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AboutEric B. & Rakim were a hip-hop duo composed of DJ Eric Barrier (born November 8, 1965) and MC Rakim (born William Michael Griffin Jr.).
Hailing from Long Island, New York, the pair are generally considered by hip hop enthusiasts to be one of the most influential and innovative groups in the genre. During hip hop's "golden age" of the mid 1980s to the early 1990s, the duo was almost universally regarded as the premier MC/DJ combo in hip hop. The two had a potent chemistry; the duo's beats built on the hard-hitting sound of Run-D.M.C. by adding James Brown samples and Eric B's scratching, setting the stage for hip hop's late-1980s/early-1990s infatuation with samples from Brown.
Notable journalist Tom Terrell of NPR referred to the duo as "the most influential DJ/MC combo in contemporary pop music period," while the editors of About.com ranked them as #3 on their list of the 10 Greatest Hip-Hop Duos of All-Time. They were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.
Barrier was born and raised in the Elmhurst section of Queens, He played trumpet and drums throughout high school, and later switched to experimenting with turntables prior to graduation. The newly-dubbed "Eric B." soon began DJing for radio station WBLS in New York City, including WBLS' promotional events around the city. Barrier wound up meeting Alvin Toney, a promoter based in Queens. Eric B. had been looking for rappers and Toney recommended he use Freddie Foxxx, an aggressive Long Island MC with a reputation for battle raps. Toney took Eric B. to Foxxx's home, but Foxxx was not there. Immediately, Toney suggested another option: Eric B. recalled in 2008, "[Toney] was like 'I got another dude, he nice too--this dude got a smooth, laid-back style.' So [he] takes me to Rakim's house and we start talking."
Griffin, then about 17, also came from Long Island, had began writing rhymes as a teenager and had taken the name "Rakim" as a result of his conversion to The Nation of Gods and Earths (also known as the 5 Percent Nation). Eric B. borrowed records from Rakim's brother, Stevie Blass Griffin (who worked at a plant pressing bootleg LPs) and began cutting them in the basement for Rakim, who was down there drinking a beer and relaxing. Said Eric B., "I took Fonda Rae's "Over Like A Fat Rat" and said 'This is the bass line I'm going to use for this record.' Rakim spit the beer all over the wall and thought it was the funniest shit in the world. I told Rakim, just like you laughing now you going to be laughing all the way to the bank and be a millionaire one day because of this record."
Hailing from Long Island, New York, the pair are generally considered by hip hop enthusiasts to be one of the most influential and innovative groups in the genre. During hip hop's "golden age" of the mid 1980s to the early 1990s, the duo was almost universally regarded as the premier MC/DJ combo in hip hop. The two had a potent chemistry; the duo's beats built on the hard-hitting sound of Run-D.M.C. by adding James Brown samples and Eric B's scratching, setting the stage for hip hop's late-1980s/early-1990s infatuation with samples from Brown.
Notable journalist Tom Terrell of NPR referred to the duo as "the most influential DJ/MC combo in contemporary pop music period," while the editors of About.com ranked them as #3 on their list of the 10 Greatest Hip-Hop Duos of All-Time. They were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.
Barrier was born and raised in the Elmhurst section of Queens, He played trumpet and drums throughout high school, and later switched to experimenting with turntables prior to graduation. The newly-dubbed "Eric B." soon began DJing for radio station WBLS in New York City, including WBLS' promotional events around the city. Barrier wound up meeting Alvin Toney, a promoter based in Queens. Eric B. had been looking for rappers and Toney recommended he use Freddie Foxxx, an aggressive Long Island MC with a reputation for battle raps. Toney took Eric B. to Foxxx's home, but Foxxx was not there. Immediately, Toney suggested another option: Eric B. recalled in 2008, "[Toney] was like 'I got another dude, he nice too--this dude got a smooth, laid-back style.' So [he] takes me to Rakim's house and we start talking."
Griffin, then about 17, also came from Long Island, had began writing rhymes as a teenager and had taken the name "Rakim" as a result of his conversion to The Nation of Gods and Earths (also known as the 5 Percent Nation). Eric B. borrowed records from Rakim's brother, Stevie Blass Griffin (who worked at a plant pressing bootleg LPs) and began cutting them in the basement for Rakim, who was down there drinking a beer and relaxing. Said Eric B., "I took Fonda Rae's "Over Like A Fat Rat" and said 'This is the bass line I'm going to use for this record.' Rakim spit the beer all over the wall and thought it was the funniest shit in the world. I told Rakim, just like you laughing now you going to be laughing all the way to the bank and be a millionaire one day because of this record."
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