This song single handedly ended many old school rappers careers and forced the remaining to up their game and up it quick. Before this it was all "now raise your hands in the air, and wave 'em like you just don't care." One rhyme per two sentences was no longer acceptable after this song.
Now it's half a rhyme every 15 sentences hahaha, 1986 completely revolutionised hip-hop with Rakim, Public Enemy, Juice Crew, Run DMC, Beastie Boys and Ice T just to name a few and of course Rakim was the best then and is still the best now.
I kinda exaggerated yes, 1986 EVOLUTIONISED hip-hop, revolutionaries are Spoonie Gee, Treacherous Three, Funky Four + 1, GMF and the Furious Five, Spyder D, Whodini, Run DMC and much more, peace!
This was 1986. The same year that Spyder D, Grandmaster Flash, and the Fat Boys were all still releasing old-school style tracks. This was like something from out of time, from outer space. It didn't change the game. It became the game. Rakim is the GOAT.
True indeed! Every single released after this in the former style just sounded dated! This single retired more MC's careers than social security! Real Talk!
JOHN Henry BDP and the Juice Crew, Just Ice and Run DMC where what I considered "Serious" hip hop back then! I liked cats like Houdini and the rest too, but at the time, I thought that groups like Run DMC were the future....(and they kind of where... they were, in my opinion, the early progenitors of what was to become "gangsta rap") then Rakim dropped and EVERYTHING changed!
The whole song is just visionary. First time i heard it I started memorizing it, and that wasn't difficult. It had a FLOW that was not at all like pop or any rap before it. Lots of 90s stuff like Digable Planets can trace their sound to this album.
For real! This single and subsequent album is the musical equivalent of the "missing link" between what we consider today to be "Old school" style rap and modern day hip hop skill and flow. It was THE game changer... no doubt!
@Sonny Higham:what made La Di Da Di unique was that,New York hip-hop fans heard new rap songs from:Mr.Magic/Kool DJ Red Alert/Chuck Chillout(WBLS/Kiss-fm),WNWK(underground hip-hop) or Video Music Box(Uncle Ralph McDaniel)....there were rumors of this song with just a beat box and English sounding rapper;it Literally spread through word of mouth/tape to tape;by the time everyone finally heard it,it was already out a few months
I remember the moment I first heard it. 86. Junior year at Brooklyn Tech in the lunchroom. After school jam. Lights dimmed, and then This joint came on and time slowed down to a crawl. A quantum event occurred. The world had changed.
@@iamking9077 Over Pac n Biggie? Yes. Easily. Don't get into a convo you can't keep up with. Ra, along with few others, 90s shit smoked anything Pac/Big out out. Dudes was just famous. The 18th letter alone smokes both artists catalogue.
When I first heard this back in '86 I was in NY, first time in my life in the US, 15 years old, I already loved hiphop, but this was shocking, it sounded like it came from another planet. Never heard ANYTHING like it, and kids with boomboxes were playing it everywhere. Like the Coltrane Quartet to jazz, it changed music forever
Well said, especially for a foreigner. I had the exact experience, with Coltrane too, and then two years later with House music and Larry Heard, who literally cemented the genre of House in 1986. Incredible year.
"Sounded like it came from another planet" Appropriate because Rakim is an Aquarius. If you know anything about astrology, Aquarius is the sign of innovation, technology, extra terrestrial inspiration.
Monumental moment in Hip Hop! The irony about this song is that it was a song about his D.J. but it Officially changed the focus from the D.J. to the M.C.! Rakim Allah set a higher and new Level of Lyricism since this Epic Classic!!!!
When this came out we played that over and over in the Jeep! That was the best times in NYC! "Go get a girl and get soft and warm, Don't get excited you been invited to a quiet storm." Whewwwwwww! Rakim was the fitrst million dollar MC!!!
The year of the wopp dance 💃🏿1986 summer, so much fun at block parties. This song changed everything as soon as the beat came on.🎶🎵all you heard was OOOOH
when I heard this on my stoop in Brooklyn in 1986, I knew at that moment, that rap was going to be something different than anything that preceded it....
That's what he was saying ... for YEARS I thought he said, "Must've got you too hot and burned off your wick", like on a candle ... been saying in wrong for a LOOOOOOONG time. #messedupthelyricsagaib
This is simply magnificent. I’m still listening to this wonderful creation in 2023 and will keep it in rotation for years to come. No one can do it better than these Rap pioneers ✌🏿🤘🏿✊🏿
“I made it easy to dance to this But can you detect what's coming next from the flex of the wrist? Say indeed and I'll proceed 'cause my man made a mix If he bleed he won't need no band-aid to fix!!..” 🔥🔥🔥
I'll never forget hearing eric b for president on the radio the first time when it came out. My friends older brother was playing it out of a box walking down the street. With the reverb bouncing off the block it sounded like something from the future, like it came out of a rocketship!!! There was nothing like it at the time, nothing. Rakim will always be #1 on my top five.
I came in the door, I said it before I never let the mic magnetize me no more But it's biting me, fighting me, inviting me to rhyme I can't hold it back, I'm looking for the line Taking off my coat, clearing my throat The rhyme will be kicking until I hit my last note My mind remains refined, all kind of ideas Self-esteem makes it seem like a thought took years to build But still say a rhyme after the next one Prepared, never scared, I'll just bless one And you know that I'm the soloist So Eric B make 'em clap to this I don't bug out or chill or be acting ill No tricks in '86, it's time to build Eric be easy on the cut, no mistakes allowed Cause to me, MC means move the crowd I made it easy to dance to this But can you detect what's coming next from the flex of the wrist Say indeed and I'll proceed cause my man made a mix If he bleed he won't need no band-aid to fix His fingertips sew a rhyme until there's no rhymes left I hurry up because the cut will make 'em bleed to death But he's kicking it cause it ain't no half stepping The party is live, the rhyme can't be kept in- Side, it needs erupting just like a volcano It ain't the everyday style or the same old rhyme Cause I'm better than the rest of them Eric B is on the cut and my name is Rakim Go get a girl and get soft and warm Don't get excited, you've been invited to a quiet storm But now it's out of hand cause you told me you hate me And then you ask what have I done lately First you said all you want is love and affection Let me be your angel and I'll be your protection Take you out, buy you all kinds of things I must have got you too hot and burned off your wings You caught an attitude, you need food to eat up I'm scheming like I'm dreaming on a couch with my feet up You scream I'm lazy, you must be crazy Thought I was a donut, you tried to glaze me
Teaching the younger ones what original rap music SOUNDS like! Thanks for your comment Fam! I AM HIP HOP MARY LUV, INFINITY MACHINE, SOUTH JAMAICA QUEENS NY! "40p."! 🎤💙🎤💙🎤💙🎤
Antonio1Funk I agree along with the Message from Grandmaster Flash and the furious 5. The message showed hip hop could be more than a party have a good time genre. It showed like a Stevie Wonder or Marvin Gaye it could paint a picture of the hardships of urban America.
This is genius at his best how did you say you thought I was lazy you thought you must be crazy you thought I was a donut you tried to glaze me that metaphor is still prevalent to this day Long Island New York stand up straight 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥!!!!
Actually the RunDMC era begin to end with the success with Aerosmith and Walk This Way. They went with some pop b.s. after that. I guess you all forgot that corny Mary Mary Why You Bugging Song.
when he says era he is not just talking about the career of the group by the dominance of their style of rap and music................that ended in 87'
I miss them. was a shy kid in high school afraid to dance when this jam was released. I can confidently "shake it" now though. I hope Eric B & Rakim are doing well. Adding to my old lady yoga jams mix.
...that beat is still 'kickin' in 2019!....(the G.O.A.T. in early rap/hip-hop genre music!)...I got turned on to Eric B. & Rakim and Run-DMC back in '87...I was a heavy-metal guitarist of seven years and I heard that kind of music and immediately sold the nine guitars I had and got turn-tables, etc...it is very moving music...I listened to Public Enemy, StetsaSonic, the Disposable Heroes of HipHop, EPMD , Dr. Dre, Snoop, Diamond D, LL Cool J, Slick Rick, Dougie Fresh, Kool G Rap, Marly Marl, Big Daddy Kane, Das EFX, Fat Boys, etc....I returned to guitar five years ago....there is still a lot of untapped potential n rap but I don'y seepeople headed that way yet....
When I first heard this song it literally gave me goose bumps and the hair stood up on my arms...I felt the power that Hip Hop has and knew that this brother was a legend already.
+Tom H "My favorite jam back in the day was Eric B is president" - Phife Dawg from A Tribe Called Quest... from the song "Steve Biko (stir it up), from the Midnight Marauders album... the 1st song on the album starts off with him saying that while the intro horns play, then the drums drop. :)
Picture it. 1987 I was stuck on VH1, MTV, and pop. My brother pops in a cassette of this magical sound. I've been a stuck on lyrics since. Crazy thing is I remember every word!
When this Album dropped, it was like sending a modern day special forces soldier with all of the latest cutting edge equipment back in time into a revolutionary war era battle. Rakim entered the game an ACR fully loaded, semi automatic assault rifle, with night vision and a laser scope among a field of single shot muskets!
truuguy. I couldn't have said I any better. My all time favorite since he came out and never an analogy like that until now and I've heard damn near every description on the brother.
Dammit Yo!!! This shit took me back to middle school back in ‘87. I’m 43 and happy I was part of the best era of rap, basketball, boxing & kicks FRESHHH!!! late 80s & 90ssssss!!!!
I still remember when this joint came out!! Summer of 1986, I was 18 yrs old at the time and had a birthday party and everybody was asking about this song!! It was so new no one didn't have the actual record yet cause it was still new in the streets so I hooked up a tape deck and got a recording of the song from the radio and played it at the party and the crowd went CRAZY!! Listening to this song kinda breaks my heart cause rap today is so different, so wack to me now.
Kool Moe Dee said in his book that he was driving when he first heard this. He added that he was so amazed at the lyrical content that he had to pull over to fully absorb Rakim's rhymes.
I remember where I was too when I first heard this song!!! I was walking across the 207th street bridge from uptown into the University Heights section of the Bronx with my Walkman on!!! 1986 the year Hip Hop changed!!!
These beats and rhymes are in a class all their own!! When someone says "old school" hip-hop, I say Eric B. & Rakim!! and Run DMC!!! Love, love love it!!
Sometimes things happen in life where what your reality changes instantly. If you’re not old enough to remember when this came out, well, this is the equivalent of, ok, think of a world without electricity. It was that drastic. This song came from the future. It was an alien encounter. When this song dropped, the original version, I got it with a white label. I was a DJ. and got it from my record pool. No one had heard it before. I was in San Diego. I dropped it, and it said “clap your hands to what he’s doin”, right? That beat dropped, and I literally saw people get stuck, freeze, saw a light bulb go off, and they all lost it. Then they heard the voice. We all froze, and I swear, everyone stopped and just listened. I have never seen that in a club before, and it wasn’t a small club. We are talking 2,000 plus people. Life changing moment. I’ll never forget that vision.
Listen how far Eric B and Rakim..were ahead of ll cool j and def jam producers who dropped "My Radio" the year before. 😮 I was 6 so i had no clue... but looking back i know understand why they are #1. No artist and producer has ever been or will ever b so far ahead of the curve than these guys. It took the industry 5 years to catch up. Magic!
Linden Boulevard represent, represent-sent, Tribe Called Quest represent, represent-sent, When the mic is in my hand, I'm never hesitant, My favorite jam back in the day was:
Waaaay better than that annoying-ass Marley Marl "Ma-Ma-Ma-Make em clap to this" remix album version. I never understood why they felt the need to remix this for the album. It was already dope enough!
Probably added to complete the album. But since this version was out a remix was needed, along with My Melody which both were released a year prior....
@@kevinr.villafana4687 The original releases weren't mixed accurately according to Marley Marl. Look up his interview on Drink Champs he speaks on this plus more from that era....
