RDAT Tournament – Game 3 – NYC Bracket

No. 4 – Eric B. & Rakim – Paid in Full vs. No. 5 – Big Punisher – Capital Punishment

I once watched the sun rise over a Montana mountain range. It’s one of my favorite memories and while I’ve declared it here, it’s a subject that doesn’t find itself in everyday conversation.

If conversation finds its way to where related that tale to someone is fit, I will. However, if not it will stay locked away regardless if I see remnants of it.

Comets are similar in a sense that we all know they have happened, but you wouldn’t necessary share your viewing of one without reason. Sadly, I feel this is an easy comparison to the career of Big Punisher.

For those of us absorbed in hip-hop in the late 90s, the name alone is a reminder of a time when the art was sculpted through the vision of money, women and crime.

Listening to Terror Squad members Cuban Links and Triple Sies claim how they’re similar to characters from movies by Al Pacino and Robert Diniro is a flashback to when it seemed like that’s all anyone talked about.

While Terror Squad is referenced, claimed and shouted out repeatedly throughout the LP, luckily the best member is the featured artist. I remember reports that Christopher Lee Rios didn’t always look like an out-of-shape offensive lineman, fitting into his signature nickname of Big Punisher.

According to Wikipedia, “between the ages of 18 and 21, Rios’ weight ballooned from 180lbs to 300lbs, and Rios became so large he was unable to tie his own shoes.” Hailing from the South Bronx, it was only right that he would link up with Fat Joe once he created a successful underground following.

”Off the Books” is the ultimate underground smash. It’s produced by The Beatnuts, one of three tracks that any true fan of the genre will recgonize in seconds. While they may not know the lyrics or the artist, they definitely know the beat.

“Watch Out Now” and “Props Over Here” are the other two, but neither feature the vocal tug that Pun pulls with his verse. His speed of lyrics is on display earl and it’s fascinating to think how many words he’s stuffing into each bar…and the fact that as a listener, we can make it out.

It’s a true standout verse on an equally impressive beat. He didn’t necessary do something similar lyrically on the mainstream single “Still Not a Player (featuring Joe)”. It’s a couple of years after Notorious B.I.G. released “One More Change/Stay With Me (Remix)”, but there is an audience for a good R&B/rap song and both tracks can still be found in deep rotation.

Wheras Biggie’s Billboard hit was a separate release, Pun’s remix is on Capital Punishment with the original. There’s also quality feature spots by the aforementioned Fat Joe on a Dr. Dre beat and Black Thought of The Roots on “Super Lyrical”, which samples the aforementioned Christopher Wallace.

There’s also an obligatory appearance by Busta Rhymes (a standard clause in all rap contracts in the 1990s), another track with Joe and the Terror Squad, a forgettable verse by Wyclef Jean and an interlude smoothly produced by dead prez that features Pun singing.

There’s also five different skits with a more graphic mimic of “Sooper Luver Interview” on Redman’s Whut? Thee Album or a more direct mimic of the sex scene on Ready to Die.

Off a quick look and listen, one could say that Pun is a Latin version of Big but that would take away from his skills as a lyricist. He was capable of painting pictures through his words, but could also battle rap and play the simile card.

A similar overall skill set was evident upon listening to Rakim. The best rappers will admit that Rakim is among the greatest among them, regardless of when. Rakim was considered that when Paid in Full was released in 1987 and that sentiment remains today.

The first verses that Rakim spits on wax and is heard by the greater New York City area are the foundation of countless other lyrics going forward.

I came in the door, I said it before
I never let the mic magnetize me no more
But it’s biting me, fighting me, inviting me to rhyme
I can’t hold it back, I’m looking for the line
Taking off my coat, clearing my throat
The rhyme will be kicking until I hit my last note

To read them is one thing, but to hear the cadence, energy and positive aggression in his voice is another. It was likely assisted by the fact that Eric B. worked for WBLS, one of the two ‘urban music’ radio stations in New York. Not that anyone was complaining about hearing the song at least twice every weekend after 10 p.m.

Marley Marl had the production equipment, Eric B. came up with the sounds and gets production credit and Rakim had the lyrics. It is a classic and while the beat may not, the rhymes stand the test of time.

You could say something similar with the other singles: “I Ain’t No Joke”, “I Know You Got Soul”, “Move the Crowd” and the album’s title track. One in which like a good communications employee, Eric B. recites everyone behind the scenes that made their group go.

But the song is an example of the major issue with the album. On a track that lasts 3:49, only a minute is spent with Rakim actually rapping. There’s a lot of the beat, including replays on “Extended Beat” and “Paid in Full (Mini Madness) [The Coldcut Remix]” and two other instramental tracks.

There are 12 tracks on the album and one-third don’t feature arguably the greatest MC ever. Granted, it wasn’t a known fact when they pressed the wax, but his absence is glaring like looking into the night sky and not seeing the North Star.

More like the fact that Polaris is the brightest star in the sky besides the sun, yet we hardly note its importance. Rakim’s pretense in rap history is just that – something known as importnat and amazing and easily forgotten when the latest comet flies through, despite the fact that we shall forget that as well.