Cover Story: PAID IN FULL
Eric B. and Rakim PAID IN FULL? Anything but. Not in '87 when the album came out. Certainly not now either. And it all starts here, with the album cover...
1. Several Carats Short:
Ironically, though the group claimed to be "Paid In Full" they were anything but. Squables over per diems, pay checks, and more plagued them almost from the get go. Keep in mind, this was pre-gansta rap, making Eric B and Rakim some of the first fakers in the game.
2. Don't Be Fooled By The Rocks:
Need proof? The boys went for broke when they dropped $68,000 on the gold they're wearing on the cover. In fact, that didn't leave nearly enough for the clothes they wanted to rock as well. The Gucci duds? Knockoffs! As for the paper they're holding up? "It's only about $120," recalls photographer Ron Contarsy, "they actually had to borrow most of it."
3. And It Don't Stop:
Only a few years after the album's release, Eric B. and Rakim ran into creative difference. The financial woes they suffered on top of that were enough to see the duo disband in the early 90s. But that didn't stop the funny-money stuff. Get this, just hours before Kool Keith's '97 Lollapalooza appearance, Dr. Octagon himself was no where to be found. When the show's organizers went looking for him, they found Eric B. waiting for them instead. Like a true pimp, Mr. B. held out a briefcase, pointed inside and said, "You want Keith, you gotta pay." Had he kidnapped him? Was it an attempt at contract renegotion for which Eric thought he could take a cut? Hard to say. Neither guy was paid.
4. Hindsight is 20/20:
Ready for the shocker? If Eric B. and Rakim had taken the cake they dropped on chains so they could floss on the box-top and invested it Microsoft that year (1987) instead, not counting the dividends, their net worth today would be just shy of $13,000,000. Instead Rakim, though considered one of the best lyracists in the indusrty, is on the lookout for a label. As for Mr B? You'd have better luck finding Bin Laden. Homeboy is MIA. Hiding from creditors we suspect.
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mpagent says
Better do some more research, your article is way off base. Did you pay in full for your journalism degree, becuase you got robbed. Check out Erik B on MTV Cribs. I'd also suggest you dig deep and buy $68,000.00 worth of GOOGLE. Maybe you'll have a fighting chance 20 years from now to make $13,000,000 which would still only be a fraction of their net worth.Dirty South County says
Why would they invest in stock? Yea, its very practical and smart, but any true aspiring artist would put every single cent into their craft an image, even if their gear was fake. They were just trying to look like thay actually had something going on and were doing some major things.I honestly cant blame them.
I thought Rakim was in the talks with Interscope/G-Unit but that may have fell through.
Music Nation Rocks!!!!
B.O.$.$. MACKALINI ceo/producer/artist of AlleyWay Productions says
all of this is probably true, the saddest is that there is thousands of other artist from that era, that experienced the same woe'sBigpops aka Devastator says
Paid In Full was one of the hottest albums ever released in HipHop, PERIOD. Rakim if you're reading this, I'll hit you with some beats for free my dude, just holla....oneJ-Flo says
By far the funniest thing I've read about starving artists yet, I think Eric B. & Rakim took the old saying "You gotta spend money to make money," a little too seriously (^_^)