Young Masters At Work: Eric B. & Rakim’s My Melody Rare 1986 Marley Marl Remix (Audio)
Although it was not released until July 7, 1987, Eric B. & Rakim’s debut album Paid In Full was made extensively throughout 1986 and early 1987. While production credits went to the group, Heads know that Marley Marl—who used his home for many sessions, was a producer on many of the classic cuts from this Island/4th & B’way iconic album.
One thing that Marley worked on was “My Melody.” An album cut, the song is frequently treated like a single—an illustration of Rakim’s skills and the unique type of production that the Long Island/Queens duo used to transition the Hip-Hop sound into what would be commonplace by the late 1980s.
This week, ego trip! spotted a rare, believed-to-be 1986 remix of “My Melody” credited to Marley Marl. It certainly sounds as such, with some of the same programming and sample sound effects used on MC Shan’s “The Bridge,” released that very same year on Pop Art. Marl uses the cut-and-paste style that guys like Steinski and Coldcut were popularizing in the mid-80s, with no example more tangible than the “Paid In Full (Seven Minutes Of Madness Remix)” by the UK duo Coldcut.
This goes hard though, and even though we’re just hearing it now, it suggests what a true visionary Marley Marl is/was.
If Eric B. & Rakim credited some of their producers (Marley Marl, Paul C., Large Professor) more overtly, how would careers be different?