Eric B & Rakim – Paid in Full

Like Follow the Leader, this record is regarded very highly in hip-hop circles, but it didn’t blow me away. It was a more complete record than Leader, though, with actual songs (choruses and everything!). I’d never really appreciated “I Know You Got Soul” before, and now it’s my favorite Eric B song. If he really started the trend of James Brown samples, he deserves a gold star. It’s kind of amazing to realize that no DJ had thought to do that earlier. And the drum track from “Paid in Full” is just sick.