Louis Eric Barrier (born November 8, 1963) is an American rapper, producer and DJ for the

golden age hip hop Golden age hip hop is a name given to mainstream hip hop music created from the mid-1980s to early-mid 1990s, particularly by artists and musicians originating from the New York metropolitan area. An outgrowth of the new school hip hop movement ...

duo Eric B. & Rakim. Eric B. & Rakim's album '' Paid in Full'' was named the greatest hip hop album of all time by MTV in 2006, and the duo were nominated in 2011 for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Eric B. has played police officer Mike Gee on the TV series '' Blue Bloods'' since 2019.

Life

Eric B. was born on November 8, 1963 in East Elmhurst,

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

. He attended

William Cullen Bryant High School William Cullen Bryant High School, or William C. Bryant High School, and W.C. Bryant High School, or Bryant High School for short, is a secondary school in Queens, New York City, United States serving grades 9 through 12. Name It is named in hon ...

under a basketball scholarship. "I thought of becoming a pro ball player," he said. "But music became a priority."

Music career

Eric B. started deejaying with his younger brother and two friends at a roller rink. He cites deejays such as DJ Vernon, King Charles, and Grandmaster Flash as early influences, recalling: "I remember sneaking out to the armories at night, sneaking out to the parties at St. Gabriel School on Astoria Boulevard". By 1985, Eric B. worked as a DJ at the New York radio station

WBLS WBLS (107.5 MHz) is an urban adult contemporary formatted FM radio station, licensed to New York City. It is currently owned by Mediaco Holding and operated by Emmis Communications under a shared services agreement, along with sister station ...

; there, he sought to find an artist to rap over his DJing, which led him to meet

Rakim William Michael Griffin Jr. (born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name Rakim Allah or simply Rakim (), is an American rapper and record producer. One half of golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

. Eric B. had also considered work with

Freddie Foxxx James Campbell (born March 27, 1969), better known by his stage names Freddie Foxxx and Bumpy Knuckles, is an American rapper and music producer from Long Island, New York. Biography Foxxx got his start rapping in the early 1980s. In 1986, he ...

, but was unable to successfully meet with him before forming his partnership with Rakim. Eric B. and Rakim released their first single, "Eric B. Is President," in 1986. Eric B. included an uncredited sample of James Brown's "Funky President" on the track, which led Brown to sue the duo, in one of the earliest court cases related to sampling in hip-hop. The duo then went on to release their debut album, '' Paid in Full'', in 1987. This album was highly acclaimed immediately upon its release, and has come to be regarded as one of the greatest albums in hip-hop history; Eric B. has been praised for his "martial and percussive" production and effective use of samples on the album. After three more albums, Eric B. and Rakim's record contract with MCA came to a close. Concerned that Rakim might abandon him, Eric B. refused to sign the release contract, leading to a protracted legal battle between him, Rakim, and the label. This situation led the duo to split up completely in 1992. After separating from Rakim, Eric B. released one solo album - 1995's ''Eric B.'' - but primarily worked as a producer and executive for Street Life Records, a now-defunct subsidiary of

Scotti Brothers Records Scotti Brothers Records (typically spelled Scotti Bros. Records) was a California-based record label founded by Tony and Ben Scotti in 1974. Their first success was releasing singles and albums from teen pop star Leif Garrett. They later helped ...

. Eric B. and Rakim fell out of contact after they ceased to collaborate musically, but in 2016, they reconnected and announced their reunion. The duo has once again begun holding concerts, and is working on remastering their albums, but indicated that they were not planning to release new music.

Other ventures

In addition to music, Eric B. has been involved in movie production, and worked as a consultant for ''

The Source Awards ''The Source'' is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or . It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988 by Jonathan Shecter. David Mays was the magaz ...

''. He also owns several restaurants throughout the United States.

Musical style

Eric B. is noted for his sparse production style; a ''New York Times'' review of '' Follow the Leader'' described him as a "minimalist virtuoso."Watrous, Peter (September 9, 1988)
Review: ''Follow the Leader''
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. Retrieved on 2009-10-19. Jonathan Gold of the ''Los Angeles Times'' has described Eric B.'s beats as "chill" and "understated", while ''AllMusic'' describes them as "stripped-down." In a more critical appraisal, Mark Jenkins of ''The Washington Post'' described Eric B.'s work on ''Paid in Full'' as "monotonous". Eric B. is also credited with being one of the first hip-hop producers to make extensive use of

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

samples in his music; for instance, he samples heavily from James Brown's "

Funky President Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

" and Fonda Rae's "Over Like a Fat Rat" in his debut single with Rakim, " Eric B. Is President."

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Eric B.'' (1995)

with Rakim

*'' Paid in Full'' (1987) *'' Follow the Leader'' (1988) *'' Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em'' (1990) *'' Don't Sweat the Technique'' (1992)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eric B. 1963 births American hip hop musicians East Coast hip hop musicians People from Queens, New York African-American male rappers African-American songwriters Rappers from New York (state) Songwriters from New York (state) Living people 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people American male songwriters