Easily one of the five most important hip- hop releases of all time, the debut album by Eric B. and Rakim is a piece of art, both of its time and light years ahead of it. It was originally released in 1986, a time when James Brown was still on angel dust and had yet to rally his sample- checking attorneys into full-on beatdown mode. Because of this, a relatively low- profile release like Paid In Full could be chock- full of JB breaks, and obvious ones at that. Hell, if "I Know You Got Soul" was released today, it would be called a rip-off remake of Puff Daddy proportions.

But those were different times, and no, there's no denying the power of the track. (I know, it's actually from a Bobby Byrd song, but we all know who really wrote the groove.) But while the sampling drew from the past, the minimalist use of space and (especially) Rakim's peerless skills on the mic are still sending shockwaves through the community. It's impossible to imagine cutting- edge hip-hop today without this album.

So if you like this music at all you have to have Paid In Full, end of story. The new Platinum Edition adds some worthy, long out of print remixes, some of which (like the Coldcut workover of "Paid In Full") I've been trying to track down for ages. The Coldcut track is from '89, to give you an idea of how far they go back, but it sounds like it was made next Tuesday. And yes, it's fucking incredible.

The rest of the bonus disc is good but not great. Some decent Marly Marl mixes are nice to have, and there's an a capella track in which you can hear Rakim, probably the greatest rapper the genre has known, in all his stripped down glory. (Here's a project for you kids: load Rakim's voice into your computer and add your own beats... instant remix time.) The rest don't add a ton to the legacy, but this shouldn't detract from the essential nature of this album. Must... have.... Paid In Full.

-Mark Richard-San

"Paid In Full (Coldcut Remix)"

[Real Audio Stream]