Jay Z
Discography Review
So Jay-Z has been around forever. I am certain that everyone who reads this magazine has not listened to all of his work though. To be honest, I hadn’t before this either. In a new segment that is dedicated to reviewing legendary artist’s discographies, Jay-Z gets the inaugural treatment. With a catalog that stems from 1996 to present day, Hov has managed to push 12 SOLO studio albums. This review is based soley on those projects, so sorry to fans of Best of Both Worlds and Watch The Throne. Here is Jay-Z’s discography: album by album.
#2. In My Lifetime Vol. 1- If this is how Jay-Z reacted to sophomore slump pressures, he overdid himself. This album is perfect and portrays a Jay=Z who has finally found his sound. The album thrives as a more entertaining experience than Reasonable Doubt, and it has incredible replay value. The lyricism may not have improved significantly, but it has become wittier and more iconic. Line after line, this project has inspired a magnitude of today’s artists, and it is clear through samples and interpolations. The album paints Jay-Z as victorious and relatable, yet troubled. ON a mostly upbeat album, Jay-Z finishes with “You Must Love Me,” one of the best songs I’ve ever heard by him. A somber tone, it vividly details an amazing point of view and positions Jay-Z against the greatest MC’s of all time in terms of storytelling. Apart from the bars, the project has immensely improved production-wise. Even the album’s weakest song is pretty awesome when not compared to the rest of the album. Vol. 1 was truly an iconic album.
Favorite Tracks: You Must Love Me, Streets Is Watching, Who You Wit II, Rhyme No More, & Where I’m From
#1. Reasonable Doubt – First album on the scene, and Jay-Z shows ultimate confidence; you wouldn’t even think this was his debut album. He doesn’t sound hungry at all. Although people usually associate that will negative connotations, it really shows how comfortable Jay was. He effortlessly showcases his lyrical ability alongside his creativity to make an easily enjoyable listening experience. My only complaint is that some slow sections can became a bore, and the project’s replay value as a whole could be better. You can tell that Jay-Z hasn’t honed in on his style yet, but in the end we get an amazing project.
Favorite Tracks: D’evils, Ain’t No Nigga, Friend or Foe, 22 Two’s, Regrets, & Can I Live II
#3. Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life- This album has a decent beginning. Memphis Bleek is the first person you hear on the record, and the “RELOADED!” intro is growing stale. I was slightly enjoying the album until I heard “Ride or Die.” There are a handful of songs that are just blatantly empty, and they make up about a third of the album. As a whole, the album isn’t super strong, but it is actually pretty good. There is less creativity this time around, and the lyrics and production remain stagnant as he progresses. Highlights like “A Week Ago” and “coming of Age (Da Sequel)” pronounce that Jay-Z still has it, but for some reason just doesn’t use it quite as often.
Favorite Tracks: A Week Ago, Coming of Age (Da Sequel), Nigga What Nigga Who, It’s Like That, & Reservoir Dogs
#4. Vol. 3…Life and Times of S. Carter- Reviewing these albums as solo endeavors without comparing them to Jay-Z’s other albums is pretty difficult. Vol. 3 is easily better than Vol. 2, but I don’t know if it matches up to Vol. 1. I do know that this album was more enjoyable as a whole than his previous album, and it has crazy features and great replay value. This album serves as a more successful crossover record than Vol. 2 because it doesn’t sacrifice lyricism for mainstream appeal. Nothing could be as forced and awkward as the DMX collaboration on Vol. 2. This album’s production holds place for Jay-Z as he redeems himself and tells stories of his transition from the streets to wealth in a tasteful fashion. While there isn’t anything extremely clever or noticeable creative, it was a consistently enjoyable project.
Favorite Tracks: Snoopy Track, Hova Song (Outro) + the hidden tracks, Big Pimpoin, Things That You Do, & S. Carter
#6. The Blueprint: Jay-Z outdid himself on this one. Although I felt the intro wasn’t nearly as strong as the intro on The Dynasty, I was sold on the album by the second track. This album’s lyrical slaughter and refreshing production exhibits mastery of hip-hop. With a stand-alone feature from Eminem, the album really proves what Jay is capable of. Confidence and wit blend to create a delivery that was never before heard on any of Jay-Z’s past albums. The majority of the album is incredibly strong, balancing radio bait with lyrical ballads and grimy tracks. There’s something on The Blueprint for everyone, and it’s replay value is insane. A huge improvement is Jay’s use of collaborators. Just because there wasn’t a lot of featured names doesn’t mean he did it all by himself. The way he utilized big industry names like Q-Tip, Michael Jackson, and Slick Rick shows that he can saddle up with the best without being outshined. For the record, his one on one battle with Eminem was epic, yet still an even match. The Blueprint helms some of Jay-Z’s best production and lyricism of all his albums to that point and makes it extremely entertaining with (what seems like) ease.
Favorite Tracks: Takeover, Izzo, U Don’t Know, Hola Hovito, Renegade, & Never Change
#5. The Dynasty- Jay’s 5th album is inconsistent. Jay takes a backseat on this album and lets his frequent collaborators Memphis Bleek and Beanie Sigel lead the way. However their attempts to carry the album fall short many times and create quality dips within the project. The first 6 songs are ridiculously strong, but after that point the magic of the album starts to wear off as I got tried of hearing “R-O-C!” La familia would succeed more if Jay took the helm. Furthermore, redundancy and subtle production make the second half of the album a struggle to get through. Lastly, the final track doesn’t even close the album as well as the intro opened the album. It’s like they just got tired of making the album, so they stopped. It’s a pretty good album, but it could’ve been way better if Jay-Z put more into it.
Favorite Tracks: Intro, Change The Game, I Just Wanna Love U (Give it 2 Me), Streets is Talking, This Can’t Be Life, & 1-900-Hustler
1997
4 Spins
1996
4 Spins
3 Spins
5 Spins
5 Spins
2001
2000
1999
1998
3 Spins