Song · Eric B & Rakim
“I Ain't No Joke” by Eric B & Rakim
From the album Paid in Full (1987)
“I Ain't No Joke” by Eric B & Rakim appears on 1 radio countdown from 1 station in 2024. It was first released in 1987 on the album Paid in Full. Its best result is #727 on The Best Opening Tracks of All Time.
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Video from YouTube (EricBAndRakimVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
Eric B. & Rakim followed "Eric B. Is President" with "I Ain't No Joke", the second single from their debut album Paid in Full, on 4th & B'way in 1987. The duo wrote and produced it themselves, with Patrick Adams and Elai Tubo engineering, and it's Rakim's showcase: Michael Di Bella's All Music Guide to Rock entry credited him with collaring the listener and showing off how completely he'd mastered rhyme.
It reached number thirty-eight on the R&B and hip-hop singles chart, and its video had Public Enemy's Flavor Flav dancing. The song has kept turning up ever since: Jay-Z picked it for the NBA 2K13 soundtrack, and it plays in the video games Saints Row and MLB The Show 23.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 727 | KEXP | The Best Opening Tracks of All Time | 738 |
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