On this day 25 Years ago, Jay Z releases his masterpiece Reasonable Doubt
- Thread starter Street Knowledge
- Start date
T.he I.nformant
1st Ballot HOF Teller
Album getting the anniversary vinyl treatment? 
No one does this on other forms of media. they only do it with hov and RD. "it was just another album" no one says that shyt about cult classic movies that grew in esteem over time.
I've been hoping for years. i guess we can blame the pandemic and the vinyl shortageAlbum getting the anniversary vinyl treatment?
Trot LaRoc
Superstar
ONE OF THE MOST OVERRATED
ALBUMS IN HIP HOP.
NOT A TOP 3 JAY ALBUM.
Are you serious?
The production was mostly impeccable and perfectly matched the lyricsY'all nikias have tin ears
alot of people on here downplay this album because THEY were late.
they do the same thing to illmatic as well and try to say some chit like IWW was better.
this is easily jay's best album by far and it was heavy in the streets in real-time on the east coast.
and as far as nobody knowing he existed nationally, the guy was getting daytime spins on MTV and stood next to foxy brown for pete's sake.
you claim to be in your 50s and from new jersey, but yet you say some stupid chit like this.
i always knew you were lying about that, but now im beginning to think that youre a 23 year old russian.
they do the same thing to illmatic as well and try to say some chit like IWW was better.
this is easily jay's best album by far and it was heavy in the streets in real-time on the east coast.
and as far as nobody knowing he existed nationally, the guy was getting daytime spins on MTV and stood next to foxy brown for pete's sake.
you claim to be in your 50s and from new jersey, but yet you say some stupid chit like this.
i always knew you were lying about that, but now im beginning to think that youre a 23 year old russian.
Lucky_Lefty
Dreams Are Colder Than Death...
Uhh,’she was the reason for the spins
Still doesn’t make it a classic. So you saying it was a tri-state classic?
ISO
Pass me the rock nikka
Crazy talk
Jay was a top 5 mc in 1996 but this isn't a top ten album in terms of production. Hip-hop production was in a GREAT space in 1996 the beats Jay had on Reasonable Doubt are kinda hit or miss.
Illadelph Halflife
Stakes Is High
Muddy Waters
The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory
Iron Man
Legal Drug Money
Wrath of the Math
Ridin Dirty
Gettin It
It Was Written
Bow Down
Dr. Octagon
Wild Cowboys
Nocturnal
Hardcore
The Score
Realms n' Reality
You can pick and choose but at least 10 of these had better production.
Album is still a classic nobody was rapping like Jay was. "22 twos" and "Friend or Foe" were in constant mixshow rotation so no one could ever deny how nice he was. And Rocafella made an impact off of how they moved around in NYC. It really felt like they ALREADY had a lot of money so it made the songs hit harder. Jay had more wisdom in his raps than any other "street rapper" ever.
ISO
Pass me the rock nikka
Man no no fukk no I hate the beats on that album
Haven’t heard this album in a minute but I remember poor mixing and a lot of guitars
RD sounds lush as fukk to this day, excellent sample selections, Dead Presidents seemingly everyone got a freestyle to
Man no no fukk no I hate the beats on that album
Haven’t heard this album in a minute but I remember poor mixing and a lot of guitars
RD sounds lush as fukk to this day, excellent sample selections, Dead Presidents seemingly everyone got a freestyle to
The beat was so nice he used it twice. It's fair to say he didn't have a crop of beats on that level to choose from. He took "Feelin It" from Camp Lo imagine he didn't and we got something out of Clark Kent's stash instead
. Compare these beats to the work on "Vol. 2 Hard Knock Life". At that point Hov had access to the best of the best and you can hear the difference.
Jay's rapping on "Can't Knock the Hustle" is nothing short of amazing. The way Jay could body commercial tracks instantly made him a force to be reckoned with. I'll give him the edge over Pac & Big there. They had hits but held back a little on more commercial tracks. Those "Can't Knock the Hustle" bars I could tell Jay was killing street battles with those. Nas had "If I Ruled The World" but later in his career commercially beats seemed to inspire his wackest flows.
Back in the day Jay battled Busta, GZA, Big L, Wise Intelligent, LL Cool J, Bizzy Bone (I think), DMX etc. I couldn't imagine having to stand in front of 6-7 of those "Reasonable Doubt" era verses.
Back in the day Jay battled Busta, GZA, Big L, Wise Intelligent, LL Cool J, Bizzy Bone (I think), DMX etc. I couldn't imagine having to stand in front of 6-7 of those "Reasonable Doubt" era verses.
BelowTheMasonDixon
Veteran
I didn't hear Reasonable Doubt till I was in college. First album I bought was Vol 1. And I told one of my homies dude is a star. He wrote me off of course. nikkas first albums are always there best work. Not lyrically or sonically usually. But you can tell they got that HUNGER!