Classic Verse: Rakim’s “Paid in Full”

It's almost embarrassing that it's taken me this long to get to Erik B and Rakim's uber-classic track "Paid In Full". The title track to their seminal 1987 album of the same name, "Paid In Full" - and I'm not exaggerating here - redefined what a rap verse could be. There's a reason Rakim's flow on this track is probably the most often quoted verse in hip-hop history. All hail Rakim, the Rap God.

Lyrics are underneath the video:

"Thinkin of a master plan
Cuz ain’t nuthin but sweat inside my hand
So I dig into my pocket, all my money is spent
So I dig deeper but still comin up with lint
So I start my mission- leave my residence
Thinkin how could I get some dead presidents
I need money, I used to be a stick-up kid
So I think of all the devious things I did
I used to roll up, this is a hold up, ain’t nuthin funny
Stop smiling, be still, don’t nuthin move but the money
But now I learned to earn cos I’m righteous
I feel great! so maybe I might just
Search for a 9 to 5, if I strive
Then maybe I’ll stay alive
So I walk up the street whistlin this
Feelin out of place cos, man, do I miss
A pen and a paper, a stereo, a tape of
Me and eric b, and a nice big plate of
Fish, which is my favorite dish
But without no money it’s still a wish
Cos I don’t like to dream about gettin paid
So I dig into the books of the rhymes that I made
To now test to see if I got pull
Hit the studio, cos I’m paid in full."

I've got Jacques "don't get too nostalgic" article fresh in my mind, but it's hard for me not to lose my f**king mind of Rakim's verse on "Paid In Full". It's no exaggeration to say that the man did for rap lyricism what Thomas Edison did for the lightbulb. Up until this point emcees were largely rhyming in blocked, constant rhythms, but Rakim switched up the game completely here, actually "flowing" in and out of Erik B.'s equally classic beat and taking a uniquely autobiographical slant at a time when rap was 99% about bragging and boasting (as opposed to now, when it's 95% about bragging and boasting). What's more, this was also really the advent of "hustle" rap. All of hip-hop's "get money" tracks essentially originated from one line: "Thinkin of a master plan / Cuz ain’t nuthin but sweat inside my hand." I'm going to have to end this before I get completely carried away and have a hip-hop orgasm, but the point remains: even among the select few verses that deserve to be called "classics", "Paid In Full" is the most classical...classicalest...most classy. You get get the point.