I Ain't No Joke

Did You Know?

• Eric B. and Rakim met in 1985 after Rakim responded to Eric B.'s search for "New York's top MC".
• Their debut single "Eric B. Is President" was released on independent label Zakia Records.
• Def Jam Recordings co-founder Russell Simmons found out about the duo and they were signed to Island Records.

Recording

The duo spent four days working on "I Ain't No Joke" during the week they devoted to Paid in Full. Rakim deliberately avoided obscene language while writing the song. The track was produced using samples from "Pass the Peas" by The J.B.'s and "Theme from the Planets" by Dexter Wansel. It was recorded at Power Play Studios in Long Island City, Queens, New York City.

Music video

The music video for "I Ain't No Joke" was helmed by Vivien Goldman, a British journalist, writer, and musician who knew her way around guerrilla filmmaking. With a tight budget, she simply asked Eric B. and Rakim where they usually hung out and used those spots as the set. Rakim is shown rapping in three places: before a graffiti mural, on a playground with his crew, and outside a Harlem electronics shop surrounded by a crowd, while Eric B. works the turntables. The scenes cut rapidly between these locations. Both artists wear golden age gear—tracksuits, heavy gold chains, and jewelry—which Complex magazine called "flamboyant" and "both classic and priceless." Flavor Flav from Public Enemy makes a cameo, along with "Chill Will," a DJ from Doug E. Fresh and The Get Fresh Crew, who dances on the playground and near the store.