Track Listing

1. I Ain't No Joke
2. Eric B. Is on the Cut
3. My Melody - Eric B. & Rakim, Rakim
4. I Know You Got Soul
5. Move the Crowd
6. Paid in Full
7. As the Rhyme Goes On
8. Chinese Arithmetic
9. Eric B. Is President
10. Extended Beat
11. As the Rhyme Goes On [Radio Mix][*]
12. Paid in Full [Mini Madness- The Coldcut Remix][*]

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22276 in Music
• Brand: EXP
• Released on: 2005-04-26
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Album Description
Eric B & Rakim, Paid in Full

Customer Reviews

NOT JUST THE BLUE PRINT, THE FOUNDATION
This is how it's supposed to be done. The first hip-hop album that I can remember to have universal appeal. By that I mean the hip-hop universe. The Eric B for president beat seemed ubiquitous back in 87, 88 and I still couldn't get enough of it. Hip-hop was really starting to emerge and Eric B and Rakim had taken the vanguard ushering in a new style of hypnotically seductive beats laced with a smooth intricate rhyme style. A true classic.

So good you won't believe it...
This is one of the best hip hop CDs that I own. Eric B. & Rakim are one of the best DJ/MC duos of all time and this CD shows why. It starts off with the unbelievable "I Ain't No Joke", and from start to finish, it is unbelievable. For starters, on every track that Rakim raps on, he kills it. He is one of the best (if not the best)lyricists of all time. He showcases lyrics that not only have incredibly complex rhyme schemes, but also make sense to whatever he's saying (meaning he doesn't throw in words just to sound good, he does it because it fits with what he is saying. His flow is very hard to match on this CD. He has such a great flow that it all sounds natural to him, and it sounds so perfect when he says it. Now for te beats. Eric B. was on the top of his game on this CD. The three instumental tracks on the CD are all great, as Eric B. is one of the best to ever be on the turntables. He laces every beat so well and it compliments Rakim perfectly on every single track he raps on. Oh, and on the track "I Know You Got Soul", Eric B. becomes the first to sample another song when he samples James Brown. So we have a great and highly influential DJ, and a MC who made a lot of innovations to lyrics. It just makes me sad that rappers like Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, and others can say that Rakim is highly influential and important to them, and then make pathetic songs that are a disgrace to his legacy (not to mention how Lil Wayne now calls himself "The Greatest Rapper Alive" what a joke!). But anyways, this is a truly great album, and if you love old school hip hop, or just want a change of pace from the MTV hip hop that is polluting the airwaves, then check this out. Whether you are trying to start a collection, or making an addition to your music library, you cannot go wrong with this CD. Plus, it is $7.99, when Lil Wayne CDs are a lot more expensive, better music at a nice low price.

Eric B. And Rakim's Paid In Full
Why do people write reviews about things which they obviously cannot comprehend? To paraphrase another customer review, "this album came out a year after Run DMC's debut album." That's odd, since this album came out in 1987, and Run DMC released the first single from their album in 1983, which, if you do the math is....wow, four years, not one! If people feel the urge to write a record review, at least they should incorporate factual pieces of evidence, not fabricated bits of nonsense. I don't usually take the time to write record reviews, because in reality, who cares what other people think about certain music; if you enjoy listening to it, then listen to it. If you don't like it, then who cares if fourteen hundred misinformed simpletons raved about it. It's usually if someone likes an album that they will take the time to laud it, as they usually do, and it's not indicative of worth.
Another thing that I've found to be odd, is when people say that good music sounds dated. I've listened to this album countless times, and there is no suubstitute for innovation and versatility. Rakim recorded some of the best MCing that I've ever heard, and his influence can almost be considered ubiquitous. His lucidity is striking, and a good indication of why he did not need overproduced backing beats, as so many rappers today do. An intense lack of poetic flow is hard to cover up, despite how many half-nude women are in your videos and how elaborate the music may sound. Eric B. and Rakim made a great, great album that is not phased by time.