On This Day: August 26, 1989

“Friends” 🎤💿

by GRAMMY® winner Jody Watley ft. Legends Eric B. & Rakim

Peaked at #9 on the @billboard Hot 100 chart!

Writers: J. Watley, A. Cymone, Rakim, Eric B.

Additional Chart® History

#3 Hot R&B

#7 Hot Dance Club Play

Wattage!

From Billboard:
First rap act with a guest credit on a top 10 hit: Eric B. & Rakim (Jody Watley’s “Friends,” 8/26/89)

Six years before Mariah Carey and Ol’ Dirty Bastard set the standard for pop-meets-rap crossovers with the “Fantasy” remix, late ’80s star Jody Watley invited hip-hop duo Eric B. & Rakim to guest on her Larger Than Life single “Friends.” It resulted not only in the first top 10-charting feature for a rap artist on any single, but it also marked the legendary rap act’s sole trip together to the top 40 — the duo only scored one Hot 100 hit as lead artists, the No. 96-peaking “Juice (Know the Ledge)” in 1992

https://www.okayplayer.com/music/what-were-the-first-rap-rb-collaborations.html