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Back to Paid in Full 25-Year Anniversary

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Lyrics: "I came in the door, I said it before/ I never let the mic magnetize me no more/ But it's biting me, fighting me, inviting me to rhyme/ I can't hold it back, I'm looking for the line"

Song: "Eric B. Is President"

In a day and age where rap has become more of a commodity than a culture, this line is especially poignant. It recalls the days when rappers' greatest device was their mic and the love of the craft was what pulled them in. Rakim says here that he can't help but rhyme; it's a part of him. And while he tries not to find the mic so "magnetizing," he still has to pick it up and find the perfect lines to spit with it. Now that's love.