Eric B.&Rakim - Chinese Arithmetic


According to Steve Huey of Allmusic, "It is one of the most influential hip-hop albums of all time".[3] According to Vibe magazine: "[When Rakim] took to the mike in 1987, and served up Paid in Full with DJ Eric B., he set hip hop's new course. [Rakim was] a street-wise mystic with eminently clear and dexterous rhymes that sounded like they might never end." Furthermore, Eric B.'s innovative distillation of a James Brown sample in "I Know You Got Soul" introduced the godfather period that featured the extensive sampling of R&B and soul music as instrumentals for hip hop songs. "Eric B. Is President", the first single off the album, was somewhat revolutionary at the time of its release in that it showcased a different style of emceeing that would soon be adapted by numerous MCs of the past and present.While not a genre-creator in its own right, the album introduced new conventions that redefined hip hop music while the genre was still in its infancy. The album was ranked #19 in Rolling Stone's "50 Coolest Records", was included in Vibe magazine's "100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century", andwas ranked as the greatest hip hop album of all time by MTV.[4] In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source magazine's "100 Best Rap Albums". In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked the album at number 227 in "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".[5]

Steve Huey of Allmusic said that "Rakim basicallyinvents modern lyrical technique over the course of Paid in Full with his complex internal rhymes, literate imagery, velvet-smooth flow, and unpredictable, off-the-beat rhythms."[3] Before Paid in Full, most hip hop records consisted of stereotypical plain beats with little or no focus on the lyrics, since most were to assist beats meant for clubs. In 1987, many albums were released that were vital for the revolution that hip-hop faced and continued with through until around the end of the decade. Rakim and Eric B. are possibly at the top of the list for the most important and fundamental artists to garner this change, and rightly so because of the impeccable and nearly flawless content and quality of the album. The many directions that circa 1987 hip-hop had taken include the association of gangsta rap into mainstream music, change in the beats used by emcees in sampling or inclusion of more jazzy and even reggae beats in the record, more focus on the lyrical ability and skills possessed by the MC that distinguished him from others, the socio-political commentary incorporated in many records, and other messages coated within the song, among others. Rakim could incorporate most ofthese into just one album, and was very effective in carrying it out in a skillful manner leaving many listeners in awe. Even today, Rakim is referenced by countless other emcees and critics as being the driving force behind the turning point in hip-hop music, constantly associating him with the leader of the old school.

In the September 6, 2007, issue of Rolling Stone, emcee Common answers the question, "When did you realize music was important to you?" by saying, "When Paid in Full came out. You could tell it was street music: It had knowledge, it had consciousness, it was hard, it was soulful."

In 2003, Eric B. alleged the duo had not been fully paid for their work, and launched a lawsuit against its immediate current parent Island Def Jam Music Group, Lyor Cohen, and Russell Simmons.[6]

The track features a sampled voice (saying "This is a journey into sound") taken from a 1958 Decca Records LP A Journey Into Stereo Sound (released to demonstrate stereo LP technology). [7] This sample has in turn been sampled by a number of other acts, including Public Enemy's "Welcome to the Terrordome" and M|A|R|R|S' "Pump Up the Volume".







Channel: Music
Uploaded: August 28, 2008 at 8:37 pm
Author: JonGersdorf

Length: 00:04:12
Rating: 5.00
Views: 709

Tags: paid eric full hop rakim in hip hiphop

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claudearchibald (September 12, 2008 at 7:03 am)
I love this track! He's scratching water! Scratching doesn't get better than this!

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