POP MUSIC REVIEW : Rap Duo’s Mastery of Form

Deejay Eric B kicked off hip-hop’s long love affair with James Brown, and his partner Rakim was among the first rappers to realize the power inherent in restraint, but the duo’s genius lies less in innovation than in mastery of form.

They’ve realized the latent potential in what is called “old school” hip-hop--a deejay, a rapper, a stack of records--the way Hendrix expanded the electric blues. No rappers anywhere, not Public Enemy nor Run-DMC nor the Lench Mob, have recorded anywhere near as consistent a body of work.

But, things being what they are, Eric B & Rakim’s subtle, swirling textures are almost impossible to replicate live, and at the Palace on Tuesday the two didn’t even try. Back behind the turntables, Eric B looked asleep on his feet, desultorily scratching records the way that mechanical bruins might at a hip-hop Country Bear Jamboree.

Rakim, who on singles like “Follow the Leader” sounds as if he’s getting angrier and angrier until his head threatens to explode, is just another goofy rap kid on stage, shambling about in a brand-new Reds cap and a fat gold rope. His speaking voice seemed to be about an octave above his familiar rapping voice, which sounded suspiciously canned.

Still, mysteriously, the well-paced set worked tremendously well, and a sea of flattop fades bobbed in unison to intense beats and cleanly articulated rhymes.