After 36 years since the release of their acclaimed album “Paid in Full,” Rakim and Scarface are poised to receive well-deserved recognition. They are slated to be the inaugural recipients of a substantial grant from the Paid In Full Foundation. This momentous event will take place at the Hip Hop Grandmaster Awards in Las Vegas on November 17.
The foundation, co-hosted by Nas, Ben Horowitz (co-founder of Andreesen Horowitz), and Ben’s wife Felicia, marks a significant step in Rakim and Scarface’s journey. Ben Horowitz, no stranger to the world of Hip Hop, having previously invested in the lyric annotation site Genius (formerly known as Rap Genius), shares a longstanding friendship with Nas.
This groundbreaking award ceremony was first disclosed by Steve Stoute during a recent episode of the Rap Radar podcast. Stoute, along with Ben Horowitz, Fab 5 Freddy, QD3, Felicia Horowitz, and others, established the Paid In Full charity. The event aims to honor cultural pioneers who have made immense contributions to the art form, yet haven’t reaped the financial rewards commensurate with their impact.
Stoute emphasized, “We’re giving significant money, a half a million dollars, and health care, to these people who we believe were contributors who didn’t get what they deserved.” The Paid In Full Foundation, as outlined on their website, seeks to address the unfortunate oversight of many original Hip Hop artists who never received the recognition they deserved for their exceptional contributions to arts and culture.
The foundation’s grantmaking program is designed to both honor these influential figures and provide them with the resources to continue their creative and intellectual pursuits for the betterment of society. Alongside Nas, Stoute, and the Horowitzes, Rakim expressed gratitude to Quincy Jones, QD3, Fab 5 Freddy, Shaka Senghor, and Divine, a rapper-turned-fintech-entrepreneur.
While the article sheds light on this commendable initiative, details about the distribution of the $500,000 grant and specifics about the healthcare benefits remain undisclosed. The Hip Hop Grandmaster Awards promise to be a momentous occasion, finally giving long-overdue recognition and support to those who have shaped the cultural landscape of Hip Hop.