Back in the Day - Eric B and Rakim, Lauryn Hill and more.

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‘Paid in Full’ was one of the most exalted Hip Hop records in the 1980s. It introduced us to one of the greatest Emcees of all time, Rakim. Rakim’s hard yet laid back voice, mixed with his no nonsense lyrics got everyone’s attention and changed the game for rappers everywhere. Eric B’s production was something to be reckoned with as most of the tracks smacked the listener without warning with samples ranging from jazzy, funky to straight up hardcore sounds. Five singles came from ‘Paid in Full’. They were ‘Eric B. Is President’, ‘I Ain't No Joke’, ‘I Know You Got Soul’, ‘Move the Crowd’, and ‘Paid in Full’. The album went on to sell over a million records and on the Billboard 200 chart they hit the number 58 spot.

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After breaking up with the Hip Hop group 3rd Bass, MC Serch dropped his only solo record ‘Return of the Product’. While the critics responded well to this album it did not do well commercially. On the RnB chart it reached number 28 and on the Billboard 200 it reached number 103. The album released two singles, ‘Here it Comes’ and ‘Back to the Grill Again’. If my memory serves me correctly, the B-Side to 'Here it Comes' was ' Back to the Grill Again'. Kind of odd to put the second single on the back on the vinyl version of the first. But that's just my opinion. The best thing about this album maybe the appearance of Nas. Nas had practically disappeared since he had appeared on record for the first time on Main Source’s first album ‘Breaking Atoms’. Nas’ second appearance on wax happened just a couple of years before he rocked the Hip Hop world with his debut album ‘Illmatic’.

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All eyes were on Lauryn Hill when he entered the rap world with her old group The Fugees. Her talent made her stand out and her charisma was infectious. Enter ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’ and the world had the classic Lauryn Hill album they were craving for. The music charts had her debuting at the number one spot. Her first single ‘Doo Wop (That Thing) was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and it was also award a Grammy. Her second single ‘Ex-Factor’ when as far as number 7 on the RnB chart and her third single ‘Everything is Everything’ was nominated for a Grammy. The album included guests such as D’Angelo, Mary J. Blige, Carlos Santana and it was the first appearance of John Legend on record.

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Emcees Pusha T and Malice released they debut album ‘Lord Willin’ which was full of tales of being a hustler. Another thing that the album was full of was the number of talented guests that helped ‘Lord Willin’ being a gold selling album. Artists such as Faith Evans, Ab-Liva, Rosco P. Coldchain, Styles P, Jermaine Dupri, Jadakiss and Fabolous. The entire album was produced by The Neptunes. The album is most famous for its summer hit single ‘Grindin’, which scored at number 8 on the Rap chart and 30 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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That's crazy that a lot of classic albums were dropped on the 25th of August. Might have been more but that's for next time. Peace!