Paid in Full, a widely popular crime drama film, is officially getting a sequel and it’s going to be filmed in Newark. Producer Damon ‘Dame’ Dash, who produced the original 2002 film, confirmed this news in a recent interview. Read on to learn more about Paid in Full 2.
A Sequel in the Works
Chatter about a sequel to Paid in Full began two years ago. Actor Cameron ‘Cam’ron’ Giles, who played Rico in the first film, addressed rumors during an Instagram live session in May 2020.
“These are conversations that we talked about in the last few months. Actually, a couple of hours ago, something we talked about [was] pertaining [to] Paid in Full 2,” he said. “I don’t wanna say 100 percent ‘yes,’ but we’re definitely in the talks about doing something similar to Paid in Full. It’s definitely a conversation going on right now about that, 100 percent.”
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In November 2021, Dame, who’s also an executive producer on Growing Up Hip Hop, shared that he got clarity on what the next film should be about after learning of Alpo Martinez’s death. Alpo was killed by a drive-by shooting at the age of 55. The 2002 movie was based on the real-life Harlem drug dealer and was played by Cam’ron with Rico being the fictionalized character.
“Paid in Full is a reflection of everything I’ve learned and I am really going to see it through now that there’s an ending. So this is going to dramatically change based on what happened Sunday (October 30). I was stuck on how to really approach it and this is actually giving me more clarity,” Dame said in an interview with Page Six. “Paid in Full was a classic. To even touch it again, I got to come better.”
Two months later, in January 2022, Dame confirmed Paid in Full 2 will start production and the cast and crew will be shooting the film in Newark.
“I’m about to shoot Paid in Full in Newark,” Dame said in an interview with AllHipHop. “There’s a lot of perspectives that people don’t know. We chose three, really one. Now I’m showing all perspectives. So you’ll see a perspective from the stickup kids at the time, see a perspective of the younger dudes, I was a younger dude, the 16-year-olds. You’ll see perspectives from Kevin Childs, Jay Black, everybody, Lou Simms. It’s going to be off the hook. Trust me. A lot of other little stories will be told.”
The exact dates and locations, and who will be starring in it are not known at this time.
About Paid in Full
Paid in Full, directed by Charles Stone III, made its theatrical debut in theaters on October 25, 2002. It brought in over $3.1 million in gross box office sales. Other actors who starred in the 1980s-set film include Wood Harris (Ace), Mekhi Phifer (Mitch), Kevin Carroll (Calvin), Regina Hall (Kiesha), and Chi McBride (Pip).
The film’s soundtrack album was released a month later via Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings and included songs by Jay-Z, Master P, Cam’ron, Doug E. Fresh, and other artists.
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Paid in Full was primarily shot in Harlem in New York City. It’s become a cult classic, gaining a strong following amongst Hip Hop fans over the years. The film is available for rent or purchase on certain video-on-demand platforms and can also be streamed via DIRECTV, Apple TV, and Xfinity among others.
