha They Would Melt with 1 Lyric from The R..
100 percent ....you are witnessing one of the greatest rappers of all time ....
100%
He would slay any rapper in the game today.
100
And who would the 1% be that he wouldn’t cook ?
This is just one of ridiculously intensely lyrical songs from Rakim. Nobody is even close. I remember staring into speaker as a kid when this came out. I could see the stars, those planets that looked like balls of clay and even the satellite 🛰 Nobody paints a picture like Rakim.
It's crazy the beat does the same thing blastoff
💥🚀💯
LL
Sorry guys, I'm a 55 year old mutha and this has just bought tears to my eyes. Eric B and Rakim, for their time and space, were untouchable 😊
I'm 54. And I was brought to tears as well. Dude, it's just so fucking good.
I'm 58 and I slept on this cut back when I saw the video. It sounds totally different now that I got bumpin speakers in my car. Back then I had a 87' Chevette🤣🤣🤣🤣LL Cool J Rock The Bells SiruisXm played this the other day. Eric B was underrated!💪🏿💪🏿💪🏿💪🏿His beats slap!
❤️
@@dirtycordoba6713 I'm from Gen Z and i can agree, Eric B and Rakim revolutionised Hiphop, they are icons, and in the future, if they still perform, i'm willing to go there!
Yo im 56 this is real bro
in my opinion he is the number one lyricists of all time
I agree
yes, he's the GOAT
Agreed 100%
Dwayne Artis i agree with you hes amazing
Dwayne Artis u hit it right on da nail point blank player n I agree with u 1 zillion % on it.
I'm 51 years old so this is my time this was a cold as s*** it's hard to listen to the rappers now when you got this as a standard
I am 64 years old have been jamming to rap for 35 years...
Word up! There are few people who ever existed who are so great at what they do, that there is no argument from anyone of the contrary. Literally everyone agrees they are the GOAT = Michael Jackson, Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, Bruce Lee, Leonardo da Vinci, RAKIM!
52 and I'm with you , but. That drill music does got that asphalt flavor
Try Montana of 300
1988 but sounds like the year 3000
The way Hip Hop is heading 3000 rap not gonna be recognisable
@@tmccz1940 if we are even still here in 3000
well Deltron did sample it for turbulence off 3030
see kids, you can have intelligence, knowledge, wisdom, banging beats and still be hard and gangster.
Church
Wtf are you? A soccer Mom? 😂
@@forsakenlife4873 what are you? on drugs? what kind of a stupid comment is that?
This is lyricism at its best If u wanna be the best lyricist this song is the litmus test IMO
Cosign!!!
Michael Tiema true dat
+Sean Ulloa
Backed and backed again.
Geoff Chisholm what???
I back your statement
and I back it again.
The flow is insane the lyrics are mind blowing not one cuss word or ni**a was said still the greatest mc of all time!!!!
IKR! Drake says nigga in practically every song!
That's the problem with the new RAPPERS they use the N-Word to much, it's not necessary...Drake is not a Rapper his a Singer. So Called
@@defaultuser8091 While I agree that the "N" is used wayyy too much nowadays in "so-called" hip hop, I don't mind usage of it as much as I detest the usage of mumble rapping & other nonsensical elements that are used nowadays. Outside of a select few, there are absolutely no true lyricists in rap today. To give the young bucks a checkup from the neck up, I always throw em' back to
Rakim
Kool G. Rap
Big Daddy Kane
There's many others that deserve honorable mention that range from the golden age of true lyricism (mid/late 80's-early/mid 90's on through to what I call the end of the lyricist era with peeps like Big Pun, early DMX & a few others.
@@williamhobbs2998 that's 100 !
Mane this song lyrically kills, Rakim could be considered the best rapper ever, the GOAT
" I'm everlasting; 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"
That was and is one of the greatest lines of all time
- Stop bugging a brother.
He said dig him. I never dug him.
He couldn’t follow the leader long enough, so I drug him. - 💥🔥🔥🔥Mic 🎤 drop.
That is lyricism
@@markl7743 EPMD said in their Drink Champs interview that this line was directed at them. I always thought it was at Big Daddy Kane.
@@PrAnG2000 I think it was also for Big Daddy Kane, there are even videos with Kane himself talking about having a beef, maybe it's because Kane was the only MC that could match or even surpass Rakim's lyrical level
The first time I heard that very line it had me gasping
Rakim was wayyyyyy ahead of his time.
Where 0:51
🧊 0:56
Why this doesn't have 100 million views just proves how much people don't understand or appreciate hip hop pioneers. This is lyrical gold standard of ripping a microphone to pieces.
Easy answer champ !
'It does not meet the requirements of trash!
I was 3 million of the 100 million
@@deathknizzle I’m 37 and been here I know hip hop I’m Infatuated with hip-hop real rap I wish I was 16-in 87-88 lol
RAKIM...IS...ONE OF ONE...
Because it doesn’t need 100 fucking million views like damn what would it matter anyway
OMG Rakim is dangerous, not a cuss word needed to complete this masterpiece.
as he said, "cuss is just sound effects" EPIC roast, EPIC line.
That makes him more of a real rapper and gangster rapper he goes hard without cursing
He said, "Let's travel at *evanescent* speeds around the universe" not "Let's travel at magnificent speeds around the universe".
Most people don't even know that word. Look it up! Rakim is the god MC!
Faxxx my G
Rakim's the G.O.A.T. simple as that
This man IS THE blueprint for EVERYTHING and EVERYONE that followed! Without Rakim, there is NO: Biggie, 2Pac, Nas, DMX, Busta Rhymes, Big Pun, Big L, Eminem, 50 Cent, Outkast, Luda, etc. Ahead of his time and the architect of internal rhyme scheme. Ladies and Gentlemen I give you RAKIM ALLAH, the ACTUAL G.O.A.T!
Facts!!!
Facts
💯
Without rakim there is no Wu Tang clan because every last one of them used his slang to write their rhymes. The whole slang about the chambers is rakim slang
True...
The other day I was rapping the lyrics to this song. Someone asked who the artist was. I said Rakim. They asked me who that was, and I promptly slapped them. They know now.
lol
Brian Parker .....you stupid...lol
Brian Parker Lol unbelievable. Lol
Lol you did right!!
Brian Parker
That's funny.
4 minutes of raw lyricism. I love it.
I'm 70 years old. I've been a writer all my life... since I was 3. I don't even like hip hop. But his is pure genius. If the culture had just obeyed and followed this leader, there's no telling what young folks would be into today. But they stray far away today from that brilliant rhythmic word play, selling they soul for a triflin payday like the third hell of Dante, rhymes in disarray, nothing real to say, fools boppin to nothin, culture sliced up and played by an anti-gourmet selling you a bloody as Hell, Good Friday Filet.
Ali Abu-Talib lmao 70
at last,someome who feels like me,this has had a profound effect on my life,simply the best
Totally agree
The fact that you are 70 years old and just said all that you said about this dude shows he is the goat!!
That's deep real talk brah sadly 💯
Rakim changed everything.
Rakim is a god MC but we all know that, what doesn't get talked about enough in HipHop history though is how revolutionary Eric B was in terms of mixing and production, he was never the flashiest DJ in a technical sense but his ear for picking and mixing samples and his sense of timing and rhythm and pacing were perfect, and nobody was making beats as diverse as B was back then, people always talk about Paul's Boutique as being a revolutionary album (and it was and still is) but without Eric B doing it first then the Beastie Boys would have never been inspired to make Paul's Boutique
Word!!!
3:02 @@xp8969
FACTs
"I can take phrase that is rarely heard flip it now its daily word"🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
murderin mc s
The R is the best to ever do it..
So follow me and were ya thinkin' you were first?
Let's travel at magnificent speeds around the Universe
What could ya say as the Earth gets further and further away
Planets are small as balls of clay
Astray into the Milky Way - world's outasight
Far as the eye can see - not even a satellite
Now stop and turn around and look
As ya stare in the darkness, ya knowledge is took
@@thegrinch7989bars 🔥🔥
@@thegrinch7989 Nobody seems to get this right. He said, "Let's travel at *evanescent* speeds around the universe" not "Let's travel at magnificent speeds around the universe".
Most people don't even know that word. Look it up! Rakim is the god MC!
You got to understand these guys were original..
Hip Hop at its finest!
Eric B was cold blooded
FACTS
Maybe I'm just getting old... but 80's hip-hop still sounds a thousand times better than Kendrick, Drake, etc to me.
It IS better!
You're not old at all. I stopped listening to the shit on the radio at 20, I'm now 33 and can't STAND that horseshit!!
@@TheHumanBallsack must be delusional then.
It was the golden age of rap.
Tried to listening to Trap Soul by Bryson Tiller, with the AutoTuned voice and mumble rap /creative vocal improvisations. I shut that off after a few mins.
How is this so damn good 30+ years later? Art.
Nobody seems to get this right. He said, "Let's travel at *evanescent* speeds around the universe" not "Let's travel at magnificent speeds around the universe".
Most people don't even know that word. Look it up! Rakim is the god MC!
1:26
A magnum as a microphone murderin' MC's.
Cold ass line
Glorie Mpaka for sure
I never really paid attention to the alliteration of that line.
what does he mean?
He's saying he straight up kills other rappers (metaphorically) with his rhymes. The mic is the weapon, his lyrics are the ammunition.
As much as I love Pac and Biggie, Rakim is the GOAT. It's not even close.
@DIGITAL TRADE MUSIC Pac was one of the best ever. Especially his first two records unlike the foolishness after. But nah, Rakim's lyrics were deeper even when he went solo.
@@TheJemoore9899 and Melle Mel?
@@MuslimYouthMedia Much, much respect to him.
@DIGITAL TRADE MUSIC looool are you serious
Clap your hands, you won a trip
Ridiculous rap skills. I always said since the 80's, NO ONE can mess with Rakim!
top man,love r akim
This is the greatest track in hip-hop history.
very true.
I did not take rap seriously until I heard this track and then the whole album in 1986. This album and P.E.'s Takes A Nation...sucked me into Hip Hop.
Yes yes yes !!
Far from it
@@PR-WAY Name a better one.
Too scientific lyrical even today for most.....I'm glad I was a kid that used fall asleep with this tape next to my ear.
SHIT!!!! HE WAS FLOWING
lucky!
StrictlyBusiness000 Ikr
Yes...used to play two copies in the boom box at the same time to get that echo effect...loved to do the same thing with EPMD...
StrictlyBusiness000 Today's bullshit mainstream rap doesn't flow. It's been slowed down for the masses to follow, in plain words commercialized.
I got goosebumps the first time I heard this as a kid.
Me too. btw, this is my favorite track of the album.
Rakim is what you call an MC of hip hop culture. Not a rapper
i agree,he is a supreme mc
@@garymeacham5148 he is god mc
Yep!
over 50 and this still gives me chills, killer!
Follow me into a solo, get in the flow
And you can picture like a photo
Music mix, mellow maintains to make
Melodies for emcees, motivates the breaks
I'm everlasting, 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
I can get iller than 'Nam, I kill and bomb
But no alarm - Rakim'll remain calm
Self-esteem makes me super, superb and supreme
But for a microphone, still I fiend
This was a tape, I wasn't supposed to break
I was supposed to wait, but let's motivate
I want to see you keep following and swallowing
Taking and making, biting and borrowing
Brothers tried and others died to get the formula
But I'mma let you sweat, you still ain't formed,you a
Step away from frozen, stiff as if you're posing
Dig into my brain as the rhyme gets chosen
So follow me and while you're thinking you were first
Let's travel at magnificent speeds around the universe
What could you say as the earth gets further and further away
Planets as small as balls of clay
Astray into the milky way, worlds out of sight
Far as the eye can see not even a satellite
Now stop and turn around and look
As you stare in the darkness, your knowledge is took
So keep staring, soon you suddenly see a star
You better follow it, cause it's the R
This is a lesson if you're guessing and if you're borrowing
Hurry hurry step right up and keep following the leader
[Verse 2: Rakim]
This is a lifetime mission, vision a prison
Aight, listen
In this journey you're the journal, I'm the journalist
Am I eternal? Or an eternalist?
I'm about to flow long as I can possibly go
Keep you moving cause the crowd said so
Dance! Cuts rip your pants
Eric B on the blades bleeding to death, call the ambulance
Pull out my weapon and start to squeeze
A magnum as a microphone, murdering emcees
Let's quote, a rhyme from a record I wrote
(Follow the leader) Yeah, dope
Cause every time I stop it seems you're stuck
As soon as you try to step off you self-destruct
I came to overcome before I'm gone
By showing and proving and letting knowledge be born
Then after that I live forever. You disagree?
You say never? Then follow me
From century to century, you'll remember me
In history, not a mystery or a memory
God by nature, mind raised in Asia
Since you was tricked, I have to raise ya
From the cradle to the grave
But remember - you're not a slave
Cause we was put here to be much more than that
But we couldn't see because our mind was trapped
But I'm here to break away the chains, take away the pains
Remake the brains, rebuild my name
I guess nobody told you a little knowledge is dangerous
It can't be mixed, diluted, it can't be changed or switched
Here's a lesson if you're guessing and borrowing
Hurry, hurry step right up and keep following the leader
[Verse 3: Rakim]
A furified freestyle - lyrics of fury
My third eye make me shine like jewelry
You're just a rent-a-rapper, your rhymes are minute-maid
I'll be here when it fade, I'll watch you flip like a renegade
I can't wait, to break and eliminate
On every traitor or snake, so stay awake
And follow and follow because the tempo's a trail
The stage is a cage, the mic is a third rail
I'm Rakim, the fiend of a microphone
I'm not him, so leave my mic alone
Soon as the beat is felt, I'm ready to go
So fasten your seatbelt, cause I'm about to flow
No need to speed, slow down and let the leader lead
Word to daddy...indeed
The R's a rolling stone, so I'm rolling
Directions told then, the rhymes are stolen
Stop buggin' a brother said dig him, I never dug him
He couldn't follow the leader long enough so I drug him
Into danger zone he should arrange his own
Face it, it's basic, erase or change your tone
There's one R in the alphabet
It's a one letter word and it's about to get
More complex from one rhyme to the next
Eric B, be easy on the flex
I've been from state to state, followers tailgate
Keep coming but you came too late, but I'll wait
So back up, regroup, get a grip, come equipped
You're the next contestant, clap your hands, you won a trip
The price is right don't make a deal too soon
How many notes, can you name this tune?
Follow the leader is a title/theme/task
Now you know, you don't have to ask
Rap is rhythm and poetry, cuts create sound effects
You might catch up if you follow the records E wrecks
Until then keep eating and swallowing
You better take a deep breath and keep following the leader
Beyond complex and this cat was not even an adult and lyrically flowing like an Einstein poet!
The difference between this cat and others that feel that their favorite MC can match is their favorite rappers are already an adults or middle-aged and still have a problem following with such complex lyrics....Long live the R.
Bro...I thaaaank ya 4real. 👍
@@rebelpumpfitness4904 this dude was a man not a cat
Thank you for the lyrics. I’ve listened to this song for liters decades and it NEVER gets old. They just don’t make ‘‘em like they used to.
@@robertvincent4042 this "cat" was a slang for "person" its an American thing, like "he is my dog" not actually a dog but a person you can trust, same like "you are my right hand" not your literal hand, but your most trusted person/friend.
Sigh....what am I doing with my spare time.. he he👍
one of the sickest hip hop records of all time.
Best hip-hop voice in the 80s. He birth all lyricists who came after.
💒Marry me to this song 😘
saw them in concert in new york back in the day.best ever
And Rick the ruler!
Tell it Big D no doubt baby girl.
If not the best then really close. Chuck D might be a challenger.
Let the Leader...Lead! 2024....still Bumpin!
The most hardest song in Hip Hop history and not one curse word said!!
yes brother
Sheer genius the god of rap!
DEFINITLY YES!!!
It's been more than 30 years, and I STILL can't get it right!
Posted this today on my fb feed, heard this in 88, along with UTFO and was blown away. Native New Yawka born and raised.
This is the hardest lyrical song ever recorded period.
karljjr I have to say the punisher
@@rwj197311
Sorry buddy, King Los has long taken the crown
To recognize the genius I am
You'd have to have one foot on Venus to even visit these arenas I'm in
Now did I say arenas or Serena's?
I kill shit, Venus/Serena's, I kill shit, I Gilbert Arenas
I'm ill wit' the skill wit', the skill wit'
If this the shit that I build
When I'm buildin' a buildin' built with a billion builders
That's buildin' a buildin' on top of this one
No feelin' is toppin' this one
No villain is stoppin' this one
That'd be a dark night, won't it?
While overlookin' my city, had a Dark Knight moment
I'm overlookin' my city, same city that overlooked me
Now it's back to back tours, cause cities just overbook me
Speaking of Dark Knight, I know some jokers that scheme
Cuz I done blew up somethin' sick like the openin' scene
Not to mention, nobody gon mention you this year
You just a joker, I really made the pencil disappear
I got that Edgar Allen Poe flow, bars like a bear trap
Shakespeare's only rebuttal would be a head scratch
I haven't been amateur, ever, never
Iambic pentameter, clever, better
Nobody even seems this deep
I got niggas stayin' awoke to put my dreams to sleep
But, watch me maneuver
New maroon drop for my jewel
I need moon rocks for my Muller, I'm the future
Tell these niggas I need my proper spot
They a bunch of Papa Docs and Chocolate Drops
My 16's proper, give me my props or not
I went Pac at 16 when my Pops was shot
Uh, it left my mind out of place
I guess that's why in my rhymes, I spend time out of space
So, I speak life, rappers talk
Can't be a rap god if you've never rapped for God
Gotta be close to him like the woman in The Bible who felt she could be blessed just to grab his cloth
Uh, bulletin: we full of sin
If we wade in the water, the weight of it might pull us in
They, fake, fake, fake, fake, fake
Can't fake what you ain't, ain't, ain't, ain't
Wait, if you're searchin' for a way, wait
I made a way, all my homies used to weigh weight
Brakes, pump your brake, brake, brake, brakes
My niggas break in and take, they don't take breaks
I can't fail, I don't believe in it
You don't possess humble nor obedience
Comedians told me that I wouldn't fly
I remember losin' family members and I wouldn't cry
Nigga if you had wooden eyes
You could see I'm fly in my future, so why wouldn't I?
I'm too good, these niggas good and high
Boys in the hood don't rock wit' you Cuba Goodin' guys
Niggas on that "be alike" shit
Guess they "copy, paste" us cause we the right clique
Uh, get it? Right click, copy, paste?
Life hit a rocky phase, ice wrist, Versace shade
White whip, on hockey blades, grill like a hockey mask
Chop it like a hockey stick, niggas pop it to pocket cash
Talkin' bout you poppin' gats, runnin' wit' those sloppy cats
Same suckas probably be watchin' you get your pockets tapped
Fuck all that cocky shit, where I'm from they cocking straps
Think you wavy 'til you get hit with 8 in your stocking cap
But, I choose to excel
Made my old ex mad, gave my new ex hell
Went from no X to one X to two X, well
I been nice since my tee shirt was 2XL
Yeah that's XX, like two exes ago
But it's still all love like X's and O's
Cause at some point, we feel we have exes who owe
You know an explanation why they made an exit, and oh
If you think I'm talkin' bout my exes, come on, man
Tell XXL they got one more chance
But, man I lay low
If I ain't on ya list, then that bitch don't exist, Manti Te'o
I'm anti aye-bro, that shit they puttin' up corny
Tell these niggas they ain't good enough to bore me
I'm just paintin' so y'all see the story
I can't be guarded in rap, to God be the glory
King
Harder then ether
Yes, yes, yes. Always said it. Most rappers agree
@@greentee5993 Ether? Are you comparing that...smh. you all are lost
Rakim is of best rapper ever in my opinion.
Me to your opinion is respected
@@ESDAce Thanks
@@MrBlactye np
No lies detected, Rakim is the best to ever touch the mic
That's not an opinion that's a fact!
Incredible poetry, phrasing and musicality. Timeless, brave and extraordinary.
Rakim is the greatest lyrical emcee who ever spoke a word through a microphone. Just listen to this record and how he was flowing like this at the highest level in the 80's; way before anyone else thought about writing and incorporating complex rhyme schemes into a rap song. He was the 1st!!!
''Stop buggin' a brother said dig him, I never dug him
He couldn't follow the leader long enough so I drug him'' Damnnnn
EPMD never stood a chance against the god
And he said, "Let's travel at *evanescent* speeds around the universe" not "Let's travel at magnificent speeds around the universe".
Most people don't even know that word. Look it up! Rakim is the god MC!
Ya favorite rapper's favorite rapper.
@@lazarotorres405 he's influenced e ery emcee of the last 35 years, and every emcee for the foreseeable future
Yes, yes he is...KRS is the other one
Yesssss
And don't forget Chuck.
Probably your favorite rapper's favorite rapper's favorite rapper now
This still gives me the chills ...
Soon as them horns hit, I loose and gain myself all at once, incredible Master of Ceremonies Rakim!
One Hundred Percent!!!!! When this first came out in 88 I was working in a UK record store, and when you heard it you KNEW it was legendary. NOTHING was like it back then! 🙂
First heard this amazing shit in 87 or 88. I remember me and my boys shaking our heads in disbelief. We couldn’t process what we were hearing. We would play it stop the tape, rewind, play again, argue about what we thought the lyric was and what Ra was trying to say or what he meant by a particular phrase or word.
One thing was clear to us. We were experiencing something new and incredible. An emcee with a musicians timing in and out of the pocket. He could dance around bars like Astair. Sometimes blindingly fast. Sometimes slow. An emcee Who could pack 16 bars with multisyllabic destruction and incredible visuals then turn around and use pauses to devastating effect. He was like a jazz musician An intellectual a philosopher with the mind of a prophet and a poet all in one man.
We knew everything that we understood about rap and what it could achieve as an art form had changed. Forever.
It’s thirty fucking years later and I’m still gleaning new levels of meaning from this song. Still putting together the meaning of one of the greatest songs and albums ever created in any genre.
My God.
Yes!! Back in HS this shit was revolutionary
The Galactus of all lyrical emceeing .your ideology is profoundly felt and I don't think that I could have written it any better.!!..FIRE FACTS.
I wish I was born in a rap era like that... Kinda jealous... ☹️
@Yao Black that's exactly what me and my crew used to do. Analyse this track for hours. Over 30 years later and I still get goosebumps when I play it.
@@PrAnG2000 facts.
The most evil bassline known to the world enters at 00:04.
On some ol Thanos black hole ish with this beat dark and cosmic
Luciferian
This and then Paris' "This Is A Test" bassline
Lmao
I agree. This is an FM synthesis bassline. This is what you get from the old Yamaha DX-series synths. I know because I had two DXs and used to program tracks with basslines just like this.
He's called the God MC for a reason!!
Today's rapper's do you hear any cussing?
He said " dig'em, I never dug'em, he couldn't follow the leader long enough so I drug'em." cold a$$ line
That was directed at EPMD.
kweli05 damn
LeBron's Hairline And I had no idea at the time, like a lot of other subtle beefs that were going on in hip hop.
kweli05 same here, i was clueless except for maybe the LL Cool J AND KOOL MOE DEE BEEF
plus the line about the "third rail" genuis
God by nature, mind raised in Asia
Since you was tricked, I had to raise'ya
From the cradle to the grave,
But remember, you're not a slave
Cause we was put here to be much more than that,
But we couldn't see because our minds was trapped
But I'm here to break away the chains take away the pains
Remake the brains rebuild our names
This has been in my top 5 lyrically sound songs for 20 years.
Dwayne Taylor this is a timeless masterpiece
"I guess no one told ya a little knowledge is dangerous..."
Mine as well, he is a lyrical wizard.
Malcolm Little great job depicting that verse bro...its ashame that motherfuckers dont write this prolific anymore.....alot of hiphop is pure shit, but like Rakim once said " When you can make joints to put in your mans deck & bump it in the hood to blaze to & then have older mature people listen & appreciate it then it's an art & it feels good to say we took something from nothing & made our own genre " ........
@Tay Yasharal I'm Italian American and know that Rakim is the best lyricist of all time.
Rakim is like a lyrical scientist, the word he speak are genius in rhyme form
Facts !!!!!! I've nothing to ad to your comment !!!!!!
And he said, "Let's travel at *evanescent* speeds around the universe" not "Let's travel at magnificent speeds around the universe".
Most people don't even know that word. Look it up! Rakim is the god MC!
A Masterpiece of the New York Hip Hop!!!
These lyrics deserve the Nobel Prize for Literature, far better than the rubbish winning the prize these days.
His skills are intangible nothing under sun is comparable to his skills
I cant believe that he wrote these type of song in 80's
Even flows and multi syllabic rhyming without compromising on bars and punchlines and most of his songs were without cussing and doesn't rap for only blacks his rap is for all races and all gender
People brought his records just for the art and nothing more
Agreed 👍🏾
A master class in MCing... I have heard this song 100’s of times and am still trying to decipher the science, math and verbally engineered genius on wax... supremely gifted mind that he allowed us into for a brief period of time.
That opening riff is one of the coldest introductions in history.
Rakim should be in everyone’s top five rappers/hip-hop artist
To all Mumble Rappers out there...LLS..
"You Just a Rental Rapper"
"Your Rhymes are Minute Made"
"I'll be Here when It Fade"
"An Watch you Flip Like Ah Renegade"
Big Daddy Kane diss.
Mumble rappers don't make rap music. That's not the goal when they make music. It's a different genre
When rap was an art.
@Damin Mance MESSAGE!!!!
Even then very few were on this level
It still is
IT STILL IS ART ! CALM DOWN ,RELAX AND ADJUST. EVERYTHING ELSE CHANGED TOO FROM NOW LATERS TO BREAD !
It is and was good Hannibal 2020
i saw this as a kid and thought Rakim was the coolest motherfucker ever.
Greatest rap single of all time from the greatest of all, the god MC - Rakim.
Replay value. It takes 2-50 years to decipher all the rhymes from Rakim. Im on my 25 year
i am 54 and stilllovin it
Glad I'm not the only one.
Just the 1st verse alone will kill a hundred man cypher....
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the greatest M.C. of all time. I heard them all since 79' I was witness. This is Jimi.
been alive since 84 but eric b and rakim are ill alone but together illest M.C. and DJ of all time done solute you my vet thank you and your whole generation for this music
Dave Mercado comparing him to Hendrix I'm sure Rakim would take as an honor.
Dave Mercado exactly, the greatest of all time
Dave Mercado word cant agree more 👊🏾
rakim was 11 in 79
Music so far ahead of its time, in 2022 it can still be studied like a college course. Amazing
2023
Youngsters take note on how real hip hop sounds from the God mc
every mc after 87 owes his flow to Rakim. GOAT
Scary part? He was just turning 19 when he wrote this........
Happy 34 year anniversary to Eric B and Rakim’s classic album “Follow The Leader” . Yall made another groundbreaking album in Hip Hop
35 years jubilee now!!
I was 10 when my buddy Jeff introduced me to Eric B & Rakim. He had this dope turntable/cassette combo sound system with some nice speakers in his room. He said "yo, you need to hear something". When that bass kicked in after the first "Rakim'll say",my life changed. I kept asking to play it over & over again until his mom yelled " shut that shit off!" Lol. There is not a better Lyricist that ever existed.
LOL @ "shut that shit off!" 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
😂😂
🙌🏿
Every time I hear a wack song, bars or rapper I come back here to cleanse my ears!
My magnum is a microphone
Murdering MCs
A powerful boast, a metaphor, and a perfect example of alliteration. A triple play in two lines of verse.
Yeah in this album he used alliteration a lot
From the cradle to the grave just remember your not a slave 🔥🔥🔥🔥
and that dollar sign
Schooling my children to this groundbreaking rap.
😎😎😎😎😎😎
Same here !!!
Yes it's needed for this young and lost generation.
Hey girl keep it up cuz I’m doin the same
Let's quote a rhyme from a record I wrote.. "Follow the Leader"....yeah, dope
yo I was saying that shit all day yesterday and today.that part was 🔥
yo I was saying that shit all day yesterday and today.that part was 🔥
cool as heaven
Ra deserves proper respect, he belongs on the Rushmore of MC's. He brought it on every single track. And Eric B was a beat genius. I still get goosebumps when "Mahogany" kicks off.
Classic
actually Eric B didn't do alot of the Beats,Rakim did,do the research.
+Osia Wideman then the R is a fucking genius.
Still IS! I left 2 links above.
Yeah I heard Eric B was punkin' brothers back in the day. I heard Marley Marl and Large Professor actually produced for Eric B and Rakim, but Eric B took the credit for it.
Classic heavy bars 🔥🔥🔥🔥
yep Rakim is the Best Mc of all time
that dj....bro he was killing it man!!!
Ra loses points for longevity. So I gotta give it to either Nas, Cube, or Jay-Z because they are still making great music.
No Racist record companies killed it with their exploitation of black music for profit and political gain.
No Racist record companies killed it with their exploitation of black music for profit and political gain.
Rakim legend mc my all time favorite GOAT
Rakim is truly the greatest MC of all time. He literally invented the 'new style' of rap using internal rhyme structures, where two or more words inside each bar rhyme with each other while the words at the end of alternating bars also rhyme. For example: "I'm rough and rugged at the same time _sharp_ I can *swing* off *anything* even the *string* of a _harp._
No other rapper did this before him as often as he did. He was also the first rapper to strictly bring up competition, or the 'battle rap.' You had to rock the crowd, the listeners, but you also had to rock other emcees.
He's actually not the first to do it, even The Message from The Furious Five has internal rhymes if you listen closely. Rakim made it a staple though in his art and was his signature sound.
@@NavAK_86 I agree, but, like I said, he did it more often, and that's why it's his style. He claimed he likened his lyrics to jazz solo.
He was the first to call the Blackman a God & he was ridiculed by some in the media & called radical. Thats when he responded in Sweat the technique with “I’m to intelligent to radical, masterful never irrelevant mathematical” now every rapper is a rap god he also was the first to use an alias like the solar controller, 007, the 18th letter, the R. Also not taking anything from them but the Furious 5 lyrics were not as complex
Yeah, He did it before Eminem.
It hard to argue against that, but I would have to include KRS one as one of the greatest MC’s as well
Rakim was my education and my entertainment growing up. The true GOAT.
"RAP is Rhythm And Poetry." Hope everybody caught what he meant by that. He's actually saying what each letter stands for.
Bro , right on point, finally a comment that homes in on acronyms and if you live and breathe hip hop you understand them… a close second for me is Eric B Is President “No mistakes allowed, ‘Cause to me,MC means move the crowd” … so impressive how he coined his own variation…
Cuz to me MC means "Move The Crowd"
wow. it's crazy to know that some of the greatest bars in the world may never be understood. wish he were interviewed where he could explain every single lyric
One his lyrics I like is “ I hold the microphone like a grudge E grips the record so the need won’t budge
@@seanstevenson8861 I think it goes "E holds the record so the needle won't budge"
THIS MAN WAS 20 YEARS OLD RAPPING AND FLOWING LIKE THIS. WOW. NOW WE GOT LIL UZI, 21 SAVAGE, AND KODAK BLACK SMH.
They not that bad, but Megan thee stallion, lil pump, smokepurp etc. are horse shit
This shit was fire then and now there is no beat that can fuck with this now I remember when it first came out
***** Yes your probably too young but back in the late 80s early90s Rakim and big daddy Kane was the shit
MrMetatron7777 Okay lol
+Tifrock Levi I bought this on cassette tape after seeing it on MTV. Both Eric & Rakim are all-timers.
So true, nothing now comes close!
Tifrock Levi Only Beats Fuckin With Em Is His Own I Like Let the Rhythm Hit Em As Much As This
Heard this for the first time on the radio yesterday. Immediately blown away by the flow and the beats, and even more so that this came out in '88! What Eric B and Rakim did 35 years ago not only stood the test of time, but still surpasses most records released decades after.
Wow!! That song is kinda the tip of the iceberg of songs you haven't heard if you're just hearing this. Hip hop in their era is much more hip hop than today. Much more substance in it then, vs now
There's KRS-1, Beastie Boys, De La Soul, Tribe Called Quest, Jungle Brothers, Leaders of the New School.....
Imagine being there when it was released. I didn't fully comprehend everything he was saying back then especially, my 3rd eye will make you shine like jewlery, but I knew I was serious
I GET TEARY EYES EVERYTIME I HEAR THIS.RAKIM ALLAH! 😭🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥❗
FACTS 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥ME TO!!!!
Better than Eminem
Lol smfh
+LawndaleLion Totally agree
+LawndaleLion a lyrical Genius
+LawndaleLion we agree on that my brother
not
Simply put, Rakim is the Greatest Rapper in the History of Hip Hop.
My third eye makes me shine like jewelry☺ The Great Rakim❤❤❤
This dude said, "Let's travel at *evanescent* speeds around the universe" not "Let's travel at magnificent speeds around the universe".
Most people don't even know that word. Look it up! Rakim is the god MC!
Rakim's style was LITERALLY DECADES ahead of it's time....
FACTS IF I NEVER HEARD IT.!!!
Yeah his mind was just wired different
Facts!!!! Thee father of Nas! Tell me I'm wrong!!!
Nobody seems to get this right. He said, "Let's travel at *evanescent* speeds around the universe" not "Let's travel at magnificent speeds around the universe".
Most people don't even know that word. Look it up! Rakim is the god MC!