Deathgripslikeh

The closing album to the first Jay-Z trilogy is definitely the strongest of the bunch, combining more storytelling and hungry aspects with a stacked lineup of beats. The style brought to the table here still lacks consistency and a trademark sound. Tracks like "Big Pimpin'" and "Things that U do" sound nothing alike, making for some weird transitions and a strange listen all the way through. Where this album really shines is the stand alone replay ability of certain ... read more

What do you get when you combine the most boring and goofy production with mind-numbingly dry lyrics? Hard Knock Life of course. I honestly can't tell you why this record sets me off so much, or why it's one of my least favourite albums of all time. Maybe it's the overly pop aspect of this style Hov tried out that turned some of the low lights seen on Vol. 1 and turned it to 10, or on paper the stacked feature list that literally included a prime DMX, and still falls short. ... read more

While not his best overall performance, "In My Lifetime" has a few stellar silver linings. What Jay-z clearly wanted to do on this record was to gain an even bigger audience than before by jumping the gun and becoming a more pop-oriented artist. Vol. 1, uses the skill developed over his career up until this point and honestly looses some of it in the process of this album's recording. The verses on this album aren't even half bad, aside from and egregious track featuring ... read more

"Reasonable Doubt" is a classic debut that many critics albeit unfairly compare to the likes of newer rappers in the game. You just don't get tracks like "Dead Presidents II" and "D'evils" because no one in this generation has levels of creativity that a rookie Jay-Z was doing. This album was alongside Nas' "It Was Written" for releases that would unknowingly crown the new king of New York City rappers ever since The Notorious B.I.G.'s ... read more