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[Smiles and Cries]

I used to love them during my early teens... but damn it is better just to hear it today

just downloaded the "Paid in Full" (Extended) album from iTunes.
release April 26, 2005 - (from the original 1986 joint)

It's like rediscovering one of the founders of Hip-Hop

Rakim is just badass :BOWS DOWN:

so many people borrowed from this album, I'm amazed




Eric B is President

I came in the door, i said it before
I never let the mic magnatize me no more
But it's biting me, fighting me, inviting me to rhyme (I love this shit)
I can't hold it back, I'm looking for the line,
Taking off my coat, clearing my throat
My rhyme will be kicking it until I hit my last note
My mind'll range to find all kinds of ideas
Self-esteem makes it seem like a thought took years to build
But still say a rhyme after the next one
Prepared, never scared, I'll just bless one
And you know that I'm the soloist
So Eric B, make 'em clap to this

I don't bug out or chill or be acting ill
No tricks in '86, it's time to build
Eric B easy on the cut, no mistakes allowed
Cuz to me, MC means move the crowd
I made it easy to dance to this
But can you detect what's coming next from the flex of the wrist
Saying indeed that I precede cuz my man made a mix
If he bleed he won't need no band-aid to fix
If they can get some around until there's no rhymes left

I hurry up because the cut will make 'em bleed to death
But he's kicking it because it ain't no half stepping
The party is live, the rhyme can't be kept in-
Side, it needs erupting just like a volcano
It ain't the everyday style of the same old rhyme
Because I'm better then the rest of them
Eric B is on the cut and my name is Rakim

Go get a girl and get soft and warm,
Don't get excited, you've been invited to a quiet storm
But now it's out of hand cuz you told me you hate me
And then you ask what have I done lately
First you said all you want is love and affection
Let me be your angel and I'll be your protection
Take you out, buy you all kinds of things
I must of got you too hot and burned off your wings
You caught an attitude, you need food to eat up
I'm scheming like I'm dreaming on a couch wit my feet up
You scream I'm lazy, you must be crazy
Thought I was a donut, you tried to glaze me

Funky...

 

[Smiles and Cries]

As The Rhyme Goes On Lyrics

Knowledge will begin until I finish this song
'Cuz the rhyme gets rougher as the rhyme goes on
You sweat as you step about to get hype
Or should you just listen to the man on the mic
You're physically in this with me but how could you tell
If it's meant to be hip hop if you're not mentally as well
Ready to absorb the rhyme that I just poured
Into the mic and so unite and this won't be so bored
If you just keep kickin' listen - to the mix
And think you'll sink into the rhyme like quicksand
Holds and controls you 'til I leave
You fall deeper in the style - it's hard to breathe
The only time I stop is when somebody drop and then
Bring 'em to the front 'cuz my rhymes' the oxygen
Then wave your hands - when you're ready I'll send you
Into your favorite dance so let the rhyme continue
And so on and I'ma go on simultaneously
And even if I stop - the rhyme remains to be
Rising to the top - and I came to drop it
Catch it and quiz it - is my topic
Universual 'cuz I move everybody to come
By exercising your mind you'll coincide as one
You look around and see how packed the party starts to get
I draw a crowd - like an architect
The five borroughs react and all the islands attract
And every state can't wait - so they attack
off a spot on the floor - squeeze in cuz it's packed
It'll be more room if MC's play the back
I'm the R the A to the K-I-M
If I wasn't, then why would I say I am (where have I heard this? )
The microphone fiend if I was a fake
Whoever said it's just buggin' off the rhymes I make
I had you biting your tongue for what I brung and recite
Sung it on stage some said it don't sound like
The voice on the record - I see what you mean
Because the system was wack, so I had to scream
So just - give me a mic if it's loud I'll blow it
If not - into the crowd I'll throw it
Pull out my cordless mic and entertain you well
Before I let go I'ma spark your brain cells
I took time to write - tonight I will recite
So poetically inclined when the mic is held tight
Rhymes start flowin' kisses are blowin
MC's are knowin' that's why they're goin
Home to tell a friend when the party ends
"Yo, man you know Rakim? That brother struck again"
Cuz mic by mic and stage by stage,
Tape by tape and page by page,
When the crowd is moving I compete with the mix
The rougher the cuts - the rougher the rhyme gets
Deeper and Deeper - I hope you understand it
I made it up myself and I planned it
For other MC's who waste time
Writing jokes, riddles, and maybe a rhyme
I cross my arms and I was waiting - but I was hating
The rappers on the microphone was fronting - just faking
They wasn't breakin', which means I was achin'
To get up on the microphone and then start takin'
Control of the mic - uptight when I grabbed it
So hug the speaker- your ear's a magnet
Attracted to a freestyle put in effect
You listen to my man while you're sippin' Moet
So Eric, pick up the needle (yeah) put it in the middle (ahhight)
Give me a scratch, turn my Mic up a little,
I want you to hear this perfectly clear
Catch what I'm sayin'? You get the idea?
I hope you knowledge the beginning cuz I'm finished this song
The rhyme gets rougher as the rhyme flows on...

 

[DarienA]

Yeah Eric B and Rakim were my shit back in the day... I remember I had a mix tape with Eric B for President on it before anybody in my neighborhood... so at our local football game all the kids are bumping a mix tape with old stuff.. and I tried to get them to put in my new tape... no dice... losers....oh wait... maybe I was the loser cause they wouldn't play my tape... oh no... this realization is too much for me to take...

 

[Smiles and Cries]

Now Downloading

"Follow the Leader" (Extended) 14 tracks with my favorite Rakim joint "Microphone Fiend"



its been awhile since I downloaded old school stuff

 

[FortNinety]

More evidence of how weaksauce rap is these days...

 

[Smiles and Cries]

More evidence of how weaksauce rap is these days...

In what context do you say this?

Eminem using lines from 1986 Rakim songs?

I would agree rap today is not as fun as it was back in the 80's

 

[bob_arctor]

Rakim's still the greatest. So far ahead of his time.

 

[EdLuva]

The beginning line in "I Got Soul" was used in Aaliyah's song "Try Again".

My 2 favorite Eric B./Rakim songs are "My Melody" and "I Got Soul". Old school Eric B./Rakim is still tight today.

 

[brooklyngooner]

Rakim is IMO the GOAT. When people start in with people like Tupac and Biggie and Jay-Z, I laugh.

 

[Justin Bailey]

I Ain't No Joke

I ain't no joke, I use to let the mic smoke
Now I slam it when I'm done and make sure it's broke
When i'm gone I wrote this song cuz I won't let
Nobody press up and mess up to seen I set
I like to stand in a crowd and watch the people wonder damn
Bu think about it then you'll understand
I'm just an addict addicted to music
Maybe it's a habit, I gotta use it
Even if it's jazz or the quiet storm
I hook a beat up convert it in a hip-hop form
Write a rhyme in graffitti in every show you see me in
Deep concentration cuz I'm no comedian
Jokers are wild if you wanna be tame
I treat you like a child then you're gonna be named
Another enemy, not even a friend of me
Cuz you'll get fried in the end if you pretend to be
?Can be? cuz I just put your mind on pause
And I can beat you when you compare my rhyme wit yours
I wake you up and as I stare in your face you seem stun
Remember me, the one you got your idea from
But soon you start to suffer but you only get rougher
When you start to stutter that's when you had enuff of
Biting it, I make you choke, you can't provoke
You can't cope, you should of broke cuz I ain't no joke

I got a question, it's serious as cancer
Who can keep the average dancer
Hyper as a heart attack nobody smiling
Cuz you're expressing the rhyme that I'm styling
This is what we all sit down to write
You can't make it so you take it home, break it and bite
Use pieces and bits of all the hip-hop hits
Get the style down pack then it's time to ?swit?
Put my tape on pause and add some more to yours
Then you figure you're ready for the neighborhood chores
The E-M-C-E-E don't even try to be

When you come up to speak, don't even lie to me
You like to exaggerate, dream and imaginate
Then change the rhyme around, that can aggravate me
So when you see me come up, freeze
Or you'll be one of those 7 MC's
They think that I'm a new jack but only if they knew that
They who think wrong are they who can't do that
Style that I'm doing, they might ruin
Patterns of paragraphs based on you and
Your offbeat DJ, if anything he play
Sound familiar, I'll wait til E say
Play 'em, so I'ma have to dis and broke
You could get a smack for this, I ain't no joke

I hold the microphone like a grudge
B'll hold the record so the needle don't budge
I hold a conversation cuz when I invent
I nominated my DJ the presdient
When I'm see I'll, people freestyle, going steadily
So pucker up and whistle my melody
But whatever you do, don't miss one
They'll be another rough rhyme after this one
Before you know it, you're following and fiending
Waiting for the punchline to get the meaning
Like before the middle of my story I'm telling
Nobody beats the R so stop yelling
Save it, put it in your pocket for later
Cuz I'm moving the crowd and be a record fader
No interruptions and the mic is broke
When I'm gone, then you can joke
Cuz everything is real on a serious tip
Keep playing and I varies quick
And take you for a walk through hell
Feed your dome then watch your eyeballs swell
Guide you out of triple stage darkness
When it get dark again then I'ma spark this
Microphone cuz the heat is on, you see smoke
And I'm finish when the beat is gone, I'm no joke

^I never get tired of listening to this song

 

[brooklyngooner]

Mahogany:

Verse One:

Me and Eric B was coolin' at the Paladium
Seen a all-world covered girl, I said 'Hey lady I'm
Sorry if You're in a rush - Don't let me hold ya up
Or interveen or interrupt, but. . .
You got the look - I wanna get to know ya better
I had to let her know - but yo, I didn't sweat her
'Cause if you woulda seen what I was seein'
Almost looked Korean, but European.
When she spoke, her accent was self-explanatory -
Even her body language told the story
Her name was Mahogony - twin's name was Ebony
I said 'My name is Ra - and this is Eric B'
Since the music was loud, I said 'let's take a walk,
So we could talk and see New York.
Show time doesn't start until one o'clock
And once I entered your mind I wouldn't wanna stop
Caressin' ya thoughts till we was thinkin' the same
Calm ya nerves, massage ya brain
Each mic is a mineral, poetry's protein
Verse is a vitamin - Affects like Codine
So tell me how you feel and I'll reveal
A pill that'll heal ya pain - 'cause I'm real
She musta OD'd 'cause she couldn't resist
She spoke slowly when she told me this, she said

Chorus:

Over Me, She's goin' crazy
She'll rub me on my chest and call me Mr. Sexy
She said she'd have my kids and help me make my next G
Tell me I ain't finesse Mahogony . . .


Verse Two:

So I prescribed her, something to revive
And surprise her, she's liver and much more wiser
Than the light I shine when my brain cells spark,
Come to me so we can glow in the dark
And soon, you can represent the moon
As long as I keep ya in tune
I'll tell ya who ya are and why ya here
Take it in stride 'cause it might take a year

It's funny - how time flies when ya havin' fun
We got close and it was almost one
She kissed me slow, but you know how far a kiss can go
F*ck around and miss the show
So I told her to hold that thought real tight
We can finish where we left off later on tonite
Back to the scene of the crime on time
As they introduced the 'Fiend of the Rhyme'
She stood with a birds-eye view of me
Thinkin' of later on of what she would do to me
The back of the room I could see her eyes gloom
Patient, but hopin' that the show was over soon
As the place was ripped in half, she made her way to the front
row
So I said 'let's go'
I packed my mic as they screamed for an encore
The speakers were blown, plus my mic was sore
Besides I got places to go, ladies to see
And she could tell me how crazy she was over me
We drove off - she said she liked the way that I performed
And couldn't wait to get 'soft and warm', I said,
'I've been watchin' you, watchin' me
Looks I received made it hard to MC
I can take a hint, so I knew that she
Wanted my 'Agony Agony Ag-on-y' in her bod-y
Showed her some sights, then I took her to the Condo
She was pipin' hot, but I kept my calm So
She asked how come I don't smile
I said, 'Everything's fine, but I'm in a New York state of
mind!'
As we reached the kingdom, she said bring some
Champagne, she'll entertain then sing some
Sentimental, songs real gentle,
It hit the spot and you know where it went to
As we embraced I felt her heart pumpin'
I knew she was in the mood for somethin'
So I laid on my back and relaxed
It wasn't the Perignon that made her collaspe
Over me

 

[Smiles and Cries]

Song: Microphone Fiend

I was a fiend before I became a teen
I melted microphone instead of cones of ice cream
Music orientated so when hip-hop was originated
Fitted like pieces of puzzles, complicated
'Cause I grabbed the mic and try to say, " Yes y'all!"
They tried to take it, and say that I'm too small
Cool, 'Cause I don't get upset
I kick a hole in the speaker, pull the plug, then I jet
Back to the lab ...without a mic to grab
So then I add all the rhymes I had
One after the other one, then I make another one
To dis the opposite then ask if the brother's done
I get a craving like I fiend for nicotine
But I don't need a cigarette, know what I mean?
I'm raging, ripping up the stage and
Don't it sound amazing 'cause every rhyme is made and
Thought of, Cuz it's sort of...an addiction,
Magnatized by the mixing
Vocals, vocabulary, your verses, you're stuck in
The mic is a drano, volcanoes erupting,
Rhymes overflowing, gradually growing
Everything is written in the cold, so it can coin-
cide, my thoughts to guide,
48 tracks to slide
The invincible, microphone fiend Rakim
Spread the word, 'cause I'm in
E-F-F-E-C-T
A smooth operator operating correctly,
But back to the problem, I gotta habit,
You can't solve it, silly rabbit
The prescription is a hypertone that's thorough when
I fiend for a microphone like herion
Soon as the bass kicks, I need a fix
Gimme a stage and a mic and a mix
And I'll put you in a mood or is it a state of
unawareness? Beware, it's the reanamator!
A menace to a microphone, a lethal weapon
An assasinator, if the people ain't stepping
You see a part of me that you never seen
When I'm fiending for a microphone, I'm the microphone fiend...

(Verse 2
After 12, I'm worse that a Gremlin
Feed me Hip-hop and I start trembling
The thrill of suspense is intense, your horrified
But this ain't the cinemas of "Tales From the Darkside",
By any means neccesary, this is what has to be done
Make way 'cause here I come....
My DJ cuts material....
Grand imperial.
It's a must that I bust any mic you're hand to me,
It's inherited, it's runs in the family
I wrote the rhyme that broke the bull's back,
If that don't slow 'em up, I carry a full pack.
Now I don't want to have to let off, you should of kept off
You didn't keep the stage warm, step off!
Ladies and Gentleman, You're about to see
A pasttime hobby about to be
Take it to the maximum, I can't relax see, I'm
Hype as a hyperchrondriac 'cause the rap be one-
Hell of a antidote, something you can't smoke
More than dope, you're trying to move away but you can't, you're broke
More than cracked up, you should have backed up
For those who act up need to be more than smacked up
Any entertainer, I got a torture chamber
One on one and I'm the remainder!
So close your eyes and hold your breath,
And I'm a hit'cha wit the blow of death
Before you go, you'll remember you seen
The fiend of a microphone, I'm the microphone fiend

The microphone fiend...

 

[bob_arctor]

Rakim is IMO the GOAT. When people start in with people like Tupac and Biggie and Jay-Z, I laugh.

Oh, there's no question. People that never bring up his name in "GOAT" arguments shouldn't even be arguing in the 1st place.

 

[DarienA]

Thank god for the classic rap channel on XM... they've been playin the hell outta Microphone Fiend, Lyrics of Fury and Don't Sweat the Technique lately....

 

[Loki]

Don't Sweat the Technique

I love that damn song.