Eric B.

Louis Eric Barrier (born November 8, 1963) is an American rapper, record producer, and DJ from New York City. One half of the golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, he formed the group in 1986¹ and served as its primary producer and DJ. Their debut album, Paid in Full (1987) was named the greatest hip hop album of all time by MTV in 2006, and the duo were nominated in 2011 for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Barrier played the character of officer Mike Gee on the television series Blue Bloods since 2019.

Louis Eric Barrier (born November 8, 1963) is an American rapper, record producer, and DJ from New York City. One half of the golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, he formed the group in 1986 and served as its primary producer and DJ. Their debut album, Paid in Full (1987) was named the greatest hip hop album of all time by MTV in 2006, and the duo were nominated in 2011 for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Barrier played the character of officer Mike Gee on the television series Blue Bloods since 2019. ==Early life== Eric B. was born Louis Eric Barrier on November 8, 1963, in East Elmhurst, Queens. He attended William Cullen Bryant High School under a basketball scholarship. "I thought of becoming a pro ball player", he said. "But music became a priority." ==Musical style== Eric B. is noted for his sparse production style; a New York Times review of Follow the Leader described him as a "minimalist virtuoso." Jonathan Gold of the Los Angeles Times has described Eric B.'s beats as "chill" and "understated", while AllMusic describes them as "stripped-down." In a more critical appraisal, Mark Jenkins of The Washington Post described Eric B.'s work on Paid in Full as "monotonous". Eric B. is also credited with being one of the first hip-hop producers to make extensive use of soul samples in his music; for instance, he samples heavily from James Brown's "Funky President" and Fonda Rae's "Over Like a Fat Rat" in his debut single with Rakim, "Eric B. Is President." ==Personal life== Eric B. spent two weeks in jail in 2019 over his failure to show up to a 2002 sentencing in New Jersey related to his pleading guilty to eluding arrest and aggravated assault for an incident in 2001. At the 2002 sentencing, Eric B. was sentenced to 364 days in jail, which he did not complete. According to Eric B., he had been instructed by his lawyer in the 2002 case, Paul Bergrin, that he did not have to appear in the sentencing. In 2019, a judge sentenced him to a year of probation instead of prison. ==Discography== ===Studio albums=== Still Paid (1995) ===with Rakim=== Paid in Full (1987) Follow the Leader (1988) Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em (1990) Don't Sweat the Technique (1992) ==References==

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1377538160 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.