Hip-hop became a global industry. Paid in Full is helping its pioneers recover their share

A rapper whose lyrics helped sell at least 2 million records received neither songwriting credit nor royalties. The Paid in Full Foundation is helping address that gap between hip-hop’s commercial success and the compensation received by its pioneers.

In its “Hip-Hop Has No Social Security. Paid in Full Is Trying to Change That.” report published on November 7, 2026, Andreessen Horowitz said the nonprofit provides unconditional five-year grants to hip-hop artists whose contributions outstripped their financial rewards. Ben and Felicia Horowitz founded the organization.

At least 2 million copies sold, but no royalties

The report highlights Grandmaster Caz, whose lyrics appeared on the Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight.” The single sold at least 2 million copies by the label’s count and became the first hip-hop song to enter the Billboard Top 40. Group member Big Bank Hank recorded verses from a rhyme book borrowed from Caz, then 18. Caz received neither official songwriting credit nor royalties for those contributions.

Chic, whose “Good Times” supplied the music, secured publishing rights and royalties through a legal settlement, according to the report. The established band could afford experienced lawyers. Some Sugar Hill rappers, by comparison, spent decades in litigation before recovering money they were owed.

Grants help pay for homes and medical bills

Inspired by Quincy Jones’ work with the Jazz Foundation, Paid in Full has supported artists including Rakim, Scarface, George Clinton and Roxanne Shanté. Andreessen Horowitz said recipients have used grants to buy homes, pay medical bills and complete long-delayed creative projects. Caz lived in public housing before receiving his first grant.

Ben Horowitz described buying Eric B. & Rakim’s “Paid in Full,” which gave the foundation its name, for $10 and receiving at least $5 million worth of value from it. His rationale was that some of that value should be returned. Hip-hop grew into a multibillion-dollar global industry while many of its foundational artists received little of the proceeds.

Returning the spotlight to the creators

At the fourth annual Hip Hop Grandmaster Awards on October 24 at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, Caz and Chic’s Nile Rodgers performed together for the first time, the report said. Backed by Rodgers and Chic, Caz delivered the lyrics he had written as a teenager, receiving recognition for work that had brought him no royalties.

The foundation’s support also addresses financial hardship among hip-hop’s pioneers. DJ Kool Herc, widely recognized as a founder of hip-hop, lacked health insurance and raised money online for kidney stone surgery in 2011. Grants to a few artists each year cannot repay an entire generation’s losses, but Paid in Full offers a starting point for compensation.