Jay-Z - In My Lifetime, Vol. 1

Following his fairly successful and bloody excellent debut album Reasonable Doubt, Shawn Carter planned on retiring, and becoming a full-time executive of Roc-a-Fella Records, nurturing up-and-coming artists such as Memphis Bleek and Sauce Money to their full potential, yet not actually putting out any more solo records himself. This plan went right out of the window, however, when Jay's close friend The Notorious B.I.G. (R.I.P.) met his demise in March of 1997, which then left the spot of "King Of New York" (something that actually mattered back then, if you can believe it) vacant. Despite the fact that Nas probably deserved this crown, having been in the game for a bit longer than Shawn, Jay decided that, since B.I.G. was friends with him and not Nasir Jones, that he was the rightful heir to the throne, and so he set about recording a sophomore effort, that was actually to be titled, rather insensitively, Heir To the Throne, Vol. 1, a name later changed to In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 to prevent Shawn from looking like a complete arsehole. 

Of course, the fact that Reasonable Doubt got Jay into the position to sign with giant hip-hop label Def Jam probably helped in the decision to put out another album as well.

For this project, Jay went in a different direction to his debut, securing production from the likes of Puff Daddy and The Hitmen, and also The Trackmasters, two collectives that wouldn't be seen dead near the sort of crack spots that Jay was supposed to be evoking the feelings of with his music. Of course, he bought Ski and DJ Premier along for the ride with him as well, albeit for much more minimal roles this time. Despite this, the guest list looked fairly promising: yes, we had Puff Daddy, Lil' Kim and Babyface, but there were also spots reserved for Sauce Money, Too $hort and Foxy Brown, although to many people's surprise, not Shawn's protege Memphis Bleek (this notable absence is explained in Jay's book Decoded I believe, or perhaps somewhere else). However, this was clearly to be a very different album to Reasonable Doubt, and believe me, it was. 

The project is considered to be the first misstep in what is generally regarded as a fairly inconsistent discography - people don't hate it, but it is considered a radio-friendly step down from Reasonable Doubt. I want to make a disclaimer with this one: this project brings me LOADS of nostalgia: it was the second Jay-Z album I heard after The Blueprint, and since I was only listening to CDs at the time, and was also only just getting into hip-hop, meaning I also didn't have many CDs, this album, it's safe to say, was being bumped a lot. So, some of these songs probably sound better to me than they do to most fans - just putting it out there.

1. Intro/A Million And One Questions/Rhyme No More (prod. Premiere)

After a short spoken intro that ends with that "OKAY! I'M RELOADED!" that we see on a ton of Jay albums, the beat from Preemo kicks in, and by golly is it good. This beat sounds reflective and fresh, and Jay's verse is instantly memorable, as he rhymes about the oft-experienced-by-the-famous issue of being asked way too many questions, and being unbothered to answer them all, which I understand. Shooting your fans because they ask you a simple question is going a bit far, though, I must say. This track was excellent though, and- wait, there's beat switch? Who was doing those in 1997? The second half isn't quite as good as the first, but it's still pretty damned impressive, and starting and ending with the word "motherfuckers" was a nice piece of continuity as well. One of the best intro tracks of Jay's career.

2. The City Is Mine (feat. BlackStreet) (prod. Teddy Riley)

This would be the second of many songs to spark anger from a certain Nasir Jones (the first being "Dead Presidents"), as on here Jay-Z explicitly notes that the city of New York now belongs to him. The verses on here are good, although there were probably better verses on the album to be printed inside the liner notes than the first verse here, and this beat is pretty bouncy, but unfortunately BlackStreet (of "No Diggity" fame) ruin this song with a fairly terrible sung hook that sounds as cheesy as a baked Wotsit, not that that comes as a surprise at all. Bloody hell, it's awful, but I still like the song - Jay sounds nice on the beat, and some of his bars are legitimately memorable. That chorus cannot and will not be forgiven though.

3. I Know What Girls Like (feat. Puff Daddy & Lil' Kim) (prod. Sean "Puffy" Combs & Ron "Amen-Ra" Lawrence)

An excerpt of Shawn Carter's journal, written during the making of this album, can be seen below:

"Today, I made two songs, and they're both so unbelievably good, that Nas dude won't know what's hit him! Nas! Ha! More like Has! Has-been that is! Unfortunately, that cunt Dame Dash heard the first one, which I called, humbly, "The City Is Mine", and told me that the chorus was "a little off"! A little off?? What does he think he's talking about? I was bought up into such a rage that I had to calm myself down, so I went off for a cigar or two with my new best friend, Sean Combs. We're made for each other - we even have the same first name! Ha! Once we were back inside, I spotted that waste of a good bit of sperm Dame Dash, and the anger boiled inside me again, and I thought: "you know what, Lame Dash? I'll show you a hook that's "a little off"!" And so I did this song with Puffy, and I made the hook as bad as I possibly fucking could. I call the song "I Know What Girls Like". Haha! Dame Dash certainly doesn't! That's why I fucked his wife yesterday! I guess it will put a small dent on the record, but oh well, I'm the king of New York now, aren't I? People will buy whatever the hell I do! Ha! See y'all motherfuckers tomorrow, then."

This. Chorus. Fucking. SUCKS.

4. Imaginary Player (prod. Daven "Prestige" Vanderpool)

After that abomination of a song, Jay-Z brings things right back with a dope track that, today, is actually one of the most recognised tracks on this whole record. The track brings back that Reasonable Doubt energy that was sorely lacking from the last two songs, and it's very successful. Ending each line with the same word is usually a recipe for disaster, but on the first verse here, Jay manages to make it work to a degree, which is pretty impressive, and on the rest of this song, he sounds about as perfect as he ever has. Not the best song on the album, but still sounds pretty damn good compared to the last track.

5. Streets Is Watching (prod. Ski)

Jay apparently liked this one so much that he made a musical film with the same title the next year (I haven't watched the DVD yet, but I think it's supposed to be a film with a plot told through Jay-Z songs). And rightfully so, because this track is absolutely excellent. The beat is hard as it gets - Ski deserves to be more recognised if you ask me - and Jay sounds energised and hungry all throughout this song. It's hard to believe that this track appears on an album largely produced by Puffy's production team, but that is the case. The opening lines of "Look, if I shoot you, I'm brainless, but if you shoot me, then you're famous! What's a nigga to do?" are some of the most iconic lines Jay ever spit. This is a classic track.

6. Friend Or Foe '98 (prod. Premiere)

If I remember correctly, on my Reasonable Doubt review (linked at the bottom) I stated that this track was better than the original "Friend Or Foe", something I still stand by, even if most of my readers probably don't. The beat on this one is excellent, with the pounding bass and high-pitched sounds going on in the background. Meanwhile, Jay-Z's rhymes are excellent, especially the final line - "and please, yo, tell BIG, he's unbelievable, friend or foe biatch!", where he basically states that he'll send you to heaven. An excellent track - this album is really making a resurgence, isn't it?

7. Lucky Me (prod. Stevie J & Buckwild)

The first of two slow, slightly depressing songs on the album (the other of which admittedly leans a lot more into the "depressing" aspect, which we'll discuss later), this one talks about how, despite all of his money, fame and success, Jay still feels unfulfilled, and yet also feels he needs to be grateful for what has been given to him, hence the title. The track is actually very nice, even if the beat is a little too glossy, and Jay's bars do actually make a lot of sense, especially the "I hate all girls with ulterior motives, that's why I'm 26 years old, no sons, no daughters" line - a feeling that I'm sure the rich and famous all think about and stress over. The singing on the hook was also quite nice, and soulful. Good stuff.

8. (Always Be My) Sunshine (feat. Babyface & Foxy Brown) (prod. Daven "Prestige" Vanderpool)

Jay once again does Foxy wrong with the crediting, and it's even worse this time - the two features on this track are completely unlisted on the back cover, even though they are listed in the booklet - the hell? Someone at the Roc-a-Fella office must really have it in for Foxy Brown (you may remember her name was spelled wrong on the back of Reasonable Doubt). Anyway, this track basically has "I was made for the club" all over it, with the disco beat, incredibly poppy chorus and the fact that most of the title is put into parenthesis (why do radio tracks always do that?). Foxy's "I ain't deaf nor blind" certainly aged well, but outside of that the rapping is pretty stellar. There's no way I would ever be caught bumping this though - imagine the embarrassment. Also, "Babyface" is one of the worst names an artist could have.

9. Who You Wit II (prod. Ski)

Similar to "Dead Presidents II" from Reasonable Doubt, this track retains the same beat and hook as an older single, but with differences in the verses. However, whereas on "Dead Presidents II" the verses were all different, Jay only bothers to switch up the third verse from the original "Who You Wit", which appeared on the soundtrack to a film called Sprung. Also, this track is titled "Who You Wit II" on the back cover, but as "Who U Wit II" in the liner notes. Odd. The flirtatious one-liners here are quite embarrassing (who really thought "I'll sink this ball in your hole, I'm Tiger Woods!" sounded clever?), but otherwise, the beat is bangin', and Jay-Z sounds more energetic on here than on the last couple songs. Very good track.

10. Face Off (feat. Sauce Money) (prod. Poke and Tone (aka The Trackmasters))

Kind of weird how Tech N9ne also has a song called "Face Off", and it's way more popular than the one by Jay-Z (that's probably to do with a certain Dwayne Johnson, though). I used to really like this track, and upon relistening, I still think the back-and-forth verses between Jay and Sauce are entertaining. However, the beat is very weak and commercial-sounding, and the hook is all kinds of wrong.

11. Real Niggaz (feat. Too Short) (prod. Anthony Dent)

Jay-Z decides to leave the dollar sign out of Too $hort's name in the liner notes, in protest of how stupid it is (imagine how he feels nowadays, where it seems half the rappers and their songs have a "$" in place of an "S" somewhere). This track is most known for being one of the early instances of Jay "stealing" Biggie Smalls' rhymes, something he admittedly often does, but almost always with clear acknowledgement of what he is doing. The hook does take from Biggie's unreleased song of the same name, but I'm sure that Jay-Z made sure everyone was aware of this - how could he sleep otherwise? This track is overall pretty boring, and Too $hort is as unimpressive as he always is - why is he considered a legend again?

12. Rap Game/Crack Game (prod. Big Jaz)

Funny how Jay-Z effectively dissed Nas on the song "The City Is Mine", only to turn around and sample him later on the same album (he even stole this idea - Redman did something similar with Busta Rhymes on the album Muddy Waters). This track is overall pretty good - the beat is solid, and certainly brings the energy up from the last song, and the "Represent" sample, as well as the sample from OutKast's "Myintrotoletuknow", work well on the hook. The concept has been done before, but still, this was enjoyable enough.

13. Where I'm From (prod. Ron "Amen-Ra" Lawrence & Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie)

The most popular song on this album, and the grittiest beat to ever be done by any members of The Hitmen. Personally, I think that there are definitely more enjoyable tracks on here, but I can't deny this one's greatness. The beat, with its infamous metal clanging sound, is grimy, and evokes the feeling of a dangerous street corner perfectly, and Jay-Z drops some excellent bars over this production. I don't think this is one of the best on here like most do, as a song like "Streets Is Watching" or "Friend Or Foe '98" carries more energy, but still, a classic nonetheless.

14. You Must Love Me (prod. Nashiem Myrick)

Remember back on "Lucky Me", when I was talking about a song that was more depressing than that one? Well, this is that song, my friends. On this track, Jay essentially reveals his worst moments, which are genuinely quite awful - he sold crack to his own mother, shot his brother in the shoulder over a ring, and got one of his ex-girlfriends involved in his drug-smuggling ring. Pretty heavy stuff, then, and Jay genuinely sounds sorry on this track, which makes it all the more heartbreaking. One of the things that makes Jay able to be one of the greatest rappers of all time is the fact that everything he says truly happened - he truly once was a drug dealer, and generally quite a dangerous person - and that is none more evident than on this song. I find it crazy when people say that the first time he opened up was on 4:44 - has no-one heard this song??

The following tracks are bonus tracks on certain European pressings of the album.

15. Wishing On A Star (D Influence Remix) (feat. Gwen Dickey) (prod. Poke and Tone (aka The Trackmasters))

This non-album remix to a classic old-school song was put out for some unknown reason, and included on pressings of In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 throughout 1998 (although I believe the pressings with this track are no longer in print). The track is good, even though it's existence seems random - why would you put Jay-Z on a classic old soul hit? I would definitely understand people hating this song, but I think Jay-Z's performance is good, and obviously the rest of the song is very catchy. Good stuff.

16. Wishing On A Star (Track Masters Remix) (prod. Poke and Tone (aka The Trackmasters))

A remix to a remix. Interesting. This club-version of the song is OK, but makes even less sense than the original remix. Still, it's not horrible.

Overall, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 is not quite as good as I thought when I was first listening to it, but it still holds up pretty well in my opinion, and is easily one of the most underrated albums in Jay-Z's discography. The main issue with this album is that about one-third of it has Puff Daddy's poppy fingerprints all over it, and songs including "I Know What Girls Like" and "(Always Be My) Sunshine" are so obviously crafted for the radio and the club that I'm surprised this album didn't come with a sticker saying "It's like Reasonable Doubt, only with more shitty club tracks!" And that's what this is. Thanks to the involvement of Bad Boy, this project inevitably isn't quite as good as Jay's classic debut, and is a hell of a lot more inconsistent. Still, Jay could and would make far worse decisions during his now 30 year long career, and this album is definitely not bad at all when compared to a lot of the other albums that came out in '97, which was admittedly one of the weaker years of the '90s decade. This album is pretty damn good, and deserves a listen if you ask me. Just expect the occasional whack hook and club-ready beat amongst the legitimately great material on here. It's a great album.

Best Tracks: Intro/A Million And One Questions/Rhyme No More, Imaginary Player, Streets Is Watching, Friend Or Foe '98, Lucky Me, Who You Wit II, Where I'm From, You Must Love Me

Worst Tracks: I Know What Girls Like, (Always Be My) Sunshine, Real Niggaz

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Jaÿ-Z - Reasonable Doubt