Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt (1996)
"Murder is a tough thing to digest, it's a slow process, and I ain't got nothin' but time." Jay-Z threatens on the classic "Dead Presidents II", acknowledging the humanity of what he has to do to survive, which is a common theme on this album. "We used to fight for building blocks, now we fight for blocks with buildings that make a killin'. The closest of friends when we first started, but grew apart as the money grew and soon grew black-hearted. Thinkin' back when we first learned to use rubbers, he never learned, so in turn I'm kidnappin' his baby's mother. My hand around her collar, feedin' her cheese. She said the taste of dollars was shitty, so I fed her fifties. About his whereabouts I wasn't convinced I kept feedin' her money 'til her shit started to make sense." he describes how street life corrupted his life in "D'Evils". "And through our travels we get separated, never forget: In order to survive, gotta learn to live with regrets." Jay-Z says with pain in his voice on the (unless you have the bonus track "Can I Live II") final track "Regrets". If there's one thing Jay-Z can accomplish on this album, it's showing you the suffering he felt and the suffering he dealt in the life he was living before life was handed to him on a platter. On the path to royalty, blood must be shed, and Jay-Z knows this all too well.
On an album of seemingly endless quotables, one theme is consistent: Hunger, and the pain that comes with it. If all you know of Jay-Z is his business, his pop songs that hit the radio, the public life he lives with Beyonce as a celebrity power-couple not too unlike his friend Kanye West's life with his wife Kim Kardashian, then you'd probably assume that Jay-Z was just simply born into this life, maybe his father was a businessman? Nah, don't you know already: JAY-Z IS A MOTHERFUCKING BUSINESS, MAN!! You know the deal! Don't you EVER not know a thing that I want you to know, dumbass. Anyhow, this album is a look into the life of a true motherfucking HUSTLER. Jay-Z raps his fucking ass off on this entire album about his life dealing drugs, but he manages to do it in such a realistic way that shows the money and the suffering that comes with it. If there's any album that can accurately show what the mind of a drugdealer is, it's probably this one. I wouldn't know: The closest I've come to anything concerning that life is traveling with weed in the car. I know, I know: My life is a trip, but Jay-Z transports you so effortlessly into the cold New York streets circa the 1990s that it's almost uncomfortable. At some point, the fun bravado of "yeah, watch me count these stacks!" wears off and it feels claustrophobic: The world that Jay-Z created for himself has become a small room that he's afraid to look out the windows of. Imprisoned not by law, but by his own actions.
Alright, alright, enough ranting about how much I love this album's gritty realism: Jay-Z on this album, lyrically and flow-wise, is fucking phenomenal. The dude sounds tough, he flows like his thoughts are just pouring out of his mouth one after the other, and he's just fucking -brilliant- with his lyrical portrayals, double/triple entendres, and passion. I used to get into debates with my friends about what makes a musician a "rapper" and what makes a musician an "MC", and lo and behold, Jay-Z is one fucking killer MC on this album. The best? Who knows, but even your favorite power-house MC's would have trouble standing in the ring with this guy without falling a few times. Jay-Z, is by all means, the voice of the motherfucking streets, and uses that voice to make you shut the fuck up and pay attention for 55+ minutes, not as a boast of power, not as a threat of violence to secure Jay-Z's spot in the rap game, but as a warning to not follow the same path. On this album, Jay-Z is a damaged product of the very environment he grew up in and thought he'd take over, and the scars are left uncovered, for everyone to see and learn from.
This album, by all means, is a classic, and really: How many albums with a guest appearance by Notorious B.I.G. -aren't- classics? But here's the thing: Even if it's a classic due to its relevancy in the story of Jay-Z's life of going from rags to riches, some hot as fuck songs, its vivid portrayal of street life, etc.. It's not perfect. The album doesn't necessarily go downhill with the second half, but it does take a little bit of a dip, not all of the beats hit the spot for me, and "Ain't No Nigga (feat. Foxy Brown)" is a good tune, don't get me wrong, but it's really outta place on this album and its hook is AWFUL. Jay-Z's studio album isn't without its flaws, but those flaws shouldn't keep you from listening to it to hear a killer MC take you to where he grew up and got his hands dirty with the blood of rival dealers. The world is a cruel, unforgiving place, and if you were a drug dealer in the 1990s, this was likely the soundtrack to your life: A hole that not too many people get to crawl out of.
7/10
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