Eric B. Is President

The first single from Eric B. & Rakim, "Eric B Is President" is a hip-hop landmark: the first popular track to sample James Brown ("Funky President"). Soon after it was released, JB samples started showing up everywhere - one of the most lasting trends in rap.

Other track sampled on this one are: "Over Like a Fat Rat" by Fonda Rae "Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved by James Brown "The Champ" by The Mohawks "Long Red" by Mountain Eric B explained: "I picked up Fonda Rae's 'Over Like A Fat Rat' and took the bassline and matched it to the 'Funky President' beat. Rakim heard the mix and he was rollin' on the floor laughin'. I said 'What's wrong with you, man, this is a serious tune'. Rakim thought I was crazy but I can hear when a beat is gonna stick." (New Musical Express, 1987)

In the 1986 Janet Jackson song "What Have You Done For Me Lately," she bashes her man, who seems to be taking her for granted. The track touched a nerve for Rakim, who wrote an answer song about it that morphed into "Eric B. Is President." "She was comin' on like she's a goddess from above and that got me real upset," he told NME. "Every time I heard it, I'd get real mad. I did not appreciate that one little bit. Answer records were gettin' kinda old and corny so we trimmed it down to that line 'You thought I was a doughnut, you tried to glaze me' - kinda sums up that girl's bad attitude. It could have been a big answer record but they're out of style. That's like wearin' suede Lees - you can't go out dressed like that."