“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 9 to 5. 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. To now test to see if I got pull. Hit the studio, cuz I’m paid in full.” Eric B. and Rakim, “Paid in Full”, Paid in Full. 1987.

JUSTICE. “Paid in Full” is on my top 10 list of songs.  Not rap songs. Not hip-hop songs. But songs period. Why?  Well, first of all Rakim’s flow is just so contagious over Eric B’s beat. Besides him being a cutie pie,  the song is one that everyone raps when it comes on.  A case in point was in a little underground spot I went to about two weeks ago.  When the DJ played this, everyone rapped it – even the white folks in the house.  It’s a universal message of perseverance that’s catchy, dope, and classic all at the same time. If yesterday we asked if you were a community-centered “g” or a self-centered “g”, today we go a step further. The gangsta stance – at least in the way that I defined it yesterday – requires us to LEARN TO EARN. The reason I like this song is because Rakim goes through these steps to getting to that “paid in full” place.  First, he thinks of a MASTER PLAN, and he’s nervous about how to do it.  Second, he gets out the house because he can’t get paid sitting on his ashwaters. The third part is probably the most important; he describes his contemplation for getting to the “dead presidents”.  Does he (a) rob his community to get paid (the self-centered g) or does he (b) give to his community through the use of his God-given storytelling abilities (the community-centered g)? He chooses the latter because he’s “learned to earn” because he’s “righteous”. Then there’s the second decision. Does he get a 9 to 5 or does he pour his heart into his dream?  Maybe he does both. He doesn’t really say.

The DDR: To be paid in full could very well mean getting to the money. I also believe to be paid in full is to get to the money without hurting oneself or others. What I know for sure is “Paid In Full” refuses to complain about not achieving a dream, but is a story about learning how to earn his dream. A young man told me if we have time to complain about something, we also have time to do something about it.  What are you doing to be PAID IN FULL?