This list of songs is inspired by lists published by radio station KEXP-FM from Seattle in 2010, as well as the latest poll taken in 2021 by Rolling Stone Magazine. For the most part I will faithfully countdown from their lists, starting at Song #500 and going until I reach Song #1. When you see the song title listed as something like: Song #XXX (KEXP)….it means that I am working off of the official KEXP list. Song XXX (RS) means the song is coming from the Rolling Stone list. If I post the song title as being: Song #xxx (KTOM), it means I have gone rogue and am inserting a song choice from my own personal list of tunes I really like. In any case, you are going to get to hear a great song and learn the story behind it. Finally, just so everyone is aware, I am not a music critic nor a musician. I am a music fan and an armchair storyteller. Here is the story behind today’s song. Enjoy.
KEXP: The Top 500 Songs in Modern Music History.
Song #398: Paid in Full by Eric B. and Rakim.
“Paid in Full” by Eric B. and Rakim was one of the very first big Hip Hop hits in the 1980s that followed in the wake of the work done by the likes of GrandMaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa and Run-DMC to lay the cultural foundation for this genre. Eric B. was a DJ in New York, Rakim was a young rapper in search of a partner. Together, they recorded some early demos which came to the attention of a man named Russell Simmons. Russell Simmons was head of the fledgling Hip Hop Production Company Def Jam Records. *Simmons is also the brother of Joseph Simmons who, as you may remember, was “Reverend Run” from Run-DMC. Simmons signed Eric B. and Rakim to a contract. From their debut album Paid in Full the title track was the first single to be released.
“Paid in Full” is a great song in a musical sense. However, its importance to the genre of Hip Hop cannot be understated. “Paid in Full”was one of the first Hip Hop songs that expanded its lyrical message beyond being a mirror to events and emotions present from the local community. Hip Hop was born on street corners and local venues and often spoke to conditions found there. “Paid in Full” paid homage to that, to a point but, it also helped establish an internal dialogue that moved the narrator away from the streets into a fictionalized future. Some point to “Pain in Full” as the beginning of the Hip Hop’s “Thug Life” culture. Thus it is a song that holds tremendous importance in the history of Hip Hop.
But, a funny thing happened on the way to “Paid in Full” being released. There are actually two versions of it. The first version is the one recorded by Eric B. and Rakim at Def Jam Studios. The second version is a remix by an English DJ-duo called Coldcut. The original version debuted to moderately successful album sales but, the remix went straight to #1. If you have ever heard a song exhorting you to “Pump Up The Volume! Pump Up The Volume!” then, you have heard the remix of “Paid in Full”. The Coldcut remix is credited with being one of the very first mega-successful attempts at remixing an existing song. In the remix, Coldcut used a myriad of sampled voices including everyone from actor Humphrey Bogart, to TV announcer Don Pardo, to an Israeli singer named Ofra Haza. They sampled a variety of beats and brass instruments; looping and extending and repeating them as needed. The remix of “Paid in Full” is called “Seven Minutes of Madness” but, in reality, it is seven minutes of creative excellence. When asked to describe the process by which they were able to blend spoken words and beats and Rakim’s rapping so seamlessly, Coldcut replied that it was the ability to experiment with sounds from songs as they played in Clubs and in their own homes. It reminds me of the importance of play for children and how so much of their creativity is derived from imaginative play.
Anyway, even if Hip Hop isn’t your thing, I am betting that you may have heard snippets of the remix of “Paid in Full” at one time or another. Regardless as to whether you have heard it or not, the song is well worth a listen. The mash-up of sounds is so well done and the message of Rakim’s rapping is such an important cultural touchstone in Hip Hop history. So, prepare to become the cool kid in your circle and have a listen to one of the most influential Hip Hop songs of all time, “Paid in Full” by Eric B. and Rakim, remixed by Coldcut. Enjoy.
A link to the music video for “Paid in Full” by Eric B. and Rakim, remixed by Coldcut, can be found here. ***The lyrics version of the remix is unavailable but the lyrics version of the original track by Eric B. and Rakim can be found here.
Eric B. and Rakim have a website that can be accessed by clicking on the link here.
Thanks to KEXP for supporting important artists and the music they make. A link to their website can be found here.
***As always, all original content contained within this post remains the sole property of the author. No portion of this post shall be reblogged, copied or shared in any manner without the express written consent of the author. ©2021 http://www.tommacinneswriter.com
Tom MacInnes, Writer