Early Eric B. & Rakim Interview with Awesome Two (July 27, 1986)

A supposed 7" test pressing of Eric B. Is President / Check Out My Melody

For those who haven't yet heard, today is Rakim's 51st birthday. Each year, Long Island Rap Blog celebrates the occasion with a week's coverage dedicated to the God MC. Picking up from yesterday's topics of early radio appearances and interviews, today's post features what might be Rakim's earliest on-air interview. This occurred July 27, 1986 on the 105.9 WHBI Awesome Two show with hosts Special K and Teddy Tedd. The discussion played out over the "My Melody" instrumental and provided listeners a pretty straightforward introduction to Eric B. and Rakim.

One point that stands out is the repeated reference to an imposter Rakim who might have called in during a prior show or otherwise crossed paths with the Awesome Two. It's unclear exactly whom or what they're talking about, but it could be a call-in that was uploaded to YouTube just last year, in which someone claiming to be Rakim refers to "Eric B. Is President" as "I Came In the Door" and forgets the name of the radio show, both of which call the speaker's true identity into question. The best part, though, is when the fake Rakim is asked who broke "My Melody" in NY, with the DJ of course expecting to hear "Awesome Two" or the the radio station call letters, but instead the reply comes back, "I did," a remark that is referenced toward the tail-end of the actual interview. Stream both appearances below, along with the full July 27, 1986 broadcast, which features a number of classic cuts from the likes of Steady B, T La Rock and others.