Jay-Z - Reasonable DoubtHere we go, blog #3. Shawn Carter was born December 4, 1969. After spending years selling crack and freestyling and appearing on other artists' (Jaz-O, Big Daddy Kane, Big L, Mic Geronimo), Shawn started up his own record label, called Roc-A-Fella, alongside his mentor Jaz-O (who he's now taken to dissing) and Dame Dash (who split from the label).
With the release of this album, Jay took the subgenre "mafioso rap" to the highest point it's been since Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (OB4CL2 is coming out September 8th, with the first single coming out Tuesday... supposedly). Hov's debut has been cited as a classic, and used to justify his positioning on a "Top MCs of All Time" list. It's also placed on the "Top Hip-Hop Albums of All Time." All this despite not selling a lot of copies, but you know that the best albums usually seem to be the ones ignored by the consumers.
For Reasonable Doubt, Jay brought along some good producers (DJ Premier, Ski, DJ Clark Kent, Big Jaz) and good features (The Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, Big Jaz, Sauce Money) for his mafioso classic.
...another boring intro. Damnit.
1. Can't Knock the Hustle (feat. Mary J. Blige)
Produced by Knobody & The Hitmen
Pain in da Ass does a 40 second, uncredited intro over the sound of a heartbeat before Jay jumps into rhyming. I don't like the beat on this. It sounds like first beat I learned when playing the drums. The lyrics are good, though, but as a total package... it's boring.
2. Politics as Usual
Produced by Ski
Much better beat. The lyrics are on point. This would've been a much better opening song, as it actually keeps your attention.
3. Brooklyn's Finest (feat. The Notorious B.I.G.)
Produced by Clark Kent
I think this might be the only collaboration between Biggie and Jay that was released in B.I.G.'s lifetime. I could be wrong though, but I can't recall any. The beat's not what you think it would be for a collab like this, but I like it. The two trade the mic back and worth, with a quick chorus interrupting them. I really like this song. Biggie's "joke," I say that because it doesn't come off as one, is really... awkward.
4. Dead Presidents II
Produced by Ski
Jay released the original "Dead Presidents" as the first single off Reasonable Doubt about four months before the album dropped. And when it did, the song was off it, but replaced with this one, it's got the same beat and the same chorus, but different lyrics. Why? Oh, and a track called "Dead Presidents III" was put on tracklists for American Gangster a while back (so were collabs with Kanye and T.I.). If I recall correctly, the song actually leaked... I should go find it. ANYWAY... this track is my second favorite off the album. Oh, and it started the whole Jay/Nas feud... so that's worth noting... yeah.
5. Feelin' It (feat. Mecca)
Produced by Ski
The final single off the album... it brings one question to my mind: Who the fuck is Mecca? Still a good track.
6. D'Evils
Produced by DJ Premier
The first of three Premo contributions to the album. I'm gonna keep this track short and just describe it with one word: AWESOME.
7. 22 Two's
Produced by Ski
Somewhere, I remember reading a 44 Four's when looking over a Jay-Z track listing. I think it was of the Reasonable Doubt 10 Anniversary Concert. He swipes the chorus from A Tribe Called Quest's "Can I Kick It?" The random talk show intro in the beginning is not really necessary. The "freestyle" (yeah, right...) is awesome. The beat's decent, too.
8. Can I Live
Produced by DJ Irv
"DJ Irv" would obviously be Irv Gotti... heh. Sounds pretty good... which is weird considering "DJ Irv" here is responsible for giving the hip-hop world Ja Rule.
9. Ain't No Nigga (feat. Foxy Brown)
Produced by Big Jaz
Big Jaz drops by to give Jay a beat and then leaves (don't worry, he'll be back). It's all good up until Foxy's verse.... which doesn't sound too bad, but I don' feel like it fits the song.
10. Friend or Foe
Produced by DJ Premier
Hey, Premo's back. That's always good. Third favorite off Reasonable Doubt. This needs to be longer. Had it been around 3 minutes, it would definitely be second favorite. (OOOOOOO... SECOND FAVORITE.)
11. Coming of Age (feat. Memphis Bleek)
Produced by Clark Kent
Oh, hey, look, it's Jay-Z's replacement. Thank God that when Jay retired, we got Memphis Bleek in his place... right? Wrong. What the hell is Memphis doing nowadays? The only time I've seen his name pop up this year was when he randomly got a guest appearance on that Wale/9th Wonder mixtape that dropped a month ago. But it's not like he deserves to be Jay's replacement... he almost ruins a good song. Almost. Oh, and part of the final verse (where Jay and Bleek steal the mic from each other) comes off as gay...
12. Cashmere Thoughts
Produced by Clark Kent
This beat sucks... just saying. Hov's lyrics are good, though. That's beginning to be a running theme throughout the album... I'm not complainin'.
13. Bring It On (feat. Big Jaz & Sauce Money)
Produced by DJ Premier
Jaz must've drove around in circles and had to reenter the studio to ask Jay for directions and decided to hop on Premier's final contribution for the album. Sauce Money must've brought the pizzas to the studio, and since he was a such nice delivery boy, Jay offered him a spot on the album. That's not to say he's not good on the track, much better than Memphis Bleek. Same with Jaz. The beats good, ut the song is my least favorite out of the three Premier contributions, but it's still awesome.
14. Regrets
Produced by Peter Panic
Who the hell is Peter Panic? Whoever he is, he produced a simple beat. Pretty good song, would start a trend of downbeat songs ending the albums.
I have a version containing one more bonus track...
15. Can I Live II (feat. Memphis Bleek)
Produced by K-Rob
YAY. ANOTHER TRACK WITH MEMPHIS BLEEK. YIPPIE. And who the hell is K-Rob? I'll just finish this here by saying that I personally prefer the first one.
Conclusion: Reasonable Doubt definitely holds up after 13 years its been out. With a total of 14 tracks (15 on my version), there's 6 great songs on here, 6 good songs, and 2 meh songs (3 with Can I Live II). What does that all mean? Well, it means you should go get this right now, because it's a great fucking album. Run, children... run.
Depending on how tired I am, there might be another review in a couple hours. If not, then you can expect it during the day.
With the release of this album, Jay took the subgenre "mafioso rap" to the highest point it's been since Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (OB4CL2 is coming out September 8th, with the first single coming out Tuesday... supposedly). Hov's debut has been cited as a classic, and used to justify his positioning on a "Top MCs of All Time" list. It's also placed on the "Top Hip-Hop Albums of All Time." All this despite not selling a lot of copies, but you know that the best albums usually seem to be the ones ignored by the consumers.
For Reasonable Doubt, Jay brought along some good producers (DJ Premier, Ski, DJ Clark Kent, Big Jaz) and good features (The Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, Big Jaz, Sauce Money) for his mafioso classic.
...another boring intro. Damnit.
1. Can't Knock the Hustle (feat. Mary J. Blige)
Produced by Knobody & The Hitmen
Pain in da Ass does a 40 second, uncredited intro over the sound of a heartbeat before Jay jumps into rhyming. I don't like the beat on this. It sounds like first beat I learned when playing the drums. The lyrics are good, though, but as a total package... it's boring.
2. Politics as Usual
Produced by Ski
Much better beat. The lyrics are on point. This would've been a much better opening song, as it actually keeps your attention.
3. Brooklyn's Finest (feat. The Notorious B.I.G.)
Produced by Clark Kent
I think this might be the only collaboration between Biggie and Jay that was released in B.I.G.'s lifetime. I could be wrong though, but I can't recall any. The beat's not what you think it would be for a collab like this, but I like it. The two trade the mic back and worth, with a quick chorus interrupting them. I really like this song. Biggie's "joke," I say that because it doesn't come off as one, is really... awkward.
4. Dead Presidents II
Produced by Ski
Jay released the original "Dead Presidents" as the first single off Reasonable Doubt about four months before the album dropped. And when it did, the song was off it, but replaced with this one, it's got the same beat and the same chorus, but different lyrics. Why? Oh, and a track called "Dead Presidents III" was put on tracklists for American Gangster a while back (so were collabs with Kanye and T.I.). If I recall correctly, the song actually leaked... I should go find it. ANYWAY... this track is my second favorite off the album. Oh, and it started the whole Jay/Nas feud... so that's worth noting... yeah.
5. Feelin' It (feat. Mecca)
Produced by Ski
The final single off the album... it brings one question to my mind: Who the fuck is Mecca? Still a good track.
6. D'Evils
Produced by DJ Premier
The first of three Premo contributions to the album. I'm gonna keep this track short and just describe it with one word: AWESOME.
7. 22 Two's
Produced by Ski
Somewhere, I remember reading a 44 Four's when looking over a Jay-Z track listing. I think it was of the Reasonable Doubt 10 Anniversary Concert. He swipes the chorus from A Tribe Called Quest's "Can I Kick It?" The random talk show intro in the beginning is not really necessary. The "freestyle" (yeah, right...) is awesome. The beat's decent, too.
8. Can I Live
Produced by DJ Irv
"DJ Irv" would obviously be Irv Gotti... heh. Sounds pretty good... which is weird considering "DJ Irv" here is responsible for giving the hip-hop world Ja Rule.
9. Ain't No Nigga (feat. Foxy Brown)
Produced by Big Jaz
Big Jaz drops by to give Jay a beat and then leaves (don't worry, he'll be back). It's all good up until Foxy's verse.... which doesn't sound too bad, but I don' feel like it fits the song.
10. Friend or Foe
Produced by DJ Premier
Hey, Premo's back. That's always good. Third favorite off Reasonable Doubt. This needs to be longer. Had it been around 3 minutes, it would definitely be second favorite. (OOOOOOO... SECOND FAVORITE.)
11. Coming of Age (feat. Memphis Bleek)
Produced by Clark Kent
Oh, hey, look, it's Jay-Z's replacement. Thank God that when Jay retired, we got Memphis Bleek in his place... right? Wrong. What the hell is Memphis doing nowadays? The only time I've seen his name pop up this year was when he randomly got a guest appearance on that Wale/9th Wonder mixtape that dropped a month ago. But it's not like he deserves to be Jay's replacement... he almost ruins a good song. Almost. Oh, and part of the final verse (where Jay and Bleek steal the mic from each other) comes off as gay...
Jay: Hey, fella, I been watchin' you clockin'.You can check Cracked for more unintentionally gay lyrics.
Bleek: Who? Me? Holdin' down this block, it ain't nothin'. You the man n----, stop frontin'.
Jay: Haha, I like yo style...
Bleek: Nah, I like YO style.
Jay: Let's drive around for a while.
Bleek: Cool, n----.
Jay: Here's a thou.
Bleek: Till death do us part.
12. Cashmere Thoughts
Produced by Clark Kent
This beat sucks... just saying. Hov's lyrics are good, though. That's beginning to be a running theme throughout the album... I'm not complainin'.
13. Bring It On (feat. Big Jaz & Sauce Money)
Produced by DJ Premier
Jaz must've drove around in circles and had to reenter the studio to ask Jay for directions and decided to hop on Premier's final contribution for the album. Sauce Money must've brought the pizzas to the studio, and since he was a such nice delivery boy, Jay offered him a spot on the album. That's not to say he's not good on the track, much better than Memphis Bleek. Same with Jaz. The beats good, ut the song is my least favorite out of the three Premier contributions, but it's still awesome.
14. Regrets
Produced by Peter Panic
Who the hell is Peter Panic? Whoever he is, he produced a simple beat. Pretty good song, would start a trend of downbeat songs ending the albums.
I have a version containing one more bonus track...
15. Can I Live II (feat. Memphis Bleek)
Produced by K-Rob
YAY. ANOTHER TRACK WITH MEMPHIS BLEEK. YIPPIE. And who the hell is K-Rob? I'll just finish this here by saying that I personally prefer the first one.
Conclusion: Reasonable Doubt definitely holds up after 13 years its been out. With a total of 14 tracks (15 on my version), there's 6 great songs on here, 6 good songs, and 2 meh songs (3 with Can I Live II). What does that all mean? Well, it means you should go get this right now, because it's a great fucking album. Run, children... run.
Depending on how tired I am, there might be another review in a couple hours. If not, then you can expect it during the day.
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