The Impact of Paid in Full on Hip-Hop History

Although never fully embraced by mainstream acclaim, Eric B and Rakim are undoubtedly one of the most influential Hip-hop groups of all time. By 1986, Hip-Hop had already left an indelible mark on mainstream culture. Movies like Wild Style and Beat Street exposed the world to Graffiti Art, Breakdancing and the art of scratching, while rapping became the most visible and recognized form of the culture. The Fresh Fest Tours featuring groups like Run-DMC, Whodini and the Fat Boys branched out across the US to indoctrinate new fans to the music. The sound of Hip-Hop was punctuated by hard drum machine beats and loud, near screaming rhymes. It was in the same year that this Hip-Hop duo would create a sound that would change the tone of the genre forever.

Hip-Hop listeners were introduced to the group in 1985 when they released the 12” single “Eric B for President” and its B-Side companion “My Melody” on the independent label Zakia Records. The impact that the songs had was felt immediately. Rakim’s cold impenetrable monotone flow combined with his intricate rhyme patterns caught everyone off-guard. The single had people buzzing over the sound, but most were left unprepared for what they would hear when the album dropped in 1986.

By the time “I know you Got Soul” was released as the second single from the LP, everyone knew that this group had something that was groundbreaking. Eric B’s production utilized hard bass drum kicks in conjunction with funky soul samples from artists such as James Brown, Bobby Byrd, and Jimmy Castor. Meanwhile, Rakim’s mesmerizing delivery literally changed the sound of Hip-Hop music. Almost immediately, MCs began to change the way they delivered rhymes. Yelling over beats to emphasize rhymes was replaced by cool, laid back vocal intonations. With the flair of a jazz musician, Rakim used style to reinvent the art of the rhyme.

Eric B and Rakim symbolized the dividing line between the sound of the legendary originators of the music and the new sound of the up-and-coming artists of the mid to late 1980’s. On the Hip-Hop timeline, era can be identified as before Eric B and Rakim and after. In fact, coincidence or not, the market for the new sound created by the arrival of Paid in Full became the death knell for legendary groups like The Cold Crush Brothers, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, The Fearless Four, and the Crash Crew.

One of the most telling stories about how outside of the box Rakim’s style was in recording “My Melody”. Eric B and Rakim recorded “Eric B for President” and “My Melody” at producer Marley Marl’s home studio. During the recording of “My Melody”, Marley Marl and MC Shan, who was present, kept trying to get Rakim to rhyme harder and louder like all the other rappers of the time period, but Rakim wouldn’t change his style. Later on, a retrospective MC Shan admitted that they didn’t realize they were witnessing the future of Hip-Hop.

Paid in Full has withstood the test of time and is without question still one of the greatest Hip-Hop albums of all time. Eric B and Rakim were artists who were ahead of their time. Rakim’s effect on Hip-Hop can be felt by the sheer number of MCs who say that they have been influenced by his work. Twenty years after the release of Paid in Full the songs still whip party-goers into frenzies when they are played, and make grown men revert back into adolescent boys reminiscing on the first time they heard the future.