20 Hip Hop Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

4. Eric B And Rakim - Paid In Full

If you want some old school rap then Eric B and Rakim's Paid in Full album will certainly do the job for you. Firstly, Eric B's scratching and general work as a turntablist is simply wonderful on this album. He cuts up records and scratches them so perfectly it makes you wish that songs still had them. And as for his production, he was incredibly bold with his choices. He took music from places you wouldn't expect and turned them into great beats that Rakim smoothly rap over. Speaking of Rakim, he really shows why so many rappers look up to him (Fun fact: New York-based rapper A$AP Rocky is actually named after Rakim. That's some serious influence), using his spectacular flow to make technically difficult rhyming patterns seem easy. And they did it all in a week. Crazy.