![]() “This is one of the things that makes rap at its best so human,” Jay writes in Decoded. Here’s where Jay is the best at what he does: existing in the middle between mafioso rap and so-called “conscious rap.” He could be rapping about money, drugs, and women for ninety percent of the song, but he’ll toss in a line like the one above to make you think. “At my arraignment/ Screaming, all us blacks got is sports and entertainment.” The skit intro doesn’t do much for the song, but the rest is classic Jay Z: rapping about all of hip-hop’s familiar tropes, only better than just about anyone. Jay opens his solo career with a certified hit, not to mention a Mary J. How many opening songs remain one of the best in an artist’s catalogue, years later? ![]() “Last seen out of state where I drop my sling/ I’m deep in the South, kicking up top game/ Bouncing on the highway, switching four lanes/ Screaming through the sunroof, Money ain’t a thang!” In the tradition of our ode to Black Star, allow us to take a walk down memory lane and revisit the album, track-by-track.ġ. Ode to reasonable doubt zippy trial#“So the album is basically on trial – whether you like it or you don’t, it’s reasonable doubt.” “We named the album Reasonable Doubt because like with anything you do in life, people are going to judge you,” Jay told VIVA’s Word Cup in 1997. ![]() “If I showed you the reviews written at the time about the album – ‘This guy’s the death knell of hip-hop It’s the beginning of the end It’s so obvious’ – some of those people, ten years later, wrote the review to say Reasonable Doubt is the greatest hip-hop album ever made,” Raphael adds. Sometimes there was talk of a single deal, but whenever it got to the point where it was supposed to be real, the label would renege.” “None of them were f-king with us,” Jay writes in Decoded. “He had released that first album, Reasonable Doubt, on his own record label, with his business partner, Damon Dash. “He had spent eight years in the doldrums,” said Nick Raphael, the man who signed Jay to a world record deal with Northwestside Records. 23 on Billboard’s album chart, and wasn’t certified platinum ’til 2002.” Calling himself Jaÿ-Z, he set about crafting one of hip-hop’s most revered albums – although it wasn’t as highly-praised at the time.Īs XXL writes, the album sold “just 420,000 copies its first year out, peaking at No. On June 25th, 1996, the most prolific rapper of all-time made his debut as a 26-year-old former-crack-dealer-turned-emcee.
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