Paid In Full (1987)

• I Ain't No Joke
• My Melody
• I Know You Got Soul
• Move The Crowd
• Paid In Full
• As The Rhyme Goes On
• Chinese Arithmetic
• Eric B Is President 

I Ain't No Joke lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim

I ain't no joke, I use to let the mic smoke

Now I slam it when I'm done and make sure it's broke

When i'm gone no one gets on cuz I won't let

Nobody press up and mess up the seen I set

I like to stand in a crowd and watch the people wonder damn

But think about it then you'll understand

I'm just an addict addicted to music

Maybe it's a habit, I gotta use it

Even if it's jazz or the quiet storm

I hook a beat up convert it into hip-hop form

Write a rhyme in graffitti in every show you see me in

Deep concentration, cuz I'm no comedian

Jokers are wild if you wanna be tamed

I treat you like a child then you're gonna be named

Another enemy, not even a friend of me

Cuz you'll get fried in the end when you pretend to be

Competin' cuz I just put your mind on pause

and I complete when - you compare my rhyme wit yours

I wake you up and as I stare in your face you seem stunned

Remember me, the one you got your idea from

But soon you start to suffer, the tune'll get rougher

When you start to stutter that's when you had enuff of

Biting, it'll make you choke, you can't provoke

You can't cope, you should've broke because I ain't no joke

I got a question, as serious as cancer

Who can keep the average dancer

Hyper as a heart attack nobody smiling

Cuz you're expressing the rhyme that I'm styling

This is what we all sit down to write

You can't make it so you take it home, break it and bite

Use pieces and bits of all the hip-hop hits

Get the style down pat then it's time to switch

Put my tape on pause and add some more to yours

Then you fake it you're ready for the neighborhood chores

The E-M-C-E-E don't even try to be

When you come up to speak, don't even lie to me

You like to exaggerate, dream and imaginate

Then change the rhyme around, that can aggravate me

So when you see me come up, freeze

Or you'll be one of those 7 MC's

They think that I'm a new jack but only if they knew that

They who think wrong are they who can't do that

Style that I'm doing, they might ruin

Patterns and paragraphs based on you and

Your offbeat DJ, if anything he play

Sound familiar, I'll wait til E say

Play 'em, so I'ma have to diss and bro

You could get a smack for this, I ain't no joke

I hold the microphone like a grudge

B'll hold the record so the needle don't budge

I hold a conversation cuz when I invent

I nominated my DJ to president

When I'm see I'll, keep a freestyle, going steadily

So pucker up and whistle my melody

But whatever you do, don't miss one

They'll be another rough rhyme after this one

Before you know it, you're following and fiending

Waiting for the punchline to get the meaning

Like before the middle of my story I'm telling

Nobody beats the R so stop yelling

Save it, put it in your pocket for later

Cuz I'm moving the crowd and B'll wreck the fader

No interruptions til the mic is broke

When I'm gone, then you can joke

Cuz everything is real on a serious tip

Keep playing and I varies quick

And take you for a walk through hell

Freeze your dome then watch your eyeballs swell

Guide you out of triple stage darkness

When it get dark again then I'ma spark this

Microphone cuz the heat is on, you see smoke

then I finish when the beat is gone, I'm no joke

My Melody lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim

Turn up the bass, check out my melody, hand out a cigar

I'm letting knowledge be born and my name's the R

A-K-I-M not like the rest of them, I'm not on a list

That's what I'm saying, I drop science like a scientist

My melody's in a code, the very next episode

Has the mic often distorting, ready to explode

I keep the mic at Fahrenheit, freeze emcees then make 'em colder

The listener's system is kickin' like solar

As I memorize, advertise like a poet

Keep you going when I'm flowing, smooth enough, you know it

But rough, that's why the mural on my story I tell will be

Nobody beats the R, check out my melody

So what, I'm a microphone fiend, addicted soon as I seen

One of these four emcees so they don't have to scream

I couldn't wait to take the mic, blow into it to test

Then let my melody play, then the record suggest

That I'm dropping bombs, but I stay peace and calm

Any MC that disagree with me, wave your arm

And I'll break, when I'm through breaking, I'll leave you broke

Drop the mic when I'm finished and watch it smoke

So stand back, you wanna rap, all of that can wait

I won't push, I won't beat around the bush

I wanna break upon those who are not supposed to

You might try but you can't get close to

Because I'm number one, competition is none

I'm measured with the heat that's made by Sun

Whether playing ball or bobbing in the hall

Or just writing my name in graffiti on the wall

They shouldn't have told me you said you control me

So now a contest is what you owe me

Pull out your money, pull out your cut

Pull up a chair, and I'ma tear shit up

My name is Rakim Allah, and R and A stands for "Ra"

Switch it around, it still comes out "R"

So easily will I E-M-C-E-E

A repetition of words, just check out my melody

Some bass and treble is moist, scratching and cutting a voice

And when it's mine that's when the rhyme is always choice

I wouldn't have came to set my name and run the same weak shit

Putting blurs and slurs and words that don't fit in a rhyme

Why waste time on the microphone

I take this more serious than just a poem

Rock from party to party, backyard to yard

Now tear it up, y'all, and bless the mic for the gods

The rhyme is rugged, at the same time sharp

I can swing off anything even a string of a harp

Just turn it on and start rocking, mind no introduction

'Til I finish dropping science, no interruption

When I approach, I exercise like a coach

Using a melody and add numerous notes

And with the mic and the R-A-K-I-M

It's attached, like a match, I will strike again

Rhymes are poetically kept and alphabetically stepped

Put in a order to proceed with the momentum, except

I say one rhyme out of order, a longer rhyme shorter

Or pause, but don't stop the tape recorder

I'm not a regular competitor, first rhyme editor

Melody arranger, poet et cetera

Extra events, the grand finale like bonus

I am the man they call the microphonist

With wisdom, which means wise words being spoken

Too many at one time, watch the mic start smoking

I came to express the rap I manifest

Stand in my way, and I'll veto all the word's protest

Emcees that wanna be best, they're gonna

Be dissed if they don't get from in front of

All they can go get is me a glass of Moet

A hard time, sip your juice and watch a smooth poet

I take seven emcees put 'em in a line

And add seven more brothers who think they can rhyme

Well, it'll take seven more before I go for mine

Now that's twenty-one emcees ate up at the same time

Easy does it, do it easy, that's what I'm doing

No fessing, no messing around, no chewing

No robbing or buying, biting—why borrow?

This slob will stop trying, fighting to follow

My unusual style will confuse you a while

If I was water, I'd flow in the Nile

So many rhymes, you won't have time to go for yours

Just because of applause, I have to pause

Right after tonight is when I prepare

To catch another sucker duck emcee out there

'Cause my strategy has to be tragedy, catastrophe

And after this you'll call me your majesty

My melody

Marley Marl synthesized it, I memorized it

Eric B. made a cut and advertised it

My melody's created for emcees in the place

They try to listen 'cause I'm dissin' them, so pick up your face

Shook off your neck as you try to detect my pace

Now you're druggin', almost buggin' off my rhyme, like bass

The melody that I'm styling, smooth as a violin

Rough enough to break New York from Long Island

My wisdom is swift, no matter if

My momentum is slow, emcees still stand stiff

I'm genuine like leather, inclined to be clever

Emcees you beat the R, I'll say "oh never"

So Eric B. cut it easily and

Check out my melody

I Know You Got Soul lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim

It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you

Without a strong rhyme to step to

Think of how many weak shows you slept through

Time's up, I'm sorry I kept you

Thinking of this, you keep repeating you miss

The rhymes from the microphone soloist

And you sit by the radio, hand on the dial, soon

As you hear it, pump up the volume

Dance wit the speaker 'till you hear it blow,

Then plug in the headphone 'cause here it go

It's a 4 letter word when it's heard, it control

your body to dance (You got it) soul,

Ditects the tempo like a red alert

Reaches your reflex, so let it work

When this is playing, you can't get stuck wit

The steps, so get set and I'm a still come up wit

A gift to be swift, follow the leader, the rhyme will go

Def wit the record that was mixed a long time ago

It can be done but only I can do it

For those that can dance and clap your hands to it

I start to think and then I sink

Into the paper like I was ink

When I'm writing, I'm trapped in between the lines,

I escape when I finish the rhyme...

I got soul

You got it [x4]

I know you got soul

Picture a mic, the stage is empty

A beat like this might tempt me

To pose, show my rings and my fat gold chain

Grab the mic like I'm on Soul Train

But I'll wait 'cause I mastered this

Let the others go first so the brothers don't miss

Eric B. break the sticks (you got it)

Rakim will begin when you make the mix

I'll experiment like a scientist

You wanna rhyme, you gotta sign my list

'Cause I'm a manifest and bless the mic I hold

You want it next? then you gotta have soul

'Cause if you ain't got it, I'm a make an encore

Take the mic, make the people respond for

The R, 'cause that's the way it'll have to be

If you wanna get on after me

Think about it, wait, erase your rhyme

Forget it and don't waste your time

'Cause I'll be in the crowd if you ain't controlling it

Drop the mic, you shouldn't be holding it

This is how it should be done

This style is identical to none

Some try to make it sound like this but you're getting me

So upset that I'm wet 'cause you're sweating me

I drip steam like a microphone fiend

Eager to MC is my theme

I get hype when I hear a drum roll

Rakim is on the mic and you know I got soul

You got it [x5]

I got soul (you got it) that's why I came

To teach those who can't say my name

First of all, I'm the soloist, the soul controller

Rakim gets stronger as I get older

Constant elevation causes expansion

I write my rhyme while I cool in my mansion

Then put it on tape and in the city I test it

Then on the radio the R's requested

You listen to it, the concept might break you

'Cause almost anyone can relate to...

Whoever's out of hand, I'm give him handles

Light 'em up, blow 'em out like candles

Or should I just let him melt?

Then give him a hand so they can see how it felt

I'm not bold just cuz I rock gold

Rakim is on the mic and you know I got soul

You got it [x4]

Now I'm a stop to see what you got

Get off the mic before I get too hot

I want to see which posse can dance the best

It should be easy 'cause the beat is fresh

Now if your from Uptown, Brooklyn- bound,

The Bronx, Queens, or Long Island Sound,

Even other states come right and exact,

It ain't where you're from, it's where you're at

Since you came here, you have to show and prove

And do that dance until it don't move

'Cause all you need is soul self-esteem will release,

The rest is up to you, Rakim 'll say peace

You got it [x10]

Move The Crowd lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim

[Verse one:]

Standing by the speaker, suddenly I had this

Fever, was it me or either summer madness

Cuz I just can't stand around

So I get closer and the closer I get, the better it sound

My mind starts to activate, rhymes collaborate

Cuz When i heard the beat, I just had to make

Something from the top of my head

So I fell into the groove of the wax and I said

How could I move the crowd

First of all, ain't no mistakes allowed

Here's the instruction, put it together

It simple ain't it but quite clever

Some of you been trying to write rhymes for years

But weak ideas irritate my ears

Is this the best that you can make?

Cuz if not and you got more, I'll wait

But don't make me wait too long coz I'm a move on

The dancefloor when they put something smooth on

So turn up the bass, it's better when it's loud

Cuz I like to move the crowd

Move the crowd...

[Verse two:]

Imagine me wit the heat that's made by solar,

It gets stronger everytime I hold a

Microphone, check the tone to get started

The line for the microphone is departed

So leave it up to me, my DJ is mixing

Everyone is moving or eager to listen

Your hands in the air, your mouth, shut!

Cuz I'm on the mic and Eric B is on the cut

For those that know me, indeed I like to flow

Especially when the music's going slow

It gives me a chance to let everybody know

It's time to bust out the Rakim show

I'm the intelligent wise on the mic I will rise

Right in front of your eyes cuz I am a surprise

So I'ma let my knowledge be born to a perfection

All praise due to Allah and that's a blessing

Wit knowledge of self, there's nothing I can't solve

At 360 degrees, I revolve

This is actual fact, it's not an act, it's been proven,

Indeed and I proceed to make the crowd keep moving

Move the crowd...

Paid In Full lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim

Yo Rakim, what's up?

Yo, I'm doing the knowledge, E., man I'm trying to get paid in full

Well, check this out, since Norby Walters is our agency, right?

True

Kara Lewis is our agent, word up

Zakia and 4th and Broadway is our record company, indeed

Okay, so who we rollin' with then? We rollin' with Rush

Of Rushtown Management

Check this out, since we talking over

This def beat right here that I put together

I wanna hear some of them def rhymes, you know what I'm sayin'?

And together, we can get paid in full

Thinkin' of a master plan

'Cuz ain't nuthin' but sweat inside my hand

So I dig into my pocket, all my money is spent

So I dig deeper but still comin' up with lint

So I start my mission, leave my residence

Thinkin' how could I get some dead presidents

I need money, I used to be a stick-up kid

So I think of all the devious things I did

I used to roll up, this is a hold up, ain't nuthin' funny

Stop smiling, be still, don't nuthin' move but the money

But now I learned to earn 'cuz I'm righteous

I feel great, so maybe I might just

Search for a nine to five, if I strive

Then maybe I'll stay alive

So I walk up the street whistlin' this

Feelin' out of place 'cuz, man, do I miss

A pen and a paper, a stereo, a tape of

Me and Eric B, and a nice big plate of

Fish, which is my favorite dish

But without no money it's still a wish

'Cuz I don't like to dream about gettin' paid

So I dig into the books of the rhymes that I made

So now to test to see if I got pull

Hit the studio, 'cuz I'm paid in full

Rakim, check this out, yo

You go to your girl house and I'll go to mine

'Cause my girl is definitely mad

'Cause it took us too long to do this album

Yo, I hear what you're saying

So let's just pump the music up

And count our money

Yo, well check this out, yo Eli

Turn down the bass down

And let the beat just keep on rockin'

And we outta here

Yo, what happened to peace?

Peace

As The Rhyme Goes On lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim

Knowledge will begin until I finish this song

'Cuz the rhyme gets rougher as the rhyme goes on

You sweat as you step about to get hype

Or should you just listen to the man on the mic

You're physically in this with me but how could you tell

If it's meant to be hip-hop if you're not mentally as well

Ready to absorb the rhyme that I just poured

Into the mic and so unite and this won't be so bored

If you just keep kickin' listen - to the mix

And think you'll sink into the rhyme like quicksand

Holds and controls you 'til I leave

You fall deeper in the style - it's hard to breathe

The only time I stop is when somebody drop and then

Bring 'em to the front 'cuz my rhymes' the oxygen

Then wave your hands - when you're ready I'll send you

Into your favorite dance so let the rhyme continue

And so on and I'ma go on simultaneously

And even if I stop - the rhyme remains to be

Rising to the top - and I came to drop it

Catch it and quiz it - is my topic

Universual 'cuz I move everybody to come

By exercising your mind you'll coincide as one

You look around and see how packed the party starts to get

I draw a crowd - like an architect

The five borroughs react and all the islands attract

And every state can't wait - so they attack

off a spot on the floor - squeeze in cuz it's packed

It'll be more room if MC's play the back

I'm the R the A to the K-I-M

If I wasn't, then why would I say I am

The microphone fiend if I was a fake

Whoever said it's just buggin' off the rhymes I make

I had you biting your tongue for what I brung and recite

Sung it on stage some said it don't sound like

The voice on the record - I see what you mean

Because the system was wack, so I had to scream

So just - give me a mic if it's loud I'll blow it

If not - into the crowd I'll throw it

Pull out my cordless mic and entertain you well

Before I let go I'ma spark your brain cells

I took time to write - tonight I will recite

So poetically inclined when the mic is held tight

Rhymes start flowin' kisses are blowin

MC's are knowin' that's why they're goin

Home to tell a friend when the party ends

"Yo, man you know Rakim? That brother struck again"

Cuz mic by mic and stage by stage,

Tape by tape and page by page,

When the crowd is moving I compete with the mix

The rougher the cuts - the rougher the rhyme gets

Deeper and Deeper - I hope you understand it

I made it up myself and I planned it

For other MC's who waste time

Writing jokes, riddles, and maybe a rhyme

I cross my arms and I was waiting - but I was hating

The rappers on the microphone was fronting - just faking

They wasn't breakin', which means I was achin'

To get up on the microphone and then start takin'

Control of the mic - uptight when I grabbed it

So hug the speaker- your ear's a magnet

Attracted to a freestyle put in effect

You listen to my man while you're sippin' Moet

So Eric, pick up the needle (yeah) put it in the middle (ahhight)

Give me a scratch, turn my Mic up a little,

I want you to hear this perfectly clear

Catch what I'm sayin'? You get the idea?

I hope you knowledge the beginning cuz I'm finished this song

The rhyme gets rougher as the rhyme flows on...

Chinese Arithmetic lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim

It's not your situation

I just need contemplation over you

Over you

I'm not so systematic

It's just that I'm an addict for your love yeah

I'm not the only one that holds ya

I never ever should have told ya

You're my only girl

(Never should have told you/me)

I'm not the only one that holds ya

I never ever should have told ya

You're my only world

Just think how long I've known ya

It's wrong for me to own you lock and key

Lock and key

It's really not confusin'

I'm just a young illusion can't you see, yeah, well

I'm not the only one that holds ya

I never ever should have told ya

You're my only girl

(Never should have told you/me)

I'm not the only one that holds ya

I never ever should have told ya

You're my only world

Georgy Porgy puddin' pie

Kissed the girls and made them cry

Georgy Porgy puddin' pie

Kissed the girls and made them cry

Georgy Porgy puddin' pie

Kissed the girls and made them cry

Georgy Porgy puddin' pie

Kissed the girls, yeah

Oh, oh, kissed the girls, um hmm

Oh, oh, oh

It's not your situation

I just need contemplation over you

Over you

I'm not so systematic

It's just that I'm an addict for your love, yeah

I'm not the only one that holds ya

I never ever should have told ya

You're my only girl

(Never should have told you/me)

I'm not the only one that holds ya

I never ever should have told ya

You're my only world

Georgy Porgy puddin' pie

Kissed the girls and made them cry

Georgy Porgy puddin' pie

Kissed the girls and made them cry

Georgy Porgy puddin' pie

Kissed the girls and made them cry

Georgy Porgy puddin' pie

Kissed the girls, yeah

Oh, oh, kissed the girls, um hmm

Why ya wanna make them

Oh make them cry (No)

Oh, whoa whoa (Why)

Kiss the girls

Why ya wanna

Georgy Porgy puddin' pie

Kissed the girls and made them cry

Georgy Porgy puddin' pie

Kissed the girls and made them cry

Georgy Porgy puddin' pie

Kissed the girls and made them cry

Georgy Porgy puddin' pie

Kissed the girls, yeah

Oh, oh, kissed the girls, um hmm

Eric B Is President lyrics - Eric B. & Rakim

I came in the door, I said it before
I never let the mic magnetize me no more
But it's biting me, fighting me, inviting me to rhyme
I can't hold it back, I'm looking for the line,
Taking off my coat, clearing my throat
The rhyme will be kicking it until I hit my last note
My mind remains to find all kinda ideas
Self-esteem makes it seem like a thought took years to build
But still say a rhyme after the next one
Prepared, never scared, I'll just bless one
And you know that I'm the soloist
So Eric B, make 'em clap to this

I don't bug out or chill or be acting ill
No tricks in '86, it's time to build
Eric B easy on the cut, no mistakes allowed
Cuz to me, MC means move the crowd
I made it easy to dance to this
But can you detect what's coming next from the flex of the wrist
Say "Indeed" then I proceed cuz my man made a mix
If he bleed he won't need no band-aid to fix
his fingertips, so I rhyme until there's no rhymes left
I hurry up because the cut will make him bleed to death
But he's kicking it cuz it ain't no half steppin'
The party is live, the Rak can't be kept inside
if he's eruptin' just like a volcano
It ain't the everyday style or the same old rhyme
Cuz I'm better then the rest of them
Eric B is on the cut and my name is Rakim

Go get a girl and get soft and warm,
Don't get excited, you've been invited to a quiet storm
But now it's out of hand cuz you told me you hate me
And then you ask what have I done lately
First you said all you want is love and affection
Let me be your angel and I'll be your protection
Take you out, buy you all kinds of things
I must of got you too hot and burned off your wings
You caught an attitude, you need food to eat up
I'm scheming like I'm dreaming on a couch wit my feet up
You scream I'm lazy, you must be crazy
Thought I was a donut, you tried to glaze me

Funky...