Jay-Z

If I was in a bad mood i might have given it 3 stars, but its really not that bad. Compared to ALOT of rap Jay-Z is very good, but held up against his previous this doesn't hold up to me. His lyrics aren't as tight, and really, many his themes and ideas have become recycled. But of course, why stop if you can continue making money? right?

One thing Jay-Z did with this album is hook a lot of new rap fans and brought them into the game. That is why it's considered a classic by so many. Me... not really. His style is too cocky and too pop for me. He still has his roots deeply in hustling and street life, but he comes across very arrogant and as an over achiever. I won't complain about Jay-Z making money, cuz his is a philanthropist, but i definitely question who a lot of his fans are. Too many D-riders, just because somebody is famous and MTV tells you they're hot. DON"T LISTEN TO THE MEDIA, make up you're mind on your own. Just because you listen to this music doesn't mean you have good taste in rap. Too many people just buy whatever is popular, and hardly take the time to truly listen to the lyrics deeply enough.

Overall, it is the production that makes the Blueprint good. The beats by Kanye, Just Blaze and Bink are excellent. Lyrically, Jay-Z has gotten weaker, and that's not why this album is so popular. A lot of this CD is so hyped up and over-rated. Still makes for good listening though ;]

Also***** it should be noted that even though Eminem's verse is much better than Jay's on Renegade, it was originally not a Jay-Z song. It was for Royce Da 59. Eminem had already written lyrics. And of course, Eminem is just a better lyricist than most rappers.

All Jay Z, no filler. That's exactly what you get when listen to the Blueprint. This is Jigga's best album, beaten out only by Reasonable Doubt. It has hits singles such as "Izzo", "Girls, Girls, Girls", and "Song Cry", as well other tracks such as "Takeover", the famous diss aimed at Nas, and "Renegade", with a guest appearance from Eminem. The Blueprint also has two of the best producers in all of hip hop here, Kanye West and Just Blaze. This album not only solidified Jay Z as the King of New York, but also put Kanye West on the map as one of the hottest producers around. In short, The Blueprint is an all time classic.

In several of the songs, Hova says "Jewels" and it's often mistaken as "Jews." Big difference. H to the Izzo.

If yall enjoyed this album as much as I did then you will most likely find the album No Mercy No fear by 50 Cent and Whoo Kid. It's off the chain.

BOTTOM LINE:

Looking back to 1995, this has become my 2nd favorite Jay-Z album. Very close to 'Reasonable Doubt' (but 'RD' has more sentimental value). This is Jigga's perfect balance of street and commercial. holla.

I have to admit when I first heard this album I was blown away. I still have my same copy with the black disc. I will say that this album is a more commercial version of Reasonable Doubt. Even though it has a more commercial feel to it, its still an excellent album. This was slated to be Jay-Z's last album so I guess he wanted to go out with a bang and The Black Album does just that. It's similar to Reasonable Doubt in that he has some very personal songs on it like December 4th (great song) and Lucifer (a personal favorite of mine). However, it still shows Jay-Z's evolution as a more mainstream rap artist. This could be good or bad depending on what type of hip hop fan you are. Personally, I don't really care for commercial rap artists but I make an exception for Jay-Z. I really didn't know what to expect when I got this album because by the time it came out, Jay-Z had drifted so far from his original sound. It's also similar to Reasonable Doubt in that it is consistent. I didn't need to skip any tracks. I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that Reasonable Doubt was going to be his only "great" album. The rest were hit and miss with a few nice tracks here and there but not classic material. Another good album by Jay-Z was the Blueprint but The Black Album surpasses that one. Yes I said it, The Black Album is better than The Blueprint. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Blueprint too but if you're really honest with yourself you will agree with me. If not we just have to agree to disagree. Either way, The Black Album is the commercial counterpart to the classic Reasonable Doubt and it's worth owning. In my opinion, he should have ended it with this album. The only thee albums necessary to own by Jay-Z are this one, Blueprint and his best album, Reasonable Doubt. The rest were just so so. All in all, The Black Album is not quite a 5 star album (a la Illmatic, Reasonable Doubt and Ready To Die) but it definitely shouldn't get any less than 4 stars. Peace.

I'm not reviewing this album because I never heard it. I do know that I loathe this rapper and all the tadpoles that follow him. If this moron has so much money, then why do I see Bono in Africa helping black people? Why do I see Brad Pitt helping black people in New Orleans? Does Jay-Z like black people? What do you think is more important to Jay-Z, helping poor starving oppressed black people in the world or buying a new Aston Martin? Don't bother answering. We all know the answer. One day black america will wake up....one day.

I don't want to sound like a hater i mean i am giving the album 5 stars but I used to use this album to go to sleep, maybe thats why when i put this in my car I get really drowzy and actually almost fall asleep. You get producers like kanye west who does 2 tracks, the neptunes who also does 2 tracks, timbaland, eminem, dj quick, and some others like rick rubin who did surprise in the production of 99 problems. the album is good, features no one except for pharrel in "change clothes". he should have maybe done a track with beyonce or kanye west or someone else.


1. Interlude N/R

2. December 4th 3/5 kinda corny but not bad

3. What More Can I Say 5/5 hot track. "Im not a biter im a writer, i say a BIG verse im only binging up my brother im big enough to do it."

4. Encore 5/5 another hot track exepct for the long pause in the middle of the track where a guy is urging people to scream HOVA well the song is "ENCORE" but after replaying it.... it gets anoying maybe they should have saved it for the end.

5. Change Clothes 4/5 i don't know why he would choose this song as his 3rd single when there are better choises.

6. Dirt Off Your Shoulder 5/5 2nd single in the album. timbaland gives him a beat that is just bananas.

7. Threat 4/5 funny small skit in the beginnig but dope.

8. Moment Of Clarity 4/5 ahh the eminem produced track good song overall. hot hook going over his albums.

9. 99 Problems 5/5 good single tells a small story in the second verse.

10. Interlude 4/5 hot lil freestyle

11. Justify My Thug 4/5 not bad but not great

12. Lucifer 3/5 really anoying hook imo.

13. Allure 4/5 by this time im usually asleep. so can't talk much about it.

14. My 1st Song 5/5 ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.............

awwwhhhh.... lol just kidding.

what i can tell you is the alot of rappers hav sampled jay-Z from this album and have created hits.

1 Cassidy- "Im a Hustla" (sampled from the 3rd verse in "Dirt Off Your Shoulder")

2 T.I.- "Bring Em' Out" (sampled from the 1st verse in "What More Can I Say")

3. Juvenile- "Way I Be Leaning" (This guy choped and screwed jay's voice for the song so it would sound more southern but I know tthe rhyme is from the second verse of "Dirt of your shoulder")

Im sure there is more but i can't remember now. aight 1.

At first I wasn't feeling this CD so much but after 4-5 spins I realized this was a really nice album. IMO it's behind Blueprint, Vol. 1, and Vol. 2 for the best Jay-z albums. Alot of people don't agree with me on Vol. 1 but it was a great CD(besides "I Know What Girls Want" & "Sunshine") It was before he went materialistic and commercial.

As this is the only Jay-Z album I own, I can't rank it against his others as many reviewers have done. I confess that I bought it for 99 Problems and Dirt Off Your Shoulder so I'd have some of the more accessible MTV-branded "hip-hop" to add to my party mixes. They're funny songs that everyone knows and it doesn't kill me to have them in my repertiore.
There is certainly no shortage of self-adulation and overproduction here that have become the unfortunate hallmarks of Jay-Z tracks. That said, there is also evidence that he knows what real hip-hop is all about, he just chooses to go a different route (which kinda hurts more than the ignorance of garbage rappers).
The best and most fun song on the album, and the lone track that earns its three stars, is Moment of Clarity where he does take hip-hop back to the battle rap, and he is the king of using backhanded compliments to ellicit a response. He specifically calls out two of hip-hop's greats (who I'm sure he properly respects) with the lines "If skills sold, truth be told, I'd probably be lyrically Talib Kweli. Truthfully I want to rhyme like Common Sense, but I did five mil, I ain't been rhymin like Common Sense..." Kweli and Common come back at him on Ghetto Show (from Kweli's excellent The Beautiful Struggle) with "If lyrics sold, then truth be told, I'd probably be just as rich and famous as Jay-Z. Truthfully I want to rhyme like Common Sense, next best thing I'll do a record with Common Sense." It's just too much fun to imagine behind the scenes of that good-natured (read: no gun references or idle death threats) throwdown. I love it and am grateful to Jigga for laying it down. Surely Kweli and Common are, too.

Go buy Jay-Z CD out in the stores and don't download from amazon downloads site and other pay digital downloads site.

ONE OF MY FAV ALBUMS OF ALL TIME MAYBE MY FAVORITE JAY Z CDS OFF ALL TIME

While Kingdom come was more of an abomination than an ablum to bow out from , Jay makes a remarkable comeback with American Gangster. With every title track incorporating a mix of jazz, hip-hop and R&B, Jay lies down the groundwork for being an "American Hustler". While his drug dealing days have long been over, Hova remarkably retells the tales of lies, sex, perception, and paying the ultimate price. Jay-Z comes off realistic as well as optimistic to being the "good guy" and the "bad guy".

This CD was outstanding Jay-Z really pull out all the punches when he recorded this one

Shawn Carter is back with another excellent album as usual.
Tha gangsta image goes perfectly with Jay-Z's thug style.
I ain't got nuthin' more to say but "BUY URGENTLY THIS ALBUM IF YOU'RE A TRUE JAY-Z FAN. Jay-z comes always with fresh music and great inspiration and he never disapoint his fans. Listen to this album.¨
Peace Jay-Z and thanks for your great music.

I think this a ok album. Except there's only six songs. and a video.
There should have been a lot more songs (like 15).

Dirt Off Your Shoulder / Lying from You : grade B+
Big Pimpin' / Papercut : grade D-
Jigga What / Faint : grade B
Numb / Encore : grade A
Izzo / In the End : grade B
Points of Authority / 99 Problems / One Step Closer : grade A+

the person i bought this from sucks!!!!!!!!!!!! he only sent me the dvd and when i asked about the cd was told thats how it comes. such a lie. never watched the dvd so who knows

I have tried everything to keep my friends from stealing this cd. It is awesome. i just wished it had more than 6 songs. :-|

This is just awesome, I was a HUGE LP fan until "Minutes to Midnight" came around, but when this came out I thought they were on the TOP of their game! I mean, WOW! All the talent on this CD is PHENOMENAL!

The main reason why I am rating this a PERFECT 5/5 is because of the time it took to do this! I mean, they (Linkin Park and Jay-Z), were given like a 2 week deadline to make a whole CD, DVD, and perform a tour at the same time! COMMITMENT!

Being a musician myself, I admire this album and I am influenced by every aspect, and like I said, it really isn't about the music on this one, it is mainly about the talent and commitment all the crew had...

Now "Minutes to Midnight," well that is a horrible sad story... Let's just say I no longer am a hard core fan... More of a hater of LP now... But that's not relevant to this album!

PERFECT 10 HERE! You are NOT wasting your money!

First of all, coming from a producer's and musician's point of view, the album is great, aside fron the fact that I'm a big fan of both artist. The only thing that I could say is with the creativity that I hear or the CD I don't uunderstand why the album is so short. Nervtheless, muscially it could not be done better. good job fellas'!

i'm not a jay-z fan, but i like this album. lyrically he's one of the best in the business. too bad they don't make them like this anymore.

If you don't have this one you should get it. This is HOVA in his raw'est form, and if you are a fan of pure hip hop before the dirty south mess'ed it up then you must get this cd.

BOTTOM LINE:

Flows so futuristic, that it took nearly a decade for others to catch on and push this past platinum status. So far ahead of its time in terms of lyrics, content, flow and delivery - that The Source had to apologize years later and give it 5 Mics! Songs like 'Dead Presidents', 'Brooklyn's Finest' and 'Can't Knock the Hustle' are now considered all-time anthems.

That pretty much says it all.

A+ another hiphop Essential

nowadays jay-z has established himself as very mainstream rapper. But I know a lot of people who listen to jay and haven't even heard of this album. 'Big Pimpin' 'Hard Knock Life' '99 problems' are all OK songs, but this album is where he really shines. to really understand an artist you have to dig deep and go beyond their famous hits. this was way back when jay-z was fresh in the game. a lot can change in a rapper over the course of 10 years.

this album flows like no other jay-z album. the beats and the lyrics go together perfectly. the hooks are better than any of his other albums. all the songs have a unique feel. this is old, authentic hip-hop from '96. probably the best song is 'Coming of Age'. jay raps with young memphis bleek and schools him on the world of crime and drugs. bleek is jay's protege is this song. they go back and forth rapping off each other. jay and memphis bleek are one of the best rap combo's i think, and this is their first song together. everything about it is tight. other great songs on here are: 'Politics As Usual' 'Feelin It' 'Friend or Foe' 'D'evils' etc.

HOWEVER: if u are into jay-z and only listen to his popular new stuff this may not be for you. it's old and sounds dated (that doesn't bother me, but some people don't like it). but still, this is one of the only true good jay-z albums and it remains that way

this is undoubtly the best rap album ever....jay z at his rawest and his best.

I can't believe J fell off with this one. I mean it was so direction-less and empty. To think I wanted to spend 17 bucks on this was pure craziness.

This was back in 2002 and Jay-Z has stepped up his game a bit since then, but I'm still not impressed on a whole. The Black Album was decent stuff (Change Clothes, Allure, Encore and 99 Problems (the latter two being the biggest highlights).

But this one's a mess. I remember Excuse Me Miss, B&C '03 Bonnie & Clyde and that's IT.

I hated Jay-Z after this album. I don't to this day, but back then I was more than sorely disappointed with this mess.

I'm just glad he improved with all future releases without fail. Good thing The Dynasty: Roc La Familia 2000 wasn't after this. I'd have to take back my word a little.

Cover Art: C
Other Art: ?
Songwriting: D-
Vocals: C-
Vocal Emotion: F+
Vocal Acrobatics: N/A
Production: C+
Length: C+

2 stars.

Overall: D-

I don't question Jay-z's buisness moves very often but this is a situation where I don't see the logic? This was a great album but in my opinion he should have released the Blueprint 2.1 before this, then when he released this it could have been Blueprint 2: extended edition or something among those lines.. I don't know why he release this then released the Blueprint 2.1 with a few songs from both CDs of the Blueprint 2. He would have sold more if he released the Blueprint 2.1 first, then 6-8 months later released this album! Nonetheless this is a great album and a cd every rap fan should own.

The first Blueprint was layered in soulful samples and bangin beats. Jay went for a more worldly sound on BP2 and threw a lot of fans for a loop. Too many ambitious songs and not enough hits. Plainly put.

Almost a year after "The Blueprint 1" Jay decided to throw a double disc of his material and make it the sequel called "Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse". Given to some, "The Blueprint 1" was a classic and made the best rap CD of 2001 and received accolades from all over. "Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse" could have been an excellent follow up to the predecessor, but didn't exactly, This CD had mass amounts of filler tracks and not enough material of what was expected from Jay-Z. As if all the songs that were scrapped from "The Blueprint 1" ended up on here.

Disc 1: The Gift

Majority of this CD, Jay holds his form. "The Watcher II" featuring Dr. Dre and Rakim is an excellent track to me. "Excuse Me Miss" was the second single of the album and was another great song for the maturing Jay. A few more songs that I thought were good were the bouncy "All Around The World" and the fast pace "Poppin Tags" with Twista, Big Boi, and Killer Mike. He shows the lyrical and bragging side of him on the last track "I Did It My Way". There are tracks that didn't hit like others, like "F All Nite" with Pharrell and the lead single "'03 Bonnie And Clyde" with Beyonce. If I had to pick between the two CD which was the better one, I would choose "The Gift" over "The Curse".

Lyrics: B
Production: B
Guest Appearances: B+
Musical Vibes: B
Overall: B


Disc 2 (The Curse):

The second CD "The Curse" has most of the skip material. There are a lot of songs I had very little care for, such as "Diamond Is Forever" and the awkward sounding "Guns & Roses" with Lenny Kravitz. Some songs I find Jay to be at his worst, as if he just threw lines together aimlessly, like on the first verse on "Guns & Roses". The first good track was "You Don't Know (Remix)" that hits just as good as the origonal. "Somehow, Someway" is good with Beanie Siegal and Scarface. Sort of reminds me of "This Can't Be Life" from the Dynasty album with the Kanye West beat. Then there is the title track a weak diss to Nas that people will only hear once. Next are a few club track like "***** Please" with Pharrell and Young Chris, as well as "2 Many" with Timbaland. Afterward we get the entire Roc-A-Fella cloab with "As One". The bonus tracks are solid. I say the best one was "What They Gonna Do 2" with is good as the first.

Lyrics: C
Production: B-
Guest Appearances: C
Musical Vibes: B
Overall: C+


Overall this double disc has a lot of filler tracks, as well as some good ones. If you were expecting a sequel to "The Blueprint 1", you're in for a dissapointment. This album does make a few hits with it's formula but not as consistant, especially with the second disc. That is usually the case when it comes to double discs, some empty sounding tracks to fill it up, and that was what Jay had on this album. If you're a fan of The Source Magazine, you'd know that this was the lowest mic rating he received on all of his albums 3.5 mics.

The Gift: (8 out of 10- -4 stars)
The Curse: (6 out of 10- -3 stars)

My favorite Tracks: The Watcher 2, Excuse Me Miss, What They Gonna Do, All Around The World, Poppin Tags, I Did It My Way, You Don't Know (Remix), Somehow Someway, As One, What They Gonna Do 2

Honorable Mention: The Bounce, 2 Many

Peace Everyone!!!!

8.5 STARS OUT OF 10

I realized last week that there isn't a decent album to listen to in the world. I decided to look old school, so I shuffled around my disk collection before throwing in Blueprint 2. I gave it a few spins for the first time in a year or so, and I still say I really like this album.

A lot of people hate on this album and call it the worst in Jay-Z's impressive collection of stellar cd's. While I agree that it is not nearly his best work, this album is far from bad and is a few steps up from Volume 3 which I think is Jigga's worst album.

It is comprised of two cd's. Disk 1 is the Gift, while Disk 2 is the Curse. Personally, I think the Curse is the much superior and deeper disk. Don't sleep on the Gift though. While it has the more radio friendly songs, there are still 6 or 7 solid tracks NOT featuring Beyonce or Pharrell. And even those two songs were decent when the album first dropped a few years ago.

Are there a handful of subpar songs? YES.
Could the album have been trimmed down to 18 of the best? YES.

Still not bad though for a DOUBLE album that was supposedly thrown together in two months.

awww it must be such a hard knock life.
doing nothing and recording trash talk
and gettin millions and a nice car
on the CD cover.
what a hard knock life!
Crappa what, Crappa who?

Great album,one of Jay-z's best. An album you can bang from start to finish.

In building up my classic CD collection, I came across this Jay Z that I had to have. The songs and the price was too good to pass up. Hopefully the seller will have some more so that I can contact them again soon.

I bought this album in the last 1998, because I liked the Jermaine Dupri's song " Money ain't thang" (the last track of this album). In the same time I bought the excellent album of Jermaine Dupri "Life in 1472".
Just and only for this reason, I own this album of Jay-Z.
According to me, Jay-Z does well at Rap just and only in the collaborations with other rappers, that have him a guest in their albums, like Foxy Brown in "ILL NA NA " in the excellent track " I'll be" feATURING jAY-z OR LIKE NOTORIOUS B.I.G. in " Life after Deafh" in the nice track "I love the dough".
For the rest, Jay-z IS USEFUL FOR NOTHING !!!!!!!!!!!
So a question rises in spontaneous way : HOW COME HAS JAY-Z GOTTEN SO FAMOUS ?
PERHAPS THANKS TO PEOPLE LIKE ME, THAT BOUGHT A CD OF JAY-Z BY MISTAKE !!!!!!
WE have to support and let get famous talented rappers like Redman, Camp Lo, M.O.P., Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz, Onyx etc, and not, by mistake, rappers like Jay-Z.
If you want to buy a nice rap album, please check up my rap listmania, just clicking on my nickname and clicking above my listmania. Here there are 40 Hip-Hop albums choosed by me just for winning people and not for fans of the mortal masochism rap !!!
I assure that in my rap albums' list you will find the best American Hip-Hop albums. There are dance beats and strong ones and lyrics just for the winninf person in the life !!!

Many people will diagree with me, but out of all the albums Jay has done this album is the hardest for me to listen to. Because he has to many people on this album. Jay does not need a person breathing on a album with him more or less having other people on the album. Yes, I know he was introducing Beans and others on this album. The Best Song is Hard Knock Life, and that's because he is on the record by himself. I have never liked this album as much as the rest because of all the people on the album. However, numbers do not lie, and many platinum sales later who care what I think, and opinions are like butt's everyone has one. But in my humble opinion the best parts of this album is whenever Jay spits other than that I skip the rest.

On track number six, Jay-Z calls himself the "kingpin of the ink pen." That's an incredible one-liner, but why would he say that if he doesn't write down his lyrics? Oh, the complexity of the Jigga Man. "The Black Album" was supposed to be Jay-Z's last album, but, like people who divorce because of two or three trivial problems, many celebrities do not take retiring seriously. Having said that, this album was well received by the public. It did not reach the success of, say, "The Blueprint", but it did very well considering all. I definitely enjoyed this album because of Hov's honest yet effective delivery, the experimental and creative production, the guest appearances (John Legend, Usher, Chrisette Michelle, Beyonce'), and the awesome lyrics.

"Show Me What You Got" was the first song which was released and most people loved it. Just Blaze gave the public something different to dance to and Jay-Z ripped the versus and hook. Who could forget that drum and piano arrangement? Simply put, this song is incredibly energetic and keeps its stamina all the way through. "Beach Chair" has a very haunting and eerie beat, probably to help Jay-Z to convey his points. I enjoyed the song partially, but it is not something I can listen to often for the beat brings back memories of haunted houses. The lyrics are profound, nonetheless. "30 Something" is a great mid-tempo number where Jay tells of the stupid things he did when he was young and compares them to the things he does now, and reaches the conclusion that "30 is the new 20." This beat, for the most part, consists of drums and piano. This track is one of the best on "Kingdom Come." "Anything" features Usher and the two sound great on this track with an impressive beat backing them. Jay-Z and Beyonce' collaborate for the umpteenth time on "Hollywood." (Some have complained that they do too many songs together, but I like when they collaborate because they compliment one another.) Lyrically, I love this song and enjoy it with each listen. Beyonce' does a great job with the hook, too. This song is about the good and bad of celebrity life. It really makes us average-income people think twice about being famous. "Lost One" and "I Made It" are amazing tracks. The endlessly talented Chrisette Michelle lends her talents on the chorus of "Lost One." Jay lets us have it once again with his lyrics, as well.

Jay-Z still has it, ladies and gentlemen, and he does not even have to write it down. For years to come, this album will be in and out of my CD player. After all, it is "the maturation of Jay-ZZ."

Mikeisha's Top 5

1. "The Prelude"
2. "Lost One"
3. "Anything"
4. "30 Something"
5. "Show Me What You Got"

BOTTOM LINE:

He followed up the classic 'Black Album' with this??!

Look, I'm a Jigga fan for LIFE, but this was painfully obvious as a 'rush it out to the stores' release. He basically told us AGAIN what we heard 10 yrs ago; that he's on top of the rap game. No track really stuck with me, and unlike most of his releases, I don't think I'll be quoting any lyrics years later. Probably his second worst solo release after Blueprint 2.

Jay-Z has gotten a lot of flack for this album, but I still like it. It's definately not his best, but still great. Jay-Z is constantly reinventing himself, and this is a great example of this. People expect this album to be another Reasonable Doubt, but thats not realistic. Jay-Z is no longer on the corner selling drugs or whatever hustle he was doing in Brooklyn. He is now in his thirties and working corporate America, so it only make sense that lyrics reflects his life. I have to say, Jay-Z is the only rapper that can make a whole album about the rich lifestyle and make it this good. This is an album for hip-hop fans, not rap fans. Rapfans just want to hear about guns, sex, money and drugs. Hip-hop fans understand that the music is a reflection life. Maybe i'm just being bias because Jay-Z can do no wrong in my opinion.

Am Really Feeling This Cd. Love ALL Of The Tracks. Jay Did His Thing With This One......H .O V.A. Gold Bottle With Ace Of Spade!!!!!!!

I'm not a big fan of Hip Hop, but I love this CD out of what little I have of him. When I purchase two copies (one for the car and residence) of a particular CD, you have earned my respect. Don't hate the player, hate the game!

"Go against Jigga yo a__ is dense, I'mma bout a dolla what the f___k is 50 cents"

"Hova's like Noah keep two in the truck/I'm like U-Haul/ every b___h movin i f___k"

"38 revolve like the sun round the earth/ try to play hard get you found round the dirt/ 6 shell casings found round ya shirt/ and surround sound from the hurst"

Come on dawg...nuff said. Jay is spittin so hard on these tracks and ya trippin like he aint got flow. As far as goin hard on an album, this might be tops. Not his best cd (Reasonable Doubt), but if ya wanna recognize lyrics then this is it. He also came hard (no homo) on American Gangster.

Please sit down and listen to the flow again if u had any doubts the first time!!!

This was a good album. I was a big fan of the song he did with Juvenile on this album. Overall a 'good' album far from great.

Jay's streak continued with Vol 3. He has some of the most potent album cuts ever. His album cuts are tighter than the majority of other rapper's singles. Could have been a classic if he had taken out 4 songs.

Top Joints:
Hova Song (intro)
So Ghetto
Do It Again (Put Ya Hands Up)
Dope Man
It's Hot (Some Like It Hot) (A little heat for 50)
Snoopy Track (featuring Juvenile) (Should have been a single)
S. Carter (featuring Amil)
Big Pimpin' (featuring UGK) Classic!
There's Been A Murder (Tight)
Come And Get Me (Shots to give)

Anyone who liked volume II has to buy this album. Although admittedly a few songs fall flat, this is still a superb record. I really
think this was one of the best rap albums released back when rap was actually good aka pre 2002.

There are a couple of club type songs, flow type songs, serious songs and etc. I actually liked his duo with DRE and think it was a pretty good rhyme although "Things That You Do" f/ Mariah falls flat pretty quickly. I dont know who the heck Amil is but she generally sounds good on the album and I think that having Big Pimpin plus 2 good, hidden tracks is icing on this cake. How could you not buy this album for $10 if you love raps glory days from the late 90s/early00?

I'm reading some of the recent reviews and most of them are 5 star reviews. I wonder if they ever sat down and listened to the album or are they aware if Jay-Z is capable of much more.

Anyway Jay-Z's fourth album Vol.3: Life And Times Of Shawn Carter is a semi-decent album at best. In 1999, Jay-Z was possibly enjoying the mainstream status of his career, to the point that he has been lacking on the microphone. He hasn't improved since Vol.2: Hard Knock Life. His rhymes seemed to be slapped together, as shown in the second track "So Ghetto" with rhymes like "Jigga man, Volume 3/I'm back looking like me/stop the presses/ladies drop your dresses." Some tracks just fall flat on the ground like the Mariah Carey assisted "Things That You Do", and and the weak hook on "S. Carter". Awkward moments are on this album like Dr. Dre appearing on the song "Watch Me" as Jigga doesn't shine lyrically on the track. "Come And Get Me" could have been shortened and condenced to three verses, since I've ever heard Jigga do a solo song lasting longer than 4 and a half minutes. Amil, Beanie Sigel, and Memphis Bleek colab with Jay for "Pop 4 Roc" and that fails causing me to loose my attention towards it.

Now there are some good songs on this album though. The first single "Do It Again (Put Ya Hands Up)" was probably a club banger back in late '99/early 2000 with the help of Beanie Sigel. "It's Hot (Some Like It Hot)" Jay turns to his lyrical side and it works somewhat on the better side on this track with rhymes like "I'm about a dollar, what the f*** is 50 Cents" (a response to 50's "How To Rob"). UGK hooks up with Jay on the hit single "Big Pimpin" that is one of the standout tracks (If you remember when it was on the radio/television, Jay had an extra verse, that is not on the album). Mostly the production on this CD saves it from being a failure. "Snoop Track" featuring Juvenile is one of those tracks that carries a good beat.

The bonus tracks "Jigga My N****" appeared on the Ruff Ryders first comp album and "Girls Best Friend" appeared on the Blue Streak Sndtrk. A couple of bonus songs that are better than the ones on the album.

As I said before Jay-Z is capable of doing much better. Many Jigga fans want to hear the same man that was on Reasonable Doubt, and this album is far from what that is. The production saves this from being a complete failure in my opinion. Luckly Jigga stepped his rhymes back up on future albums. If you want to hear more Jay-Z or you have never bought this album and are curious, I recommend this to you. Otherwise pick up other Jigga albums.

Lyrics: D+
Production: B-
Guest Appearances: C
Musical Vibes: C-

Favorite Tracks: Do It Again (Put Yo Hands Up), It's Hot (Some Like It Hot), Snoopy Track, Big Pimpin', Jigga My N****, Girls Best Friend