I ain’t no joke, I used to let the mic smoke
Now I slam it when I’m done and make sure it’s broke
When I’m gone, no one gets on ’cause I won’t let
Nobody press up and mess up the scene I set
I like to stand in a crowd and watch the people wonder, damn
But think about it then you’ll understand
I’m just an addict, addicted to music
Maybe it’s a habit, I gotta use it
Even if it’s jazz or the quiet storm
I hook a beat up, convert it into hip hop form
Write a rhyme in graffiti in every show you see me in
Deep concentration ’cause I’m no comedian
Jokers are wild if you wanna be tamed
I treat you like a child then you’re gonna be named
Another enemy, not even a friend of me
‘Cause you’ll get fried in the end when you pretend to be
Competing ’cause I just put your mind on pause
And I can beat you when you compare my rhyme with yours….
(“I Ain’t No Joke”)

It’s been quite a while since I posted a proper album review, but I’m still here and I have an important one for today. In light of the legendary Golden Era duo of Eric B. & Rakim’s recent announcement that they have reunited after nearly 25 years apart and are currently about to embark on a world reunion tour this year, I’d like to celebrate with Paid In Full, the duo’s classic platinum-selling debut album, which itself celebrates its landmark 30th anniversary today! The tour, appropriately enough, will coincide with this milestone and as timing would also have it, Eric and Ra are officially kicking their reunion off *tonight* with a performance of Paid In Full in its entirety at Harlem, NYC’s world famous Apollo Theatre.

Rakim set a new standard for rhyming and lyrical complexity on this record with his multisyllabic and internal rhyme structures that were otherwise unheard of at the time, and his skills would only continue to improve over the years; dude is still thought of today by many as the greatest emcee of all time.As one of the most inspiring and iconic albums from the Golden Era, Paid In Full contains remixed versions of both “Eric B. Is President” and its B-side “My Melody”, which are two of the most sampled, parodied and referenced hip hop records of all time and the legacy of endlessly quoted lines on these two tracks alone is overwhelming; the two remixes are credited to equally legendary producer Marley Marl of Juice Crew/Cold Chillin’ Records fame. While the album is almost entirely produced by Eric and Ra themselves, some of it was actually recorded at Marley’s home studio in Queens, NYC.

Paid In Full is also home to the timeless (and roughly just as quotable) singles “I Ain’t No Joke”, “I Know You Got Soul”, “As The Rhyme Goes On” and “Move The Crowd”. Additionally, the memorable title track was made even more so a year later with DJ Coldcut’s epic Seven Minutes Of Madness Remix, known for its many obscure vocal samples (perhaps most memorably, the one from late Israeli singer Ofra Haza that loops when the classic bassline from Dennis Edwards’ “Don’t Look Any Further” kicks in; this unforgettable remix can be found as a bonus track on the three or so reissues of Paid In Full that have popped up over the years and you can also listen to it below!).

Furthermore, just about every track on this joint ended up as a single or B-side at some point. This is even true of Eric’s instrumental DJ cuts “Chinese Arithmetic”, “Eric B. Is On The Cut” and “Extended Beat”; the latter is basically just the instrumental version of “Move The Crowd”. Highly influential and eternally essential, Paid In Full is a timeless hip hop game-changer and a crucial addition to any music collection meant to be constantly studied and never overlooked.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TN-kDEKxF0?ecver=1] [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5iiEtFL69I?ecver=1]