Don't Sweat the Technique is the fourth and final studio album by Eric B. & Rakim, released on June 23, 1992, by MCA Records. The album builds on the sounds of 1990's Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em, with Rakim sounding more aggressive on Eric B.'s jazzy, soulful production.
The album features more of Rakim's socially conscious lyrics. "Casualties of War" relates to the Gulf War in which the United States-led military coalition invaded former ally Iraq following its war with Kuwait. It mentions the concept of post-traumatic stress disorder, and relates to Rakim's Muslim faith. The track "What's Going On" relates to the crack epidemic that plagued New York in the late-1980s and early-1990s, poverty, black-on-black crime, police brutality, and abortion. The tenth track, "Know the Ledge" (which originally appeared on the soundtrack to the 1992 film Juice), showcases Rakim's storytelling as he shares a first-person narrative of a neighborhood thug and drug dealer who is forced to come to grips with his violent and reckless lifestyle. Read more here.
