The debut album from the Amityville, LI duo was released 27 years ago today

On this date in 1987, Paid In Full, the first album from Eric B. & Rakim, hit the store shelves.

Released on the now defunct 4th & B’way Records, this album became one of the prototypes of how Hip Hop is supposed to sound during the coveted “Golden Era” of Hip Hop. Recorded in the legendary Power Play Studios, the LP went on to sell over a million copies and was included in Rolling Stone‘s 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time. Reportedly, the entire masterpiece was completed in just one week.

The first single, “Eric B. For President”, was recorded and released in 1986 on Zakia Records. After Russell Simmons heard the single, the duo was signed to Island Records and began recording the next year. Other tracks like “I Ain’t No Joke”, “I Know You Got Soul”, and “My Melody”, which was on the B-Side of the Eric B. For President single, were in heavy rotation on the streets as well as in your around the way boom box. Rakim’s mesmerizing slow flow not only attracted more listeners, thus earning a deeper fan base, but influenced an entire future generations of MCs, helping him to forge his way into the game and maintaining his title as the greatest lyricist of all time.

Thanks to Eric B. and the God Rakim for this 1987 classic! Salute!

-Sha Be Allah(@KingPenStatus)