I think I'm becoming obsessed with Jay-Z

[hpdrifter]

I got the Blueprint, Black album and American Gangster.

I. can't. stop. listening. to it.

[Lex Diamonds]

I used to be quite obsessed with Jay-Z, but I don't listen to him much anymore.

For me AG was disappointing, mostly cuz of the hype. I have all his albums and they're all pretty sick but the last two are starting to tarnish the legacy in my opinion.

[Randetica]

his stuff is ok, dont need more than a best of

[mixmastermike]

Jay z is ok.

But every time I try to listen to the Black album, i'd rather turn it off and play Dangermouse's grey album. Compared to that, the Black album sounds pretty gay to me.

[mickill]

Contrary to the individual verdicts of the expert panel above, I would hardly refer to the guy as "ok". Regardless of whether I liked his music or not. And unless he starts wearing mini skirts or gets raped and killed by a bear, I seriously doubt his legacy is in any real jeopardy.

The Grey Album was a great idea, but the overall results were pretty uneven. A lot of the beats didn't match up with the vocals and some of the beats were just poorly done to begin with. I think Just Blaze's remixes for The Black Album were the hands down best, but he did get a lot of help from Jay himself.

[TimDoolan]

Black album is excellent, the soundtrack of my College career. The Grey Album was fun for a while too, but it was kind of a rush job.

To hear John Lennon humming in the background of "Dirt off your Shoulder," however, was magical.

[Mr Films]

I was gonna type a little abridged history of how I got into Jay but I decided to just say that "99 Problems" is still, in my opinion, the best rap single of this decade.

Shit still gets me just as amped now as it did in November of 2003.

[hpdrifter]

I'm not sure how or when it happened. I actually never thought much of him and really only knew him from his singles, some of which I liked and some of which I didn't. And then one day BAM!

It was the same with Led Zeppelin. Never thought much about them but when I got into them it was like I couldn't get enough, I bought every magazine, pored over fan sites online, read biographies.

I can see that happening with Jay. :confused:

[mickill]

Get all the albums. Even the sub par ones have enough gems on them.

I was gonna type a little abridged history of how I got into Jay but I decided to just say that "99 Problems" is still, in my opinion, the best rap single of this decade.

That or "Made You Look".

[Mr Films]

Get all the albums. Even the sub par ones have enough gems on them.

I don't recall any "gems" on Blueprint 2. But I admittedly gave up on it pretty quick. Wait, actually the opening track with Biggie was aight.

Also, I do not own Volumes 1 or 3. Someone brief me on these albums plz.

[The Notorious LOL]

Bitches and Sisters is a great song, but yeah Blueprint 2 was his weakest effort.


There was a mixtape put out by Lt Dan of Black Album acapellas and varied beats..."Threat" over "Danger", "Dirt off your shoulder" over "Come Clean"...etc etc. I deleted it mistakenly and havent been able to find it since.

[mickill]

There are more actual good songs on Blueprint 2 than there are on Kingdom Come or Volume 3. All Around The World, Poppin Tags, U Don't Know Remix, Some People Hate, Guns N Roses and Show You How are all above average Jay songs. But yeah, Bitches N Sisters is probably one of his most underrated songs period.

Vol. 1 is a lot better than Vol. 3. Apart from 3 or 4 weak pop tunes, Vol. 1 is like an extension of Reasonable Doubt. Vol. 3 is worth getting for the Timbaland produced tracks and about 3 other songs. It has a lot of filler, though. But both albums open with sick Premier tracks, featuring some of his best rhyming.

[venusvenus123]

i'm going to update my collection now. i only have the black album which i aDORE, apart from him mum going on about how great he is.

kind of obvious, but dangermouse couldn't really have made his album without the genius of jay-z and the beat-els in the first place.

[mixmastermike]

Jeez, don't have a cow guys. I'm just sayin what I like more, and thats different for everyone.

Offcourse I like 99 problems too, and Heart Of The City is also one of my favorites. And the Blueprint is a classic.

[The Notorious LOL]

whenever I listen to The City Is Mine (http://youtube.com/watch?v=h9YPb5yoJpk), I often wonder why Teddy Riley never got to be a big producer aside from Blackstreet and a lot of R&B nonsense.

Volume 1 is great.

[pshabi]

PSA has gotta be my favorite Jay joint. Just as raw as it gets. I'm more of a fan of his Blueprint - Current stuff.

I get absolutely no love for this, but I also think H to the Izzo is one of his best tracks. I love the J5 loop.

[Randetica]

I get absolutely no love for this, but I also think H to the Izzo is one of his best tracks. I love the J5 loop.

that was one of the first jay-z songs i really liked, that and sunshine

[Laserface]

PSA has gotta be my favorite Jay joint. Just as raw as it gets.

hell yeah that song never gets old

[Randetica]

now that i totally! think about it i must say the only song i really hate is 'hardknock life' from those i know

[cosmo105]

what if he gets raped and killed by a bear while they're both wearing miniskirts? what then?

[The Notorious LOL]

I get absolutely no love for this, but I also think H to the Izzo is one of his best tracks. I love the J5 loop.

nothing wrong with that. Its a catchy song.

[Extra Cheese]

i'm glad people dont praise "reasonable doubt" as much as they used to. it used to be like "oh his stuff is good now but reasonable doubt is straight classic". that album really isnt all that. at the time it came out it was good but its pretty much annoying now. he has released so much better material compared to whats on reasonable doubt.

[mickill]

what if he gets raped and killed by a bear while they're both wearing miniskirts? what then?

Depends on what type of bear, I suppose.

I think Reasonable Doubt starts out really strong, starts losing momentum 3/4 of the way and then ends on kind of a weak note. Ain't No Nigga, Cashmere Thoughts, Coming Of Age and Can I Live all use familiar samples that had been used before, which always bothered me. And 22 Twos, Feelin It and Bring It On just should have been left off the album.

The first three tracks, D'Evils and Friend Or Foe are incredible, and pretty much justify the classic status between them, though.

[Lex Diamonds]

There seems to be some kind of mistake, Feelin' It should be included in the incredible songs category.

Either way I think Reasonable Doubt is talked about too much, it's only his 3rd or 4th best album (after TBP, TBA & maybe V1).

[hpdrifter]

By the way, you guys, it really means a lot to me that you all posted constructive comments in my thread. Believe it or not I actually expected to get slayed for this thread. I guess because I am not super knowledgeable about rap. I like a few things but still don't get the Wu-Tang.

Anyway, its cool. (y)

[Lex Diamonds]

You don't get the Wu?

GET THE FUCK OUT

[RobMoney$]

Death, Taxes, and threads about Jay-Z or Wu-Tang getting to 2 pages. The only guarenteed things in lyfe...

[adam_f]

I've never heard a song so fitting in any commercial I've ever seen than when Heart of the City (Ain't No Love) was played in the American Gangster trailer.

It's a toss-up between that and Girls, Girls, Girls for my favorite Jay songs.

[cubsfirstplace]

I've never heard a song so fitting in any commercial I've ever seen than when Heart of the City (Ain't No Love) was played in the American Gangster trailer.



ya, that was awesome