Anna Daniels
In 2002, Charles Stone III’s Paid in Full hit theaters, and nothing has been the same since. Set in Harlem in the 1980s, the crime drama follows Ace (Wood Harris), Mitch (Mekhi Phifer), and Rico (Cam’ron). With the drug business booming in America’s inner cities, Ace is content to work at a neighborhood dry cleaning business in an effort to stay out of the drug game.
However, after becoming increasingly frustrated by the poor pay and the constant disrespect at his legit job, Ace gets lured into the drug business recruiting his friends, Mitch and Rico to join him.
As their business booms, so do betrayals, greed, and questions about loyalty. It’s been nearly 20 years since Paid In Full first premiered. However, Cam’ron just hinted that we might be getting a sequel.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPsedLjDAcw?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]
‘Paid In Full’ is loosely based on a true story
The characters in Paid In Full are based on the real-life famed homeboys Alberto “Alpo” Martinez, Azie “AZ” Faison and the late Rich Porter. Paid In Full was based on AZ’s recollections, which was later turned into his 2007 book, Game Over.
“AZ really wanted to send the message that that life is not what to do with your life,” co-writer Thulani Davis told Crime Reads. “He insisted that some of the mundane daily things in these people’s lives (courting a future girlfriend, showing a little brother how to clean his sneakers, eating Chinese food with friends) be really present so the audience could identify with them as real people, not types.”
RELATED: 25 Greatest Gangster Movies of All Time
‘Paid In Full’ had a ton of behind-the-scenes drama
The film’s title was taken from Eric B. and Rakim’s 1987 album, Paid In Full. “I wanted to show our wealth and independence through jewelry, cars, and clothing,” Eric B. said in Sacha Jenkins’ 2015 doc Fresh Dressed. “We went to Dapper Dan’s and got our clothes.”
Produced by Damon Dash and Jay-Z, Paid In Full the film was about graduating from a life living in underprivileged neighbors with little no advantages to becoming big bosses who were, “paid in full.” It was about escaping the circumstances they were born into and living the sweet life on their own terms.
When the film debuted, it made just $3 million at the box office but it has since become a beloved film. However, the movie’s production was riddled with drama.
“I would just go on to say that I think that film may have been more critically successful if those conflicts wouldn’t have been going on,” Harris explained to VladTV. “I would say there were production conflicts that Dame was having with Harvey Weinstein. There was just issues and they were poorly handled. At that time, I would say that Damon was way more bravado … It was all bad in a sense where he just had too much control and power.”
Cam’ron says a ‘Paid In Full’ sequel could be coming soon
On a recent Instagram Live, Cam’ron addressed Paid and Full and a possible sequel to the film. “These are conversations that we talked about in the last few months,” he revealed. “Actually, a couple hours ago, something we talked about pertaining [to] Paid in Full 2. I don’t wanna say 100 percent yes, but we’re definitely in the talks about doing something similar to Paid in Full 1 … It’s definitely a conversation going on right now about that, 100 percent. I’ve been asked this question several times.”
Written by: Cheat
