Paid in Full

Paid in Full is the debut album of Hip-Hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, released on July 7, 1987, by IslandSubsidiary and 4th & B'way Records. The album peaked at number fifty-eight on the Billboard 200 chart, number eight on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 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". Rakim's rhyming deviated from the simple rhyme patterns of early 1980s Hip-Hop. His free-rhythm style ignored bar lines and had earned comparisons to Thelonious Monk.

Eric B. & Rakim are a Hip-Hop duo from Long Island, New York. The duo is composed of DJ Eric B. (Eric Barrier, b. 1963) and MC Rakim (William Michael Griffin Jr., b. 1968). Eric B. & Rakim were recognized as the premier and most influential DJ/MC team in all of hip-hop in the late 80s and Rolling Stone ranked them No. 5 on its list of the 20 Greatest Duos of All Time.