# Eric B. & Rakim — Paid in Full

Eric B. & Rakim’s Paid in Full (1987) appears on 3 of our lists — Golden Age Hip-Hop, The Waxonia Desk — A Way In, and The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred, highest at No. 3 in Golden Age Hip-Hop. Every verdict, in full.

- **Released:** 1987
- **Label:** 4th & Broadway
- **On:** Golden Age Hip-Hop, The Waxonia Desk — A Way In, and The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred
- **ISRC:** USIR28700020
- **Updated:** 2026-08-29
- **Artist:** [Eric B. & Rakim](https://waxonia.com/artist/eric-b-and-rakim/)
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/track/eric-b-and-rakim--paid-in-full/

## What 3 lists say

### No. 3 in [Golden Age Hip-Hop](https://waxonia.com/genre/golden-age-hip-hop/)

Rakim introduced internal rhyme and a conversational flow, and every rapper before him instantly sounded old-fashioned. The single most consequential technical leap in the form.

### Picked by [The Waxonia Desk — A Way In](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-a-way-in/)

Rakim rewrote what a rapper could sound like — internal rhyme, conversational delivery, nothing forced to land on the beat. Almost every MC you like is downstream of this.

### Picked by [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/)

Rakim changes what a rap verse can do — internal rhyme, conversational delivery, no shouting — and every MC after him is working from this template.

## Listen

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Eric%20B.%20%26%20Rakim%20Paid%20in%20Full) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=E7t8eoA_1jQ)

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