Before Jay-Z fashioned himself into hip-hop's most notorious capitalist, he was a street hustler from the projects who rapped about what he knew -- and was very, very good at it. Skeptics who've never cared for Jigga's crossover efforts should turn to his debut, Reasonable Doubt, as the deserving source of his legend. Reasonable Doubt is often compared to another New York landmark, Nas' Illmatic: A hungry young MC with a substantial underground buzz drops an instant classic of a debut, detailing his experiences on the streets with disarming honesty, and writing some of the most acrobatic rhymes heard in quite some time. (Plus, neither artist has since approached the street cred of his debut, The Blueprint notwithstanding.) Parts of the persona that Jay-Z would ride to superstardom are already in place: He's cocky bordering on arrogant, but playful and witty, and exudes an effortless, unaffected cool throughout. And even if he's rapping about rising to the top instead of being there, his material obsessions are already apparent. Jay-Z the hustler isn't too different from Jay-Z the rapper: Hustling is about living the high life and getting everything you can, not violence or tortured glamour or cheap thrills. In that sense, the album's defining cut might not be one of the better-known singles -- "Can't Knock the Hustle," "Dead Presidents II," "Feelin' It," or the Foxy Brown duet, "Ain't No Nigga." It just might be the brief "22 Two's," which not only demonstrates Jay-Z's extraordinary talent as a pure freestyle rapper, but also preaches a subtle message through its club hostess: Bad behavior gets in the way of making money. Perhaps that's why Jay-Z waxes reflective, not enthusiastic, about the darker side of the streets; songs like "D'Evils" and "Regrets" are some of the most personal and philosophical he's ever recorded. It's that depth that helps Reasonable Doubt rank as one of the finest albums of New York's hip-hop renaissance of the '90s.
This documentary was released in October 2007 and takes a closer look at the creative process behind the making of arguably Jay’s best album. The video features commentary from DJ Premier,...* Summary only. Visit the site for full article!
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Reasonable Doubt is the debut album from Jay-Z, released June 25, 1996 on Roc-A-Fella Records. The album features production by DJ Premier, Ski, Knobody and Clark Kent, and guest appearances by...* Summary only. Visit the site for full article!
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There are few rappers that have ever captured my attention to the extent that Jay-Z has. Granted, I didn't come around till he was rhymin' over samples from Annie, but when I finally did get around to listening to him I ate up everything he had done before it as well. That obviously means Jay's seminal work Reasonable Doubt, a record that has been hailed in all circles of the music world as one
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I just wanted to capture the lyrics I put on Candyman's page on my blog. Please comment. But no bullshit Vanilla Ice please =)1. Jigga (Regrets): "One of these buyers had eyes like a Korean, it's difficult to read 'em; the windows to his soul were half closed--I put the key in" or "I sip fine wines and spit vintage flows!" (Can't stop the Hustle)2. Kanye (We Major): "I'm feeling better than som...
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Being without my usual insomniac cure of making mix cds, given that my itunes is busy MOGifying away, I will instead rave about "this article":http://xxlmag.com/online/?p=2477: I was drunkenly browsing the magazine stand at Astor Place late the other night when I noticed the cover of XXL magazine. As I flipped through it, a smile crept onto my face - what a fucking awesome album [Reasonable ...
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This documentary was released in October 2007 and takes a closer look at the creative process behind the making of arguably Jay’s best album. The video features commentary from DJ Premier,...* Summary only. Visit the site for full article!
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Had to put this up. I totally forgot about this til I was on the BART train riding home and it just popped into my head. This guy is so amazing. His voices are so spot on it's freaky.
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I just wanted to capture the lyrics I put on Candyman's page on my blog. Please comment. But no bullshit Vanilla Ice please =)1. Jigga (Regrets): "One of these buyers had eyes like a Korean, it's difficult to read 'em; the windows to his soul were half closed--I put the key in" or "I sip fine wines and spit vintage flows!" (Can't stop the Hustle)2. Kanye (We Major): "I'm feeling better than som...
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Being without my usual insomniac cure of making mix cds, given that my itunes is busy MOGifying away, I will instead rave about "this article":http://xxlmag.com/online/?p=2477: I was drunkenly browsing the magazine stand at Astor Place late the other night when I noticed the cover of XXL magazine. As I flipped through it, a smile crept onto my face - what a fucking awesome album [Reasonable ...
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MTV pulls out the old ass footage from 2001 of Jay-Z talking about how no record deals would sign him when he made “Reasonable Doubt”.
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I had this track just kinda stored away so I figured I'd throw it up. I am also using this post to try out different music upload sites. Once I start getting my checks from MOG I might be switching to wordpress and then I can embed songs, w/e, etc and make all that bigger. But zshare has constantly been a pain so I am trying to find a medium between now and then.EDIT: Looks like ELBO.WS didnt p...
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Photographer Jonathan Mannion, a native of Cleveland, OH, began capturing images of up-and-coming urban music superstars after working for a year with world-renowned photographer Richard Avedon. In 1996, Mannion began his professional career by shooting the photographs for the classic hip-hop album "Reasonable Doubt" by Jay-Z. In the years since then, Jonathan's photography has grown alongside ...
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There are few rappers that have ever captured my attention to the extent that Jay-Z has. Granted, I didn't come around till he was rhymin' over samples from Annie, but when I finally did get around to listening to him I ate up everything he had done before it as well. That obviously means Jay's seminal work Reasonable Doubt, a record that has been hailed in all circles of the music world as one
More >
We posted this remix album back in April and it’s so dope that it definitely deserves a repost today as we celebrate Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt. Check out this fly ass remix project,...* Summary only. Visit the site for full article!
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DJ LECHE sent over these three mixes that he’s done of Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt, Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, and Nas‘ Illmatic. The mixes each include discussion on the...* Summary only. Visit the site for full article!
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Jay-Z recently did a great interview with MySpace where he speaks on how he started his music career, the reasons behind the creation of Reasonable Doubt, going to high school with Biggie and Busta...* Summary only. Visit the site for full article!
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To many Reasonable Doubt is Jay’s most “lyrical” album. Jay has said (paraphrasing of course) RD is his “most wordy album.” RD is full of gems from “Bring It...* Summary only. Visit the site for full article!
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The title of the post is self explanatory. We are going to feature all the visual for each Jay album up until the release of The Blueprint 3 on 9/11.Today the classic album Reasonable Doubt gets...* Summary only. Visit the site for full article!
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Reasonable Doubt is the debut album from Jay-Z, released June 25, 1996 on Roc-A-Fella Records. The album features production by DJ Premier, Ski, Knobody and Clark Kent, and guest appearances by...* Summary only. Visit the site for full article!
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In preparation for the widely anticipated 11th solo studio album from Jay-Z, The Blueprint 3, KevinNottingham.com is proud to dedicate the next 11 days to one of the greatest emcees of our time. Over...* Summary only. Visit the site for full article!
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Can't Knock the Hustle |
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| 2 Politics as Usual |
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| 3 Brooklyn's Finest |
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| 4 Dead Presidents II [New Lyrics] |
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| 5 Feelin' It |
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| 6 D'evils |
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| 7 22 Two's |
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| 8 Can I Live |
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| 9 Ain't No ***** |
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| 10 Friend or Foe |
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| 11 Coming of Age |
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| 12 Cashmere Thoughts |
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| 13 Bring It On |
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| 14 Regrets |
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| 15 Can I Live II [*] |
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Click to purchase…
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 "Reasonable Doubt")
