Paid in full

It’s funny isn’t it? I’d say I wasn’t really a fan of poetry (although there are exceptions) but I can probably sing you hundreds of rap songs and whilst it’s debatable that rap and poetry – whilst sharing many of the same attributes – aren’t the same thing for the sake of a shorter write up they may as well be. And one of my favourite musical poems is Eric B & Rakim’s ‘Paid in Full’ from their eponymous 1987 debut album. So here’s a little homage to that paean to urban survival featuring a ‘stick-up kid’ and his face of grim resolve. As Eric B and Rakim so eloquently put it:

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

Cheers

id-iom