Paid in Full is the debut full-length LP by rap duo Eric B. & Rakim, released in 1987. The album was generally very well received on release, with many calling it captivating, profound, innovative and instantly influential. According to Vibe Magainze: "...[When Rakim] took to the mike in 1987, and served up Paid in Full with DJ Eric B., he set hip hop's new course....[Rakim was] a street-wise mystic with eminently clear and dexterous rhymes that sounded like they might never end..." . Furthermore, Eric B.'s innovative distillation of a James Brown sample in "I Know You Got Soul" introduced the "godfather rap" period that witnessed the extensive sampling of R&B and soul music as instrumentals for hip hop songs. Eric B. is President, the first single off the album and by the duo, was somewhat revolutionary at the time of its release in that it showcased a different style of rapping that would soon be adapted by numerous MC's of the past and present. The song was also produced mostly by Marley Marl, contrary to the popular belief that Eric B. had produced it singlehandedly.

While certainly not a genre-creator in its own right, the album, nevertheless, introduced new conventions that redefined hip hop music while the genre was still in its infancy. The album Ranked #19 in Rolling Stone's "50 Coolest Records", was included in Vibe's "100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century", and was ranked as the greatest hip hop album of all time by MTV. In 2003, the album was ranked number 227 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.