Eric B. & Rakim — Paid in Full (Platinum Edition)

It seems ridiculous that anyone would not already own Eric B. & Rakim’s debut album, but let’s face it: many kids out there probably haven’t even *heard* of them. Rather than calling these youngsters wack or ignorant, let’s just write it off to the generation gap.

The rest of us can agree that the original was a CLASSIC, but even still — The Platinum Edition may not be for you. The 12″ imports of “Paid in Full”, “Move the Crowd” and “I Know You Got Soul” collected on Disc Two were remixed almost entirely by British DJ’s and their sampladelic collage style will inevitably not be considered “real hip-hop” by some.

(Consider how the rawness of the Beastie Boys’ Licensed to Ill received was universally embraced while the Dust Brothers’ immense creativity on the follow-up, Paul’s Boutique, was completely ignored by the same heads. De La’s early material was/is similarly fronted on).

You might remember bugging off Ofra Hazra’s voice on Coldcut’s remix of “Paid in Full (Seven Minutes of Music)” back in the day. In the current age of Puffypop, using some Indian chick’s chant in the middle of a hip-hop song is something that only a certified mad scientist like RZA would be allowed to try. But as unthinkable as it seems, this joint (featured on the Colors soundtrack) got heavy rotation in clubs Stateside and across the Pacific. The second version of “Paid in Full” (”Derek B’s Urban Respray”), which samples Chuck Brown’s “I Need Money” and John Mellencamp’s “Jack and Diane” to equal effect, received less play but was equally dope.

Having been an avid collector of these joints on wax, I was hyped to see the inclusion of “As the Rhyme Goes On (Pumpin the Turbo - Chad Jay in Full Effect)”; the track gets a booster shot injection, climaxing with an out-of-control human beatbox. Sticking closer to the spirit of the original material are the two “Move the Crowd” mixes; both are nice but I’m partial to the Wild Bunch version, which has a bit more funk to it. (FYI: members of Massive Attack were part of The Wild Bunch collective, as was Nellee Hooper, who went on to work with Soul II Soul, Bjork and Madonna). The Richie Rich “megamix” of “I Know You Got Soul” is okay, but is ultimately inferior to the “Six Minutes of Soul” version by Double Trouble (Norman Cook, aka Fat Boy Slim) which is sadly not included.

Dub versions of “I Know You Got Soul”, “Eric B is President” and “My Melody” are great inclusions for DJ’s, but (and this is my biggest gripe) I would much rather have seen something like “Microphone Fiend” or “Put Your Hands Together” mixes instead. Guess we’ll have to cross our fingers and hope for a Platinum Edition of Follow the Leader.

For those with an appreciation for truly inspired sampling, (pre-Biz Markie lawsuit), The Platinum Edition collects some rare gems and makes them readily available on one disc. Buy it and give your original copy of Paid in Full to one of the neighborhood kids who don’t know any better.