#30thAnniversary – Eric B. & Rakim “Don’t Sweat The Technique”

by Kramos of The CooksJune 24, 20222 min read

It’s pretty hard to find a Hip Hop act with a better discography than Eric B. & Rakim, with four flawless albums released between 1987 and 1992. “Don’t Sweat The Technique” is the last one of the batch, released on June 23 1992 by MCA records. Rakim, as sharp as ever, includes more storytelling and political content in his lyrics than on his previous effort, but still keeps a healthy dose of bragging about being the GOD emcee. On the beat side, it’s not clear who really produced those splendid jazzy and groovy tracks, but just by the way they sound, we could tell that the “Production Coordinators” like Large Professor had an important part in the creation process with Eric B. While the title track is an absolute classic, two of the most well known and celebrated cuts were already released before the LP. “What’s on Your Mind” appeared on the “House Party 2” soundtrack while “Know the Ledge” was included on the “Juice” movie compilation.

Sadly, the relation between both of them turned sour and they end up releasing really little music following this marvelous piece of work (three solo project between 1997 and 2009 from Rakim and one forgettable LP from Eric B. in 1995), but this is without a doubt a great way to close their impeccable run!