| "Microphone Fiend" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SinglebyEric B. & Rakim | ||||
| from the album Follow the Leader | ||||
| B-side | "Beats for the Listeners" | |||
| Released | 1988 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 5:16 | |||
| Label | MCA | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Eric Barrier Rakim Allah | |||
| Producer(s) | Eric B. | |||
| Eric B. & Rakim singles chronology | ||||
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"Microphone Fiend" is the second single released from the hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim's second album Follow the Leader. The song became a signature song for rapper Rakim, and AllMusic's Steve Huey says the song "weaves references to substance addiction throughout in explaining why Rakim can't keep away from the mic."[1] Featuring a prominent sample of Average White Band's 1975 hit "School Boy Crush", the song was further evidence of Eric B.'s fondness for soul samples and became one of the most quoted songs in hip hop.
Rakim has described the song's theme as evolving from an initial concept of being in love with the microphone:
"Microphone Fiend" was a concept that I came up with kind of just vibing off the original sample. The original sample is [Average White Band's] "School Boy Crush" and to me, it's like I got a crush on a mic, you know what I mean? Like a 'microphone fiend', so it kind of morphed into [that].[2]
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"Microphone Fiend" contains many of the elements that are often cited as having been prominent in the golden age of hip hop, such as samples, record scratching, and vocal syncopation. The song has been covered numerous times and has become a 'standard' of hip-hop music.
