Eric B. & Rakim release 'Paid in Full'
4th & B'way / Island Records issues the debut LP by DJ Eric B. (Eric Barrier) and 19-year-old MC Rakim Allah (William Griffin Jr.). Across nine tracks, Rakim deploys internal rhyme, multisyllabic chains, and a controlled, conversational delivery — a clean break from the call-and-response cadence that had governed commercial rap since 'Rapper's Delight.'
Why it matters
Rakim is the rap equivalent of free verse arriving in poetry. Adam Bradley's *Book of Rhymes* and the *Anthology of Rap* both anchor the literary turning point here. Every later 'lyricist' tradition — Nas, Jay-Z, Mos Def, Kendrick — descends directly from the structural moves on this LP. The title track and 'I Know You Got Soul' enter the eternal rotation; the unauthorized Coldcut remix of the latter becomes one of the first records that breaks British listeners to American hip-hop.
Branches
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