Editing Eric B. & Rakim (section)

===Rapping technique and jazz influences===
Rakim's rhyming deviated from the simple rhyme patterns of early 1980s hip hop. His free-rhythm style ignored [[bar (music)|bar]] lines and had earned comparisons to [[Thelonious Monk]].<ref>{{cite news |title=#61 Eric B. and Rakim, 'Paid in Full' (1987) |url=https://www.rs500albums.com/100-51/61}}</ref><ref name="dulac" /> ''[[The New York Times]]''{{'}} Ben Ratliff wrote that Rakim's "unblustery rapping developed the form beyond the flat-footed rhythms of schoolyard rhymes".<ref name="Ratliff">Ratliff, Ben. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DEEDB1E3DF93BA25751C1A96E958260 Review: ''Paid in Full'']. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved on October 19, 2009.</ref> While many rappers developed their technique through improvisation, Rakim was one of the first to demonstrate advantages of a writerly style, as with for instance his pioneering use of [[internal rhyme]]s and [[multisyllabic rhymes]].<ref name="allmusic">Huey, Steve. "[{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p116720/biography|pure_url=yes}} allmusic Rakim > Biography]". AllMusic. Accessed September 5, 2008.</ref> Unlike previous rappers such as [[LL Cool J]], [[KRS-One]], and [[Run-D.M.C.]], who delivered their vocals with high energy, Rakim employed a relaxed, stoic delivery.<ref name="ogg">Ogg, Alex (2002). ''The Men Behind Def Jam: The Radical Rise of Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin''. p. 105. Omnibus Press. {{ISBN|0-7119-8873-0}}</ref><ref name="light">Light, Alan (November 13, 2006). "[https://web.archive.org/web/20070216020446/http://www.time.com/time/2006/100albums/0%2C27693%2CPaid_in_Full%2C00.html The All-Time 100 Albums]". ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''. Accessed September 29, 2008.</ref> According to [[MTV]], "We'd been used to MCs like Run and DMC, [[Chuck D]] and [[KRS-One]] leaping on the mic shouting with energy and irreverence, but Rakim took a methodical approach to his microphone fiending. He had a slow flow, and every line was blunt, mesmeric."<ref name="mtv">"[http://www.mtv.com/bands/h/hip_hop_week/2005/greatest_albums_0505/index11.jhtml MTV.com: The Greatest Hip-Hop Albums Of All Time] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130719045814/http://www.mtv.com/bands/h/hip_hop_week/2005/greatest_albums_0505/index11.jhtml |date=2013-07-19 }}". MTV (2005). Accessed July 15, 2008.</ref> Rakim's relaxed delivery was inspired by [[jazz]];<ref>{{cite news |title=#61 Eric B. and Rakim, 'Paid in Full' (1987) |url=https://www.rs500albums.com/100-51/61}}</ref> he had played the [[saxophone]] and was a [[John Coltrane]] fan.<ref name="dulac">Freedom duLac, Josh. (October 2, 2006). "[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/01/AR2006100101132.html A Stop-and-Go Hip-Hop Show]". ''The Washington Post''. Accessed September 5, 2008.</ref><ref name="taylor">Taylor, Steve (2004). ''The A to X of Alternative Music''. p. 20. Continuum International Publishing Group. {{ISBN|0-8264-8217-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/2009/11/rakim_on_john_coltrane.html | work=NPR | title=The Microphone Fiend On John Coltrane | date=November 23, 2009 | access-date=October 6, 2011 | first1=Patrick  | last1=Jarenwattananon}}</ref><ref>"[http://www.thaformula.com/rakim_lyrics_of_fury_thaformula_music.html Q & A w/ Rakim: Lyrics of Fury]". ThaFormula.com (2005). Accessed October 29, 2008.</ref>

Rakim's subject matter often covered his own rapping skills and lyrical superiority over other rappers.<ref>Darby, Derrick; Shelby, Tommie; West, Cornel (2005). ''Hip Hop and Philosophy: Rhyme 2 Reason''. p. 42. Open Court Publishing. {{ISBN|0-8126-9589-5}}.</ref><ref name="Harvell">{{cite web|last1=Harvell|first1=Jess|title=Eric B & Rakim: Paid in Full / Follow the Leader|url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/17495|website=Pitchfork|access-date=June 18, 2017|archive-url=https://archive.today/20081225143228/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/17495|archive-date=December 25, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[AllMusic]] editor Steve Huey comments that "the majority of his lyrics concern his own skills and his [[Islamic]] faith."<ref name="amc">{{cite web|last=Huey |first=Steve |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/rakim-p116720/biography |title=Rakim |website=AllMusic |access-date=March 30, 2012}}</ref> He also notes Rakim for his "complex internal rhymes, compounding, literate imagery, velvet-smooth flow, and unpredictable, off-the-beat rhythms."<ref name="Huey">Huey, Steve. [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r27822/review|pure_url=yes}} Review: ''Paid in Full'']. [[AllMusic]]. Retrieved on October 19, 2009.</ref> ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' writer Jess Harvell described his rapping as "authoritative, burnished, and possessing an unflappable sense of rhythm".<ref name="Harvell" />