By shelz.

There are few Hip-Hop catalogues that can top that of Shawn Carter. Album for album he is arguably the rap heavy weight champ, regardless of what you believe about his candor or personal politics. Granted, his road to the top has had a few potholes. Industry folks and fans alike have accused him of borrowing a little too much from the competition. He took the express lane to Pop-Hop in the late ‘90’s leaving his loyalty to the grittiness that made him famous for a more universal sound. However, in between crew squabbles and fusion experimentation, he was able to produce two of the best albums in the history of the genus.

Reasonable Doubt allowed Jay-z to introduce himself to a rap audience that was enjoying a New York rap renaissance. He was yet another newbie from Brooklyn with practical life experience that laid waste to the thoughtless gangsta experience in Hip Hop. His pensive pondering fleshed out the random drug lord character the Hip Hop nation had become used to and he did it with unwavering style and a coolness that could chill the hardest hardcore rap fan to the bone. Five years and four albums later he brought that unruffled persona full circle with The Blueprint. The production was impeccable, his thought process was effectual and his collaboration, with the then hot as fire Marshall Mathers, can be counted as one of the best ever. But which album is Jigga’s masterpiece?

Reasonable is a poignantly melancholy album. Never animated or overly aggressive, Jigga’s delivery sounds like dead pan realism; like he is opening a door to the hustler’s life and allowing you to see the cobwebs in the corner. There is a little glamour, but mostly an authentic pragmatism that slides off the slick wordplay and lands somewhere in your psyche, leaving an awareness that drug dealing is a shitty business. Yet Jay committed to the hustle for as long as they both shall live.

Even in his playful moments when he is more concerned with flipping words for the sake of rap artistry than dragging you into the elicit underworld, there is an undeniable maturity and thoughtfulness that eludes most emcees. And in his lyrical dual with the Notorious BIG we were really getting a fleeting glimpse of “Brooklyn’s Finest.” The exchange was lively, the banter was razor sharp and Jay’s ability to hang with the black Frank White cemented him as one of the best in the game.

The production was atmospheric mood music that set the foundation for Jay’s themes of paranoia, stress, money addiction and skeezers. DJ Premiere, Ski, Clark Kent, Knowbody, The Hitmen and Irv Gotti crafted a soulful backdrop that fit perfectly with the matter-of-fact onslaught of street politics Jay laid over them.

The album was the perfect welcome vehicle for an artist creating in the midst of some of the most talented rappers in the history of the genre. With both Nas and Biggie coming off their classic debuts, Jay had no choice but to drop a gem and he did. Then he eclipsed them both and maybe even himself.

Jay-Z feat. Foxy Brown- Ain’t No N***a Jay-Z ft Foxy Brown-Ain’t No Nigga

The Blueprint was a return of sorts for Jay Z. His experiment with crossover sounds on his albums after Reasonable Doubt waxed and waned, never finding the effectual depth of his first album. However, in 2001 he struck an ideal balance. Jay shifted from dropping you dead center into the drug game to seeing it in the rear view mirror. Production wise, Blueprint returned to the moody, soulful samples that laced his debut thanks to then production neophytes Kanye West and Just Blaze as well as Roc in house veteran Bink. And his chilly effortless delivery made his overwhelming brand of hubris palatable.

If Reasonable Doubt gave you an account of the ascension, The Blueprint described thoroughly what it’s like to be at the top. It was markedly lighter in tone; a happier version of the good life was splattered throughout the lush, bouncy production and Jay sounded less stressed thanks to his obvious success at reaching some of the material ambitions he preached in previous releases. The Blueprint tackles more than big money. There is still the trademark self exploration, attentive musings and top tier word play that drew the fans to him in the first place. When all of that is added up, there are those who believe the sum is flawless.

Jay-Z- Izzo Jay-Z – Izzo (h.o.v.a)

Only one or the other can reign supreme. When the R-O-C was running this rap shit and Jay was king, which album was the brightest jewel in his crown?

LISTEN HERE Jay-Z: Reasonable Doubt

LISTEN HERE Jay-Z: The Blueprint

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