Recording
Paid in Full
Eric B. & Rakim
Independently chosen for3 of our lists. Here is what each of them said.
- 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
Ranked No. 3 in 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
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
Rakim changes what a rap verse can do — internal rhyme, conversational delivery, no shouting — and every MC after him is working from this template.