Eric B. and Rakim

Eric B. & Rakim
Publicity still of Eric B. (left) and Rakim (right)
Background information
Origin	New York, New York, United States
Genres	Hip hop
Years active	1986–1993, 2016-present
Labels	4th & B'way, Uni, MCA
Associated acts	Marley Marl, Jody Watley, Large Professor
Website	www.ericbnrakim.com
Members	Eric B. Rakim

Eric B. & Rakim are a hip hop duo from Long Island, New York, composed of Eric B. (born Eric Barrier) and MC Rakim (born William Michael Griffin Jr.). AllMusic wrote that "during rap's so-called golden age in the late '80s, Eric B. & Rakim were almost universally recognized as the premier DJ/MC team in all of hip-hop."Tom Terrell of NPR called them "the most influential DJ/MC combo in contemporary pop music period," while the editors of About.com ranked them as No. 5 on their list of the 10 Greatest Hip-Hop Duos of All-Time.

Eric Barrier was born and raised in the Elmhurst section of Queens, New York. 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, a Long Island MC. Toney took Eric B. to Foxxx's home, but Foxxx was not there, so Toney suggested another option: William Griffin, a.k.a. Rakim.

Griffin had begun writing rhymes as a teenager in Wyandanch and had taken the name "Rakim" as a result of his conversion to The Nation of Gods and Earths. Eric B. borrowed records from Rakim's brother, Stevie Blass Griffin (who worked at a plant pressing bootleg albums) 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."