Quote:
Originally Posted by PHLIP
I will agree with you on a certain level, but only in that I hold those albums about in the same regard as Enter The Wu Tang or Liquid Swords, they were different periods in hip hop and all wholly relevant to what they were or what they drove to take place.
Blackstar's first album remains as one of my favorites of all time, the only fault is that is TOO SHORT, that album could have gone on another 15 minutes and been just fine, at the rate they were going.
I am disagreeing with you on the Hard Knock Life assessment. It is one thing to not like Jay-Z, but please understand that no one gave a FUCK about that little broad singing "it's a hard knock life" until Mark the 45 King flipped what is still to this day one of the most clever samples/interpolations many have heard before or since.
Add to that the number of songs (and not just the singles) that were GREAT on that album, then add back in the ones that were not planned to be singles, but became that anyway.
Now, sticking to the same album, listen to the last verse on "Reservoir Dogs," which I have been stuck listening to after a thread in premium members a couple weeks back (White Mel knows) and the song immediately following that, "It's like that"
If, after doing JUST that, you're still telling yourself that Jay-Z can't rhyme or "sucks," or whatever the fuck ever, then you guys have all bumped your damned heads.
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Goddamn you said every word I was thinking.
+10000. Hard Knock Life album is classic. And so is In my Lifetime Vol 1 and Reasonable Doubt. Jay-z did change things up shortly after Hard Knock life, but I think for the most part redeemed himself on the Blueprint 1.
I know it's crazy, but Jay-Z has been my favorite MC ever since I stumbled upon buying the single of "Feelin it" off of Reasonable Doubt. It was from that point on I was hooked. And really at that time, he wasn't even popular. I'd tell people about him and they'd either not know of him or think he was whack. As time went on he basically because one of the biggest personalities in Hip Hop history, which no one can deny, period.
Now about the GZA album, like I said, it is arguable ONE of the best ever. It's up there no matter how you look at it. The beats may be some of RZA's best production, and GZA's lyrics ont eh album I don't think he's been able to match since. IMO it's the pinnacle of solo Wu albums.