Eric B. & Rakim - "Don't Sweat The Technique"

[claaa7]

01. "What's On Your Mind?"
02. "Teach The Children"
03. "Pass The Grenade"
04. "Casualties Of War"
05. "Rest Assured"
06. "The Punsiher"
07. "Relax With Pep"
08. "Keep The Beat"
09. "What's Going On"
10. "Juice (Know The Ledge)"
11. "Don't Sweat The Technique"
12. "Kick Along"

[claaa7]

noticed there wasn't no thread for this one so i had to make one as i'm listening to it right now. this was of course Eric B. and Rakim's last album together and dropped back in 1992 and has a vintage early '90s sound and also has all the typical marks of a '90s rap album. but at the same time it's Eric B. and Rakim so you know it's gonna be great, and it sure as hell is. lyrically Ra is killing it hard as always, bringing on a good mix of conscious thought and lyrical murder. the best beats are the ones which are hard but jazzy such as "Casualties Of War" and "Juice". My least favorite track of the album is the opener, the R&B-tinged "What's On Your Mind?" which sounds like a '90s rap cliche today imo and i can't understand why the hell they would open the album up with that since it's not at all representative of how the rest of the LP sounds. oh well...

it's very confusing who the hell produced this too, maybe even more than previous Eric B./Rakim albums. the single for "Juice" says it was produced by Rakim and then The Bomb Squad remixed it, but Rashad Smith claims to have produced that and several other songs including the title track. Large Professor was definitely involved but to what extent i don't know, he's listed as a production co-ordinator and several tracks sounds like potential Extra P bangers. the bottom line is that this is a HEAVY album, with the beats and the rhymes and no matter how much or little Eric B actually did this marked the end of a fantastic series of collaborations between one of the finest duos hip-hop ever saw.

4.5/5 - Superior

[Kutman]

I produced "Casualties Of War".#actualfact

[CharlesJones]

Don't Sweat The Technique disappointed me. There's a few good songs but overall i didn't like it. What's On Your Mind i love because of Midnight Star's classic jam Curious they sampled. I also like Don't Sweat The Technique, Rest Assured, Relax With Pep, What's Going On songs. It sucks that this was their last album together. LOL@Eric B always looking mean in their videos hahahahahahahahahaha.

[puerto rock]

Love this album. Just straight up good hip hop with no filler. Maybe not Rakim's most catchiest project but still a great album. The Punisher is my joint. Love Relax With Pep, Don't Sweat The Technique, Know The Ledge, Castualties of War, etc. No weak tracks for me. I'd say about a 4.5 outta 5.

[CharlesJones]

They had some cute women in Don't Sweat The Technique video and I like Know The Ledge video. I like scenes from Juice movie that were shown in Know The Ledge. 8, stop lying LOL. Did ya'll see Wyclef Jean of The Fugees in Don't Sweat The Technique video playing bass guitar?

[CharlesJones]

Rakim made me laugh on What's Going On song dissing ignorant black men hahahahahahahahahaha.