“Shawn Carter was born December 4th….. weighing in at 10lbs. 8 ounces.” Those were the first words that was said on the track “December 4th” but the first time Shawn Carter aka Jay-Z was seen was back in the late 80’s, early 90’s when he and another dope MC named Jaz-O was spitting dope freestyles together. They even did a joints together called “Hawaiian Sophie” and “The Originators.” I do remember seeing the “Hawaiian Sophie” music video for the first time too. It was definitely around 2008 and they played it on VH1 Soul before it was BET Soul. That’s my favorite music channel on T.V. right now but I stopped watching T.V. Anyways, by 1995, Jay released his first joint called “In My Lifetime.” The song wasn’t released on an album or soundtrack but the remix does appear on the 1998 “Streets Is Watching” soundtrack and then there was “I Can Get With That.” That joint was so dope to me. It had this heavy bass beat with a piano sound in the background on the beat that reminds me of the Charlie Brown cartoon. Jay was flowin’ like crazy on that joint. Only true hip hop and Jay-Z fans know about that one. On June 25th, 1996, Jay finally came with “Reasonable Doubt.” A lot of people say it’s his best work til this day. Jay got a crazy huge discography so it’s gonna take a while to go through them all but I got to. I was only 2 when “Reasonable Doubt” dropped but I do remember hearing “Can’t Knock the Hustle” with my boo Mary J. Blige and “Dead Presidents.” That album gives you this movie in your head about the drugs and street life. Can’t forget about “Ain’t No Nigga” with my boo Foxy Brown and “Feelin’ It” but “Regrets” is my favorite on the album. Now the next joint “In My Lifetime, Vol. 1” is my personal favorite Jay-Z album. This was considered the “commercial” Jay. A lot of people hated Jay for going so mainstream so quickly and thought the songs were cheesy but to me, the entire joint from beginning to end is a fuckin’ masterpiece. A couple of songs I could do without but it’s incredible to me. The production especially. The album starts the same way “Reasonable Doubt” does. I love how he used the sample of “A Fly Girl” by Boogie Boys on the joint “I Know What Girls Like” and “(Always Be My) Sunshine” is my favorite on the album along with “Who You Wit II.” That album takes me back to that little boy growing up in the late 90’s early 2000’s. Then Jay takes it back to the streets with “Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life.” Another dope Jay album in a row. That’s 3 albums in 3 years consecutively. The ghetto anthem itself “Hard Knock Life” is a top 5 Jay-Z record, hands down. “Money, Cash, Hoes” is my favorite on the album too. DMX’s part always gets me hyped and it reminds me of my cousin from the South. LOL! “Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter” I didn’t really like this joint. It was boring to me compared to the first three and the singles are the only songs I like. “The Dynasty: Roc La Familia” was okay too. Nothing too crazy. The whole Roc-a-Fella family appeared on this one. “I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)” is a top 10 Jay-Z joint to me. Then Jay comes with “The Blueprint.” This album is a top 5 Jay-Z album. His strongest since “Reasonable Doubt.” I personally didn’t consider this album to be that great until later on. “Girls, Girls, Girls” and “Song Cry” are my favorites. “The Best of Both Worlds” with R. Kelly is underrated to me. That was banged from beginning to end. That’s a party album, all the way through. It’s very early 2000’s. R. Kelly’s R&B sex talk and Jay’s good vibes worked together great but no singles were released due to R’s charges at the time. “The Blueprint 2” is hands down my least favorite Jay-Z album. To me it didn’t stand out to me and the singles are the only joints that I like. “Bitches & Sisters” and “All Around the World” are the only joints like besides the singles though. “The Black Album” is my second favorite Jay-Z album. This was supposed to be his last album. I remember him saying that he was retiring after this one but New York without new Jay-Z music then was unheard of. Highly unlikely. “Unfinished Business” was supposed to be the sequel to “The Best of Both Worlds” but it’s another flop to me. “Kingdom Come” is my third favorite Jay album. Another Jay album that a lot of people considered to be his worst but I like this one just as much as “In My Lifetime, Vol. 1.” For some reason, the underrated stuff is the stuff I always seem to like the most. “Beach Chair”, “Do U Wanna Ride” and “The Prelude” are my favorites. “American Gangster” to me is like a sequel to “Reasonable Doubt” just on another level. When I was in high school, “Hello Brooklyn” was on repeat on my MP3 player. I was obsessed with that joint. The beat was something crazy I never heard before. “The Blueprint 3” is the beginning of what I call the “office chair Jay-Z.” His success as a business man stood out more than the music at this point. I didn’t see Jay as that Brooklyn MC anymore, now he’s the one appearing in suits and ties every damn where. I’m not hating or anything, it’s just not the same but this album was dope to me. I do remember these songs coming out at the time it did. My early high school days in the late 2000’s. “Watch the Throne”, I remember people going crazy about it because of Kanye West’s involvement. This album has mainstream written all over it though but it’s another banger and “Magna Carta Holy Grail” was dope too. I enjoyed how different it is compared to the rest of Jay’s stuff. Jay-Z came a long way from those Jaz-O days back in Brooklyn, those “Reasonable Doubt” days but through it all he always put out dope music. I grew up on Jay-Z so that’s why he’s my top 5 favorite along with Biggie. He’s the ultimate hustler who just so happens to know how to rap. The ultimate New York MC.
The Life & Times of Shawn Carter
