The Greatest 50 Hip-hop Albums Ever - #26...

[Twentytwofifty]

Eric B. & Rakim – Follow The Leader (1988) 


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 heroin
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 assassinator, 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...
 
      A microphone fiend indeed, on his second album the 20-year-old Rakim arguably steps up his skills behind the mic from his classic debut Paid In Full.  Having already revolutionized hip-hop, Eric B. & Rakim came up with a second straight classic in their sophomore album, Follow The Leader, which basically follows the same blueprint for greatness, albeit with subtle refinements. Most noticeably, their production had become a little more complex than Paid In Full. Follow The Leader finds him changing things up more often: dropping in more samples, adding instruments from musician Stevie Blass Griffin, and generally creating a fuller sound over his rock-solid beats. It's still relatively spare, but the extra sonic weight helps keep things fresh. He's at his best when he's boasting about his microphone prowess (and frankly, he's entitled), he employs uncommonly vivid and elaborate metaphors in doing so. A case in point is "Microphone Fiend," which weaves references to substance addiction throughout in explaining why Rakim can't keep away from the mic. The album-opening title cut is one of his most agile, up-tempo lyrical showcases, demonstrating why he's such a poetic inspiration for so many MCs even today. "Lyrics Of Fury" manages to top it in terms of sheer force, using the break from James Brown's "Funky Drummer" before it saturated the airwaves.  Rakim's lyrical assault continues throughout the albums with Eric B. getting behind the ones and twos to give you a break from Rakim overloading your head.  Albums like this don't come around too often with only one MC behind the mic for the whole LP and one producer(s) handing the production.  Hip-hop doesn't get much better than Eric B. & Rakim in their prime.


50. Dr. Dre – 2001 (1999)
49. Outkast – Southernplayalisticaddicmuzik (1994)
48. Jay-Z – Reasonable Doubt (1996)
47. Kool G Rap & DJ Polo – Wanted: Dead Or Alive (1990)
46. Redman – Whut? Thee Album (1992)
45. De La Soul - De La Soul Is Dead (1991)
44. Fugees – The Score (1996)
43. The D.O.C. – No One Can Do It Better (1989)
42. Common Sense - Resurrection (1994)
41. Makaveli - The Don Kiluminati: The 7 Day Theory (1996)
40. Public Enemy – Fear Of A Black Planet (1990)
39. Ice Cube – Death Certificate (1992)
38. Gza/Genius - Liquid Swords (1995)
37. N.W.A – Efil4zaggin (1991)
36. Main Source – Breaking Atoms (1991)
35. Geto Boys – Grip It! On That Other Level (1989)
34. Brand Nubian – One For All (1990)
33. Scarface – The Diary (1994)
32. Kool G Rap & DJ Polo – Road To The Riches (1989)
31. Beastie Boys – Licensed To Ill (1986)
30. Ultramagnetic MC's – Critical Beatdown (1988)
29. LL Cool J – Radio (1985)
28. 2Pac – All Eyez On Me (1996)
27. Mobb Deep – The Infamous… (1995)
26. Eric B. & Rakim – Follow The Leader (1988)

[davida.b.]

yep

[eS El Duque]

great album

[Elevz]

great album

Cosign w/ that.

Review doesn't really explain why this album is #26 while Paid In Full will be top5 without a doubt. I love both 

[Machiavelli]

Great album probably better then Paid In Full as in quality. The lyrics and production is alot better then their first album but it cant touch the "Greatness" of Paid in Full. Paid In full should be in the top 3.

[eS El Duque]

Great album probably better then Paid In Full as in quality. The lyrics and production is alot better then their first album but it cant touch the "Greatness" of Paid in Full. Paid In full should be in the top 3.

Im just curious how the top 5 will turn out 

[Larrabee]

25 down, 25 more to go. Really looking forward to seeing what albums are coming up, aside from the obvious ones.

[Minkaveli]

great album

[Machiavelli]

Great album probably better then Paid In Full as in quality. The lyrics and production is alot better then their first album but it cant touch the "Greatness" of Paid in Full. Paid In full should be in the top 3.

Im just curious how the top 5 will turn out 

My Guess...

1.Paid in Full
2.Illmatic
3.The Chronic
4.Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers
5.The Low End Theory

[Kill]

^^ possibly...this is astonishingly far from no. 1, i would´ve guessed it´s like no. 15 or something...anyways, great album

[Twentytwofifty]

Review doesn't really explain why this album is #26 while Paid In Full will be top5 without a doubt. I love both 

If you're thinking Paid In Full is top five and this album is twenty spots away and why I didn't explain why the difference.  It's because I'm not going to give any indication on what's further down the list and compare those albums yet.  Who knows?  Maybe Paid In Full didn't make it.

[big mat]

lol, funny, but i dont believe you, paid in full is a top 10 albums for everybody. 36 chambers will be somewhere too, the chronic, doggystyle, humm, only built for cuban linx, it takes a nation of million to hold us back, illmatic, ready to die, straight out of compton, eazy duz it ( not sure of this one), raising hell of run dmc, dmx should have been somewhere in the top 50 but it don't look like he will be. gangstarr should have a spot too

[Elevz]

Review doesn't really explain why this album is #26 while Paid In Full will be top5 without a doubt. I love both 

If you're thinking Paid In Full is top five and this album is twenty spots away and why I didn't explain why the difference.  It's because I'm not going to give any indication on what's further down the list and compare those albums yet.  Who knows?  Maybe Paid In Full didn't make it.

Uhhh... Paid in full will definately be in the top5, I'll put a whole load of money on that, but I get your point. Gotta say you're doing a good job so far though, it seems like you balanced the list out pretty well so far.