Paid in Full

Paid in Full
Studio album by Eric B. & Rakim
Released	7 July 1987
Recorded	1986-1987 at Marley Marl's home studio and Power Play Studios in New York City
Genre	Hip hop
Length	45:08
Label	4'th & B'way
Producer	Eric B. & Rakim

Eric B. & Rakim chronology
Next	Follow the Leader (1988)

Paid in Full is the debut album by American hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, released in 1987 by 4th & B'way Records. The duo recorded the album at hip hop producer Marley Marl's home studio and Power Play Studios in New York City, following Rakim's response to Eric B.'s search for a rapper to complement his disc jockey work in 1985. The album peaked at number fifty-eight on the Billboard 200 chart and produced five singles: "Eric B. Is President", "I Ain't No Joke", "I Know You Got Soul", "Move the Crowd" and "Paid in Full".

Paid in Full is credited as a benchmark album of golden age hip hop. Rakim's rapping, which pioneered the use of internal rhymes in hip hop, set a higher standard of lyricism in the genre and served as a template for future rappers. The album's heavy use of sampling by Eric B. also became influential in hip hop production. The record has sold over a million copies and the Recording Industry Association of America certified it platinum in 1995.

Legacy

Rolling Stone ranked Paid in Full at #61 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" in 2020.

Track listing

All songs performed by Rakim. All songs produced by Eric B., except for "I Know You Got Soul", which is produced by Steve Griffin, and "My Melody" and "Eric B. Is President", which are remixed by Marley Marl. All songs were written by W. Griffin and E. Barrier.

No.	Title	Time
1.	"I Ain't No Joke"	3:54
2.	"Eric B. Is on the Cut"	3:48
3.	"My Melody"	6:46
4.	"I Know You Got Soul"	4:46
5.	"Move the Crowd"	3:49
6.	"Paid in Full"	3:50
7.	"As the Rhyme Goes On"	4:00
8.	"Chinese Arithmetic"	4:07
9.	"Eric B. Is President"	6:20
10.	"Extended Beat"	3:49