The story behind Eric B and Rakim’s ‘I Ain’t No Joke’
Eric B & Rakim’s 1987 debut album Paid in Full was a pivotal moment in hip-hop history, with its innovative use of sampling and the lyrical skills of Rakim setting a new benchmark for others to aspire to. The album produced a number of hip-hop classics, none more impressive than ‘I Ain’t No Joke.’
Released as the record’s second single, the song peaked at number 38 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, which, all things considered, is hardly an earth-shattering result. But, all the same, the song endured as one of hip-hop’s key touchstones in the years and decades that followed.
Musically the song owes a huge debt to James Brown and his band the JBs, given that their song, 1972’s ‘Pass the Peas,’ was sampled in it. This would not be the last time that hip-hop producers turned to James Brown’s back catalogue for music to sample, but Eric B & Rakim got in there early.
In a book called Check the Technique, in which music journalist Brian Coleman wrote of the making of 36 classic hip-hop songs, ‘I Ain’t No Joke’ is discussed in some depth. Coleman even managed to quote Rakim himself, who claimed that the use of the James Brown sample was his idea, rather than his partner’s.
“That sample was just another James Brown record that I used to rhyme off,” he said. “I used that song a long time before I met Eric, so that’s another Rakim banger right there.”
Rakim also elaborated on where the song title came from, explaining that it was a call for him to be taken seriously as a performer. “I titled the song that way because that’s how I wanted people to perceive me on the mic,” he said. “Back then I tried to think of slogans that somebody would want to put on the side of their car, or say all day. So that was like the ultimate thing you could say.”
Rakim has also spoken with Spin magazine about the track, pointing towards the lack of obscenities in the lyrics. This was a conscious decision on the rapper’s part, because he knew this would allow it to get more airplay.
“If you listen to the rhymes in ‘I Ain’t No Joke,’ you know I was really thinkin’ hard about that shit,” he said. “Plus, what I was doin’ was, like, I was makin’ it real hard, but no curses or sum’n they wouldn’t want to play all day, ’cause they got it in power rotation.”
But even though he wasn’t using curse words, Rakim was adamant on making sure his words still packed a bunch. “So I was thinkin’ of the hardest shit I could think of,” he said, “but still sayin’ sum’n that they could play all day.”
Securing airplay on the radio in those days was incredibly important, otherwise an artist’s profile could only spread so far. Rakim was keenly aware of this.
“’Cause that’s the whole idea of the rhymes I write,” he said. “I can get real crazy with rhymes, but they ain’t gonna play it all day, and that’s what’s gonna get you paid: people constantly hearin’ it on radio. I could make real stoopid shit that they’ll only play on the weekend, then they’ll have to bleep half the record out! But, you know, I ain’t livin’ like that. I’m gettin’ paid, I wanna get paid.”