LET THE RHYTHM HIT 'EM TURNS 29
JayQuan 6/19/2019
Today (6/19/19) marks 29 years since the release of Eric
B & Rakim's 3rd studio album Let
The Rhythm Hit ‘Em. 1990 was a pivotal year for rap music with many of the
groups from the so called “Golden Era” releasing their 2nd and 3rd
full length albums. Many of those groups encountered missteps within those
first 3 releases and fell victim to what was then known as the 3 album curse,
where most rap artists of the time found it difficult, if not impossible to
stay consistent outside of that trilogy of releases.
If Paid In Full was the follow up to the highly acclaimed Eric B Is President/My Melody 12 “ single
and Follow The Leader was further
confirmation of Rakim’s brilliance and Eric B’s dexterity, then LTRH was the culmination of the best of
their works within a short 4 year period. Where Paid In Full was almost entirely sample based and Follow The Leader relied heavily on live
interpolations of classic break beats and songs, LTRH was a sonic return to the magic that drew us to Paid In Full. With production credited
to Eric B & Rakim (talks of Paul C & Large Professor contributions
have existed since the albums release), LTRH is a roller coaster ride through
various tempos, flows and subjects.
The album’s title track was the first single released
from the lp and it’s medium tempo and action packed music video did not disappoint
eager listeners who had waited for 2 years to hear new music from the duo. Just
as D.J. Mark The 45 King blessed Follow
The Leader with the Microphone Fiend
remix, he blessed LTRH with the remix for the Let
The Rhythm Hit ‘Em single which contained a simple loop of We Got The Funk by The Positive Force. In The Ghetto and Mahogany were
stand outs as well with Rakim taking a small plunge into his first (but
definitely not last) display of social commentary on the previous, and his
first love song of sorts on the latter – both executed to perfection and viewed
by fans as high points in his discography. No
Omega and Untouchables were both
continuations of Rakim’s up-tempo output.
LTRH has aged extremely well and is a testament to the greatness of Eric B
& Rakim.