"Eric B. Is President" (1986) was the debut single from Eric B. & Rakim, and it changed hip-hop overnight. Eric B.'s production — built on layered samples, scratching, and a James Brown-influenced rhythmic backbone — was a quantum leap forward from the sparse, drum-machine-driven beats that dominated rap at the time. Rakim's delivery was equally revolutionary: calm, precise, and technically complex in a way that made every other MC sound like they were shouting.

The track essentially created the template for sample-based hip-hop production as we know it. Eric B. demonstrated that a DJ could build complex, layered productions from breakbeats and vinyl samples, while Rakim showed that an MC could be both technically gifted and effortlessly cool. Every boom-bap producer and lyrical rapper that followed owes a debt to this single record.