I Ain't No Joke

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If you listen to the rhymes in "I Ain't No Joke", you know I was really thinkin' hard about that shit. Plus, what I was doin' was, like, I was makin' it real hard, but no curses or sum'n they wouldn't want to play all day, 'cause they got it in power rotation. So I was thinkin' of the hardest shit I could think of, but still sayin' sum'n that they could play all day. 'Cause that's the whole idea of the rhymes I write. I can get real crazy with rhymes, but they ain't gonna play it all day, and that's what's gonna get you paid: people constantly hearin' it on radio. I could make real stoopid [ sic ] shit that they'll only play on the weekend, then they'll have to bleep half the record out! But, you know, I ain't livin' like that. I'm gettin' paid, I wanna get paid.

"I Ain't No Joke" was produced by the duo using the samples from "Pass the Peas" by The J.B.'s [7] and "Theme from the Planets" by Dexter Wansel. [8] Like most of the album, "I Ain't No Joke" was recorded at Power Play Studios in Long Island City, Queens, New York City. [9]

Music video

Music video for "I Ain't No Joke" was directed by Vivien Goldman, a British journalist, writer, and musician, who also had experience in guerrilla filmmaking. The budget available to them was low, so she asked Eric B. and Rakim where they like to hang out, and chose it as the locations for the music video. The video features Rakim rapping in three different locations: in front of a graffiti mural, on a playground with his friends, and outside of an electronics shop in Harlem, in front of a crowd, with Eric B. playing on turntables. [10] The shots of these locations change constantly throughout the video. Both Eric B. and Rakim wear golden age era outfits, consisting of tracksuits and heavy gold chains and jewelry, and described by Complex magazine as "flamboyant" and "both classic and priceless". [11] The video also features a cameo appearance from Flavor Flav of the group Public Enemy, and a cameo of "Chill Will", a DJ from the trio Doug E. Fresh and The Get Fresh Crew, dancing on the playground and in front of the crowd near the store. [10]

Track listing

Side A
  1. "I Ain't No Joke" – 3:54
  2. "Extended Beat" – 3:49
Side B
  1. "Eric B. Is on the Cut" – 3:48

Charts

"I Ain't No Joke"
I Ain't No Joke single.jpg
Single by Eric B. & Rakim
from the album Paid in Full
B-side "Eric B. Is on the Cut"
Released1987
Recorded1987
Genre Hip hop
Length3:54
Label 4th & B'way
Songwriter(s) Eric Barrier, Rakim Allah
Producer(s) Eric B. & Rakim
Eric B. & Rakim singles chronology
"Eric B. Is President"
(1986)
"I Ain't No Joke"
(1987)
"I Know You Got Soul"
(1987)
Audio sample
Chart (1987)Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs [12] 38

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References

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