Paid in Full is released

Why it matters

Paid in Full came out July 7, 1987, on 4th & B'way Records. It is Eric B. & Rakim's debut LP and it is one of the most quietly perfect rap albums ever made. The MCs on it were Rakim, alone, and the records he raps over are produced by Eric B. (with substantial uncredited Marley Marl input on several beats) using samples almost entirely from James Brown, Bobby Byrd, and the Soul Brothers Six. The whole album is funk records cut into loops with Rakim talking over them. What Rakim does on this album is consolidate everything the two earlier 12-inches ("Eric B. Is President" and "My Melody") had hinted at. "I Ain't No Joke," "I Know You Got Soul," "My Melody," "Eric B. Is President," "Paid in Full" itself, "Move the Crowd," "As the Rhyme Goes On," all of them are masterclasses in internal-rhyme and breath-control. He does not sound like he is rapping; he sounds like he is talking, very precisely, on tempo. Every rap album you have heard since with a focused, smart, lyric-first MC at the center is in some way descended from Paid in Full. It is also a really easy album to put on at any moment. You can do that right now.