Cover Story for December 7, 2007 - Eric B. & Rakim - "Follow the Leader", cover image by Drew Carolan by Mike Goldstein - RockPoP Gallery

Cover Story for December 7, 2007
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Subject - Follow the Leader, a 1988 release by Eric B. & Rakim on Uni/MCA records, with cover image by Drew Carolan

For a guy who thinks that he has a fairly open mind when it comes to music appreciation and thinks that he's kept abreast of most major musical revolutions of the past 40 years, I must honestly say that I missed the beginnings of organized rap & hip-hop. I do remember Deborah Harry's rap on "Rapture", and thought that that was kinda cool, but I entered the rap world only after being exposed to Ice-T's Body Count. As a music fan with hard rock/heavy metal leanings, I heard that album, was thoroughly impressed, and then wanted to know more.

In my quest for knowledge, I consulted a friend and co-worker at the time who had been involved in the late 80's rap/hip-hop scene in NYC, which eventually led to the production/promotion world and his own label. He helped me understand who was who, who came first, who was popular, etc., but it may have been too little, too late (thanks, Rocky, for trying). However, when I started the gallery, it became clear that the imagery used to package and promote records in this genre was really compelling, with the talents and artistry of the photographers and illustrators well-represented in the major "world's best record cover" lists. More than what was typically found in the rock and pop genres, these photographs and illustrations were a vital part of the artists' image, with these images the keys to the record-buying public's acceptance of an artist's "street cred". The better an artist's credibility, the more likely it was that the lyrics represented a rapper's actual life story, and the more that the public believed, the larger the artist's loyal fan base would grow.

In the mid-late 1980's, no one had a better claim to the title of "best DJ and MC" in the hip-hop scene than NY's Eric B. & Rakim. Eric B's skills on the turntable and his mix of samples were unique and unmatched, whereas Rakim is still considered one of the - if not "the" - premiere lyricists and rap stylists ever (what I liked most was that I could understand the lyrics and, as a drummer myself, I could truly appreciate the technical mastery of the smooth-yet-intricate beats that underlie the vocals). When asked who influenced their styles the most, every rapper (and most of the groups that combined hip-hop and rock - from the Wu-Tang Clan to Rage Against the Machine) named Eric B. & Rakim at the top of their lists. Their second landmark major-label record - 1988's Follow the Leader - cemented their place in rap/hip-hop history (one of Source Magazine's 2005 list of the 100 Best Rap Albums), featured much more polished production values than its predecessor (1987's Paid in Full), the introduction of more unique instrumentation, and samplings of classic R&B that surely boosted the revenues of used record stores as a new generation of DJs looked for source materials they could use to try and out-do the reigning kings. A fixture in NY-area photo-journalism, photographer Drew Carolan was there to capture many of the stars of the emerging scene and was asked to shoot a series of photos out of which would emerge the memorable cover image for Follow the Leader.

So, let's "Pump Up The Volume" and listen to the Cover Story behind one of rap's most-iconic recordings...

In the words of the photographer, Drew Carolan (interviewed December, 2007) -

"I had photographed Eric and Ra for Interview in 1987 and, as an 'inner-city white kid on the hip-hop tip'*(Ed. - see translation, below), I was down with their first record, Paid in Full, as that was a big club record. I had worked with several artists at Def Jam - artists such as LL Cool J - and was already doing editorial pieces for magazines like Interview and SPIN.

For a special Interview Christmas issue, I did a series of photographs which featured the best and brightest rap and hip-hop artists of the day, including Schooly D, Davy DMX, DJ Hurricane and Eric B and Rakim, and so when the Follow the Leader record was being put together Robert Smith, who was the creative director at UNI/MCA, called me to do the covers for the album and the 12-inch single. Robert knew me from the music biz as I was beginning to make packages which included photography and music videos for MCA R&B artists such as Brenda K. Starr and Bobby Brown. Initially, we met with Lyor Cohen and Bill Adler at the Def Jam offices down on Elizabeth Street. They just wanted to make sure that their artist would look as 'fly' as possible and, using the clothing designed by Dapper Dan, that wasn't a hard thing to do.

You have to understand that Eric is a large, quiet gentleman who does his talking by way of the turntables, whereas Rakim is a person as complex as his rhymes. The antithesis of Eric, Rakim is like caged heat waiting to boil over. His thoughts and feelings can be read on his face - but not for long. Like his lyrics, as soon as you think you have him sussed, he's moved on. They were the perfect compliment for a brand of music that was both rhythmic and deep at a time when no one else was doing what they were doing. Essentially, they were leaders in the school of Rap - and they knew that - so there was no lack of confidence there.

I thought it would be cool to shoot down by the bridges in Lower Manhattan since they represented the connections between the other boroughs and then beyond. The album and title track were called 'Follow the Leader', so basically I wanted to present the two of them as 'leaders'. To do that, I'd shoot them from a low 'heroic' angle, being sure to incorporate the design of the car into the shot. I like to keep things graphic and minimal when it comes to design and I like to compose in camera as much as possible. The open sky allowed me to feature the artists against it and, since they were wearing dark clothes, it worked perfectly as a silhouette (so to speak), with the hint of the bridges augmenting the expanse and vibe of New York City.

The morning light would make for a perfect set-up for this cover, so we timed the shoot that way. Photographers always love the early light and, being on the East side of town, we would have a window of opportunity until 10:30am and, after that, it was anybody's guess.I had rented some 4 x 4 silver reflectors to bounce any ambient light around since the riverfront and the bridges could create lots of shadows and obstructions. On location for a shoot like this and on a limited budget, you have to be clever and economical with the way you work. My background working with several master photographers taught me how to deal with all of that. Annette Daniels was the stylist (she and I had worked on a bunch of project together. She was friends with Living Colour when I photographed them before they were signed and then again when I did the Vivid album photography, their 'Cult of Personality' video, and so on) and I had a couple of assistants with me to work the reflectors and call out the light readings but other than that the only other thing I needed was a ladder.

Eric showed up with his crew driving a Rolls Royce of insane magnitude - the kind of vehicle that you look at, but certainly don't touch. It was a dark burgundy with black trim and had lots of sexy curves to it. It brought the look of the area up to a whole new level. This was basically the Fulton Fish Market area, and when I think of that, I think of On the Waterfront and not about Rolls Royce's.

As the morning progressed, the light I was hoping for came and went and Rakim was nowhere to be found. This was before technology made someone just a phone call or a text message away. We were standing around in the 30-degree weather watching the winter light head towards New Jersey.

As it turns out, Eric and Ra had done a performance at a fundraiser for Jesse Jackson (who was running for President in 1988) the night before at the Apollo Theater. Word from the inside was that there was a riff between the two that day and during the encore Rakim - the microphone fiend - walked off and left Eric on stage. They had not seen each other since the night before and now here we were on the album cover shoot, four hours behind schedule, in the icy cold and it was about to get colder. When you're doing a shoot like this, the key to being a pro is to maintain your cool. This would be a test, no doubt.

Rakim showed up driving his Mercedes and behind him were a slew of SUV's carrying his posse. 'At least he was here' is what I figured. Now all we had to do was get an image that would work. The guys were already dressed, so that saved some time in the process. About the only thing that Rakim said to me was 'How long is this going to take?...I got to get back to Queens!' Obviously there was something in Queens that was more important than this. I told Ra that we would get him out of there as soon as we possibly could.

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I has already shot some singles of Eric leaning on his Rolls with the Brooklyn Bridge in the background. These looked good, so we added Rakim into the equation and worked quickly with the available light - which was heading West - and so Rakim could get back to Queens.

I shot everything with my Hasselblad ELX with either a 50 or an 80 mm lens. At the end of the shoot both posse's got together to pose for a group shot with Eric and Ra's car pointing towards each other. I shot some with the Hassey and then fired off a roll with my motorized Nikon FM. All the film was Ekatchrome transparency 100 pushed a stop.

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I edited the work down to my top choices (keeping a wide range, but weeding out the obvious) and sent them to Robert. He then worked with my friend - designer Carla Davis - on the layout and the lettering. I didn't see anything again until it was finished but honestly, with Robert and Carla working together, I knew they would make the best image possible. As it turned out, the label was happy, I was pleased, and Rakim made it back to Queens with time to spare. At the time, I knew the record was ground-breaking just because of the samples being used and the flow of the rhymes. I never anticipated the amount of recognition the record has received over the years, so that is naturally very pleasing.

You know, I thought it was really dope that these guys were willing to turn their backs to the camera for the cover shot. The concept was that if you are following the leader, this is what you'd see - their backs. As Rakim says on the record...'A lot of you wondering why the album was late? I was giving you time to get the last one straight...' Check the words..."

* - It means that I was from deep in the bowels of the city (Lower East side) and "tip" as in tipped off to something new, fresh!

About the photographer, Drew Carolan -

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Drew Carolan was born and raised on the Lower East Side of New York City. He has been creating photographic works since 1973. His attraction to art started when he discovered graffiti in the early 70's. Writers like Super Kool 223, Stay High 149 and Dino Nod were superheroes to him.

Drew served as a photographic assistant to photographer Richard Avedon from 1983 to 1985 and helped him complete the book titled In The American West. Drew also worked as a photographer for MTV Networks in the 1980's, and his work has appeared in numerous publications including Interview, SPIN, Rolling Stone, Elle, Vogue and The New York Times.

As a director and producer, he has created many ground-breaking music videos, PSA's and documentary films. Most notably, his work with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, B-52's and Living Colour have been seen around the world.

Drew served as the line producer for David La Chapelles' documentary RIZE, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2005. He is now producing another music-based documentary titled A TASTE OF HEAVEN, based on the life of New Orleans gospel legend Rymond Myles.

Recently, Drew just completed a book of photographs entitled MATINEE featuring portraits of the kids who frequented the Hardcore Matinee's at CBGB's in the early 1980's. He has also been photographing the surf culture in California since he moved there in 1994.

To see more of Drew's work, please visit his website at http://www.drewcarolan.com

or visit him on MySpace at http://myspace.com/drewcarolan

For more information on Eric B. and Rakim, please visit these sites: Rakim is still making music, having worked recently with Kanye West - http://www.myspace.com/rakim

Eric B. is a very successful restaurateur and, as a result, has expanded his car collection impressively - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Barrier For more information on RockPoP Gallery, we invite you to visit our site at http://www.rockpopgallery.com

About Cover Stories - Our weekly series will give you, the music and art fan, a look at "the making of" the illustrations, photographs and designs of many of the most-recognized and influential images that have served to package and promote your all-time-favorite recordings.

Every Friday, we'll meet the artists, designers and photographers who produced these works of art and learn what motivated them, what processes they used, how they collaborated (or fought) with the musical acts, their management, their labels, etc. - all of the things that influenced the final product you saw then and still see today.

We hope that you enjoy these looks behind the scenes of the music-related art business and that you'll share your stories with us and fellow fans about what role these works of art - and the music they covered - played in your lives.

All images featured in this Cover Story are Copyright 1988 and 2007 Drew Carolan Photography - http://www.drewcarolan.com/ - All rights reserved. Except as noted, All other text Copyright 2007 - Mike Goldstein & RockPoP Gallery (www.rockpopgallery.com) - All rights reserved.