Artist: Eric B. & Rakim
Best Album: Paid In Full
Best Song: Let the Rhythm Hit ‘Em

Why I’m Writing About This Artist: I’ve said before that the easiest way to see how influential a rap artist is is to check and see how often their lyrics are quoted or sampled by future artists.  By that standard Eric B. & Rakim are the most influential rap duo of all time.  Virtually every single line of Paid in Full has been turned into a hook or repurposed by someone.  Rakim is one of the greatest lyricists in the history of rap, period.  This was another “No way to leave them out” group.  Go ahead, give the couple of videos here a listen and see how much of it sounds familiar already.  It won’t be hard.

Have a video!:

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