25 Best Rakim Songs

These signature cuts ain't no joke.

“Eric B. Is President” - Rakim's debut single is considered one of the first hip hop songs to use a sampler. This funky replay of Fonda Rae's "Over Like a Fat Rat" and James Brown's "Funky President" introduces Ra's unorthodox yet infectious flow and love of the mic. "It's biting me, fighting me, inviting me to rhyme." (Photo: Zakia Records)
"My Melody" - With its towering mid-tempo kick (unheard of in hip hop music at the time) and Spaghetti Western-esque keyboards, this cut deftly displays Rakim's god-like voice, his lethal play on rhyme meter and his ability to kill sucka MCs in three sets of seven.  (Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
"I Ain't No Joke" - Over Eric B.'s scratch of the J.B.'s "Pass the Peas," Ra boldly establishes his no-nonsense demeanor. The song's video is prophetic, introducing the hip hop nation to Public Enemy's Flavor Flav before P.E. blows up.  (Photo: Island Def Jam Records)
"I Know You Got Soul" - Sampling Bobby Byrd's 1971 original (of the same name), this cut bridges the gap between the soulfulness of hip hop and the Black pride-powered sound of late '60s/early '70s soul music. (Photo: Wikicommons)"Paid in Full" - The title track from Eric B. & Rakim's debut LP, "Paid in Full" is quasi-confessional of Ra's love of MCing and his 5 Percenter beliefs over his former life as a stick-up kid. The song also changes hip hop's word for "good-bye" to "peace."  (Photo: Island Def Jam Records)

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"My Melody" - With its towering mid-tempo kick (unheard of in hip hop music at the time) and Spaghetti Western-esque keyboards, this cut deftly displays Rakim's god-like voice, his lethal play on rhyme meter and his ability to kill sucka MCs in three sets of seven.  (Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

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