The Greatest Music
Paid in Full
The 161st greatest album of all time
Paid in Full, released in 1987 by Eric B. & Rakim, is an East Coast hip hop album that pairs Rakim's measured, innovative MCing and internal rhyme patterns with Eric B.'s spare, sample-driven production and turntable work. The record blends hard-hitting drum loops, prominent scratching, and jazz and blues-inflected samples to create a moody, minimalist sound associated with hardcore and golden age hip hop. Its focus on lyrical complexity, rhythmic precision, and DJ technique helped shape the aesthetics of late 1980s hip hop.
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