 |
|
One of hip-hop's biggest superstars, Brooklyn's Jay-Z is among the few artists who have garnered praise from underground heads and fans of the pop charts alike. His ultra-danceable tracks, complex yet casual flow, and penchant for the high life have influenced countless others (for better and for worse) while maintaining the East Coast club thug sound. Jigga (one of his many nicknames) is practically synonymous with success, releasing back to back multiplatinum albums and flashing more diamonds than Liberace. His ability to move a crowd and get them singing along is uncanny, and his popularity shows no signs of waning. If you dig iced-out street stories you can dance to, it doesn't get any better than Jay Hova.
|
 |
Kingdom Come
by Jay-Z
While nowhere near a career-ending disaster, the wobbly Kingdom Come wasn't the best justification Jay-Z could have made for ending his retirement. You'd think his enthusiasm for jumping back in the game would give the album more energy but despite a power trio of songs |
 |
|
|
|
 |
American Gangster
by Jay-Z
American Gangster traces the rise and fall of a self-made American man. Sound tired? Perhaps, but a dozen albums into his career, Jay-Z can be forgiven his occasional dabbling in shopworn archetypes. |
|
|
|
|
 |
Reasonable Doubt
by Jay-Z
Jay-Z's classic debut is a compelling reflection on his life as a hustler. It's invested with an uncommon complexity and candor that has noticeably faded in his later material. |
|
|
|
|
 |
The Black Album
by Jay-Z
If The Black Album is truly Jay-Z's last statement before retirement, he at least goes out near the top of his game. While it probably won't be remembered as his best album, The Black Album is his most personal to date and features some of his most compelling writing.. |
|
|
|
|
 |
The Blueprint
by Jay-Z
The Blueprint may be Jay Z's most captivating record since Reasonable Doubt, but its predictably detached mood reflects the master hustler's superior ability to trick out lackluster subject matter with lyrical complexity and brief flashes of manufactured introspection. |
|
|
|
|
 |
Vol. 2, Hard Knock Life
by Jay-Z
With production support from such diverse trackstars as Primo, Timbaland, Swizz and Erick Sermon, among others, Jigga is off to the finals. No creatine. No andro. Just a simple formula for quality hip-hop. |
|
|
|
|
| |
More of Jay Z albums >> |
|
|
