Rakim's rapping, which pioneered the use of internal rhymes in hip-hop, set a higher standard of lyricism in the genre and served as a template for future rappers.
[7] In 2003, Eric B. alleged the duo had not been paid in full for their work, and filed a lawsuit against the Island Def Jam Music Group, Lyor Cohen, and Russell Simmons.
[10] The album cover featured a photo of Eric B. and Rakim wearing custom-made Gucci "knock-ups" by Harlem tailor Dapper Dan.
[12] The New York Times' Ben Ratliff wrote that Rakim's "unblustery rapping developed the form beyond the flat-footed rhythms of schoolyard rhymes".
[14] Unlike previous rappers such as LL Cool J and Run-DMC who delivered their vocals with high energy, Rakim employed a relaxed, stoic delivery.
[4][15] According to MTV, "We'd been used to MCs like Run and DMC, Chuck D and KRS-One leaping on the mic shouting with energy and irreverence, but Rakim took a methodical approach to his microphone fiending.
[19][20] AllMusic editor Steve Huey characterized Rakim for his "complex internal rhymes, literate imagery, velvet-smooth flow, and unpredictable, off-the-beat rhythms.
[16] Music critic Robert Christgau noted that Eric B. had incorporated "touches of horn or whistle deep in the mix" of his sampled percussion and scratches.
[27] According to Touré of The New York Times, "It is Rakim's verbal dexterity as well as his calm, deep voice and dark tone that has made this song a rap classic: 'I came in the door/ I said it before/ I'll never let the mic magnetize me no more/ But it's bitin' me/ Fightin' me/ Invitin' me to rhyme/ I can't hold it back/ I'm looking for the line/ Takin' off my coat/ Clearin' my throat/ The rhyme will be kickin' it/ Til I hit my last note.
[25] Described as one of the album's "monumental singles",[33] Michael Di Bella wrote in the All Music Guide to Rock that "Rakim grabs the listener by the throat and illustrates his mastery of the rhyming craft".
Is President" but was unimpressed by the rest of Paid in Full: "Its beats are monotonous, and the attempts to take 'jazz and the quiet storm' and 'convert into hip-hop form' fall flat.
[46] In The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), Sasha Frere-Jones called it "one of hip-hop's perfect records",[39] while Alex Ogg considered it to be the duo's magnum opus in his book The Men Behind Def Jam.
[4] Rakim's rapping on the album set a blueprint for future rappers and helped secure East Coast hip-hop's reputation for innovative lyrical technique.
[14][47] Author William Cobb stated in To the Break of Dawn that his rapping had "stepped outside" of the preceding era of old school hip-hop and that while the vocabulary and lyrical dexterity of newer rappers had improved, it was "nowhere near what Rakim introduced to the genre".
[48] AllMusic's Steve Huey declared Paid in Full one of hip-hop's most influential albums and "essential listening" for those interested in the genre's "basic musical foundations".
[15] Jess Harvell of Pitchfork complimented Rakim for an "endless display of pure skill" and described the album as "laidback and funky", but believed it contained "too much filler to get a free 'classic' pass".
[20] Pitchfork placed Paid in Full at number fifty-two in its "Top 100 Albums of the 1980s"; editor Sam Chennault wrote that Rakim inspired a generation of MCs and "defined what it meant to be a hip-hop lyricist".
[53] By 2018, at which point Pitchfork had substantially altered their list of the top albums of the 1980s, Paid in Full was moved to number eleven and called ″a crowning achievement of hip-hop's first golden age″ and one of the genre's ″glittering Rosetta Stones″.
"[55] Rakim is credited with influencing rappers including the Wu-Tang Clan, Jay-Z, 50 Cent, and Nas,[48][56] who cited Paid in Full as one of his favorite albums.
"[59] Eminem borrows or interpolates lines from Paid in Full on tracks from The Marshall Mathers LP including "My Melody" ("I'm Back") and "As The Rhyme Goes On" ("The Way I Am").