Follow the Leader (Eric B. & Rakim album)
| Follow the Leader | ||||
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| Studio album by Eric B. & Rakim | ||||
| Released | July 25, 1988 | |||
| Recorded | 1987–1988 Power Play Studios (New York City) |
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| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 48:27 | |||
| Label | Uni/MCA Records UNID-3 |
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| Producer | Eric B. & Rakim | |||
| Eric B. & Rakim chronology | ||||
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Follow the Leader is the second studio album by American hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, released July 25, 1988 on MCA-subsidiary label Uni Records. It is the follow-up to their debut album Paid in Full (1987). The album was recorded at Power Play Studios in New York City and produced, arranged, and composed by the duo, with additional contributions from Eric B.'s brother Stevie Blass Griffin.
While its singles attained moderate success, the album performed better on music charts than Eric B. & Rakim's debut album and reached number 22 on the U.S. Billboard Pop Albums chart. It has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments in excess of 500,000 copies in the United States. Released during the hip hop's "golden age", Follow the Leader was well-received by critics and has since been recognized by music writers as one of the most groundbreaking, influential and greatest hip hop albums of all time.
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[edit] Background
Following the breakthrough success of their debut album Paid in Full (1987), Eric B. & Rakim left 4th & B'way Records and signed with Uni Records, a subsidiary label of major label MCA Records.[1] Recording sessions for the album took place during 1987 to 1988 at Power Play Studios in New York City.[2] The duo produced, composed, and arranged the album with additional contributions from Eric B.'s brother Stevie Blass Griffin, who contributed with various instruments.[2] Eric B. & Rakim worked with audio engineers Carlton Batts and Patrick Adams on the album.[3]
[edit] Reception
[edit] Commercial performance
The album peaked at number 22 on the U.S. Billboard Top Pop Albums and at number seven on Billboard's Top Black Albums chart.[4] It achieved higher charting than Eric B. & Rakim's debut album and serves as their best-charting album in the United States.[5] The album produced four singles, "Follow the Leader", "Microphone Fiend", "The R", and "Lyrics of Fury". "Follow the Leader" peaked at number 16 on the Hot Black Singles, at number 11 on the Hot Dance/Disco, and at number five on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart.[6] "The R" reached number 79 on the Hot Black Singles, number 28 on the Hot Dance/Disco, number 41 on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales, and number 14 on the Hot Rap Singles chart.[6] On September 27, 1988, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments in excess of 500,000 copies in the United States.[7]
[edit] Critical response
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |  [8] |
| Robert Christgau | A−[9] |
| Los Angeles Times |  [10] |
| The New York Times | (favorable)[11] |
| Pitchfork Media | (8.5/10)[12] |
| Rolling Stone |  1988[13] |
| Rolling Stone | 2004[14] |
| Spin | (9/10)[15] |
| Trouser Press | (favorable)[16] |
| Vibe | (favorable)[17] |
Upon its release, Follow the Leader received positive reviews from most music critics. Los Angeles Times writer Jonathan Gold gave it 3½ out of 4 stars and viewed it as "far more consistent" than the duo's Paid in Full, calling Eric B. "a master of chill, understated beats" and complimenting Rakim for weaving "a laid-back web of words, his whiskey-smooth tenor less noisy but more intense than the machine-gun mutterings you hear booming from beat boxes, his keen rhymes all the more devastating for being near-whispered where lesser rappers would shout".[10] In his consumer guide for The Village Voice, critic Robert Christgau gave Follow the Leader an A- rating,[9] indicating "a very good record. If one of its sides doesn't provide intense and consistent satisfaction, then both include several cuts that do".[18] Christgau found the duo's sampling as an improvement from their previous work's "Brownian motion" and complimented Rakim's "ever-increasing words-per-minute ratio—the man loves language like a young Bob D".[9] Peter Watrous of The New York Times commended Eric B.'s mixes and described him as "a minimalist virtuoso".[11] Watrous called Rakim "one of the most distinctive rappers in the business" and elaborated on his lyricism, stating:
His voice soars as gracefully as a well-thrown football; it'll change direction on the spot. He will vary rhythms, pushing and pulling against the beat to highlight his lyrics. Insistent, cool and dedicated, his rapping has an urgency that makes the music much more than pop; it sounds like a musical version of a political, social vision.[11]—Peter Watrous
In a retrospective review, Allmusic writer Steve Huey gave the album 5 out of 5 stars and viewed it as an improvement over Paid in Full, commending Rakim's "agile, up-tempo lyrical showcases".[8] In a dual review of both Paid in Full and Follow the Leader's reissues, Pitchfork Media's Jess Harvell expressed that the high points of the latter album "are as high as any rap group has gotten" and wrote that both albums' music serve as "a reminder of a brief period where people thought they could become a millionaire on skills alone, where the reality of that was so far away that no one had to think about what being a millionaire would mean to the culture that nurtured those skills".[12] In 1998, Follow the Leader was selected as one of The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums, and in 2005, it was ranked number 12 on comedian Chris Rock's list of the "Top 25 Hip-Hop Albums".[19] The track "Lyrics of Fury" was ranked number five on About.com's list of "Top 100 Rap Songs".[20]
[edit] Track listing
| # | Title | Samples | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Follow the Leader" |
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5:36 |
| 2 | "Microphone Fiend" |
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5:17 |
| 3 | "Lyrics of Fury" |
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4:15 |
| 4 | "Eric B. Never Scared" |
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5:21 |
| 5 | "Just a Beat" |
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2:07 |
| 6 | "Put Your Hands Together" |
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5:15 |
| 7 | "To the Listeners" |
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4:32 |
| 8 | "No Competition" |
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3:52 |
| 9 | "The R" |
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3:55 |
| 10 | "Musical Massacre" |
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4:29 |
| 11 | "Beats for the Listeners" |
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4:08 |
[edit] Personnel
Credits for Follow the Leader adapted from Allmusic.[3]
- Patrick Adams – engineer
- Carlton Batts – engineer
- Eric B. & Rakim – vocals, producer
- Eric B. – performer
- Stevie Blass Griffin – composer, performer
- Rakim – arranger, producer
[edit] Chart history
| Charts (1988) | Peak position[4] |
|---|---|
| U.S. Top Pop Albums | 22 |
| U.S. Top Black Albums | 7 |
[edit] Reissue
- Remastered Expanded Edition (Geffen/Interscope/Universal 988 042) (2005, 1 CD)
[edit] Notes
- ^ Huey, Steve. Biography: Eric B. & Rakim. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-09-06.
- ^ a b Product Page: Follow the Leader. Muze. Retrieved on 2010-09-06.
- ^ a b Credits: Follow the Leader. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-09-06.
- ^ a b Charts & Awards - Billboard Albums: Follow the Leader. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-09-06.
- ^ Charts & Awards - Billboard Albums: Eric B. & Rakim. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-09-06.
- ^ a b Charts & Awards - Billboard Singles: Follow the Leader. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-09-06.
- ^ Gold & Platinum - Searchable Database: Eric B. & Rakim. Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved on 2010-09-06.
- ^ a b Huey, Steve. Review: Follow the Leader. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2009-10-19.
- ^ a b c Christgau, Robert (September 27, 1988). "Consumer Guide: Follow the Leader". The Village Voice: Archived from the original on 2009-10-19.
- ^ a b Gold, Jonathan (August 28, 1988). Review: Follow the Leader. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2009-10-19.
- ^ a b c Watrous, Peter (September 9, 1988). Review: Follow the Leader. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2009-10-19.
- ^ a b Harvell, Jess. Review: Follow the Leader. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2009-10-19.
- ^ Coleman, Mark. Review: Follow the Leader. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2011-10-27.
- ^ Hoard, Christian. "Review: Follow the Leader". Rolling Stone: 281. November 2, 2004.
- ^ Marks, Craig. "Review: Follow the Leader". Spin: October 10, 1995.
- ^ Gehr, Richard. Review: Follow the Leader. Trouser Press. Retrieved on 2009-10-19.
- ^ Tate, Greg. "Review: Follow the Leader". Vibe: 93. August 2008.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. Consumer Guide: Grades 1969-89. Robert Christgau. Retrieved on 2010-09-06.
- ^ Chris Rock's Top 25 Hip Hop Albums. Rate Your Music. Accessed August 9, 2008.
- ^ Adaso, Henry. Top 100 Rap Songs. About.com. Accessed August 9, 2008.
[edit] References
- Nathan Brackett, Christian Hoard (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Completely Revised and Updated 4th Edition. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- Weisbard, Eric; Craig Marks (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
[edit] External links
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