ERIC B & RAKIM Vinyl & CDs

Review: Mr Bongo are in the midst of a series of Eric B & Rakim reissues and next up on a limited 7" is 'I Ain't No Joke' backed with 'Eric B Is On The Cut.' The a-side was a first single from the legendary pair's debut studio album Paid In Full and was always one of its most monumental moments. Rakim's rhymes grab you from the off and don't let you go, with the man himself saying it took four days to get this one right. Samples of Dexter Wansel and The J.B's really make it pop. Going down a deeper path, with big DJ scratches, reversed stabs and an even more old school flavour, 'Eric B Is On The Cut' is another vital jam.

Review: There can be few hip-hop heads who don't know Eric B & Rakim's "I Know You Got Soul", a Bobby Byrd and Funkadelic-sampling beast from 1987 that remains one of rap's most recognizable moments. The rap from Rakim is iconic, but it's the Eric B beat behind - all loose-but-heavy, snare-heavy beats, recognizable guitar licks and chorus-style blasts of Bobby Byrd vocals- that makes the track such a club-ready hip-hop classic. Here it gets the reissue treatment on "45" courtesy of Mr Bongo, with the duo's brilliant vocal version being joined on the flip by the overlooked, delay-laden "Dub Mix". For those who covet alternate versions of classic cuts, this instrumental revision is a must.

Review: Mr Bongo's Eric B & Rakim reissue series continues via a fresh pressing of the hard-to-find U.S seven-inch single release of the NYC duo's second single, 1987 gem "I Ain't No Joke". Rakim's distinctive vocals naturally take centre stage on side A, albeit over a sparse-but-strong Eric B beat high on the kind of crunchy drums, headline-grabbing scratches and sampled horn motifs that marked out the duo's best collaborative work. As with the original American single, the B-side boasts "Eric B On The Cut", a quality cut-and-paste affair in the style of Grandmaster Flash's "On The Wheels Of Steel" that's little more than a highly impressive DJ routine.

Review: Since launching last year, Lil Static has offered up new, lightly altered editions of classic tracks from Jeru the Damaja, Kraftwerk, Run-DMC, Nas and the Notorious B.I.G. Here they continue to serve up vital beats for break-digging DJs via classic cuts from Eric B. & Rakim and Mountain. The A side sports an edited version of 1986 cut "Eric B. Is President", a synth-bass propelled NYC hip-hop gem rich in unmistakable rap vocals and tight scratching. Over on side B there's a chance to savour Mountain's late '60s rock cut that provided the Eric B. & Rakim track (and so many others since) with its distinctive drum break, "Long Red". This edited version gives more prominence to the breaks, making it an ideal mixing tool for hip-hop DJs.