Jaÿ-Z - Reasonable Doubt

 

I always like the title of my review to reflect whatever name the artist was going by at the time, and yes, in 1996, the "Y" in Jay-Z's name did have two dots above it. This is clearly evident through the album cover and all of the single covers released from him for this album.

Nowadays, Jay-Z is seen as one of the biggest and most important figures to the hip-hop genre, being one of the few artists to have full backing from the radio and the hardcore hip-hop heads alike, and having about as many hits as millions in his bank account. He was also hip-hop's first billionaire, and married arguably the most beautiful woman in the world, Beyoncé. Safe to say, then, that he's been living life to its fullest for quite a while now - and so he should: he's made an incredible contribution to the genre that inspires many people around the Earth, including me, and he is - contrary to the opinions of a lot of today's kids, it seems - very, VERY good at making music. However, back in the early to mid 90s, Jay was living on the streets, dealing crack to everyone up to and including his mother, and generally not behaving very well. All that changed, however, when he hooked up with Dame Dash and Kareem Burke to create the now-infamous Roc-a-Fella Records, and put out a street single in mid-1995, "In My Lifetime", a song I'll be sure to cover eventually. This track got him quite a bit of airplay, meaning that he was able to get out a full album by June 1996 (well, the large amounts of money he made from dealing cocaine probably helped with that as well). This project is the one we shall be discussing today.

Reasonable Doubt is often considered to be one of hip-hop's many classic debut albums, and the producer and feature list does everything to rise expectations - on the boards we have contributions from DJ Premier, Ski, Clark Kent and more, whilst Jay shares the mic with The Notorious B.I.G., Foxy Brown, Sauce Money and the legendary R&B vocalist Mary J. Blige, who was hopping on all sorts of hip-hop projects at the time. However, we all know that hot guests and producers doesn't always equal a dope album - just look at Busta Rhymes' Anarchy. So, is this album as good now as it was 28 years ago? Well, there's only one way to find out...

1. Can't Knock The Hustle (feat. Mary J. Blige) (prod. Knowbody, co-prod. Sean Cane & Dahoud)

After a fairly entertaining introduction, a rather pleasant and smooth beat comes in for Jay-Z to rhyme over, and the results are very pleasant. There are a lot, I repeat, a LOT of quotable lines on here ("slick like a gato, fuckin' Jay-Z" comes to mind), and the chorus and bridge from Mary J. Blige easily go down as some of her best vocals for a rapper ever. My one gripe would be that this doesn't really have quite enough energy for an opening track, and sounds more like it should have ended the album rather than started it. Aside from that, though, this is a really smooth and chill song, and one of the best on here.

2. Politics As Usual (prod. Ski)

Jay sounds as laid back as ever over this pretty soulful Ski beat, which is a good thing, as this nonplussed vocal delivery is Jay-Z at his best in my opinion. This track doesn't do too much to stand out from the crowd, but it's very pleasant in the moment, sort of like dried apricots.

3. Brooklyn's Finest (feat. The Notorious B.I.G.) (prod. Clark Kent, co-prod. Dame Dash)

It's not a little-known fact that Jay-Z and The Notorious B.I.G. went to the same school (although less people know that Busta Rhymes and DMX also attended the same school at the time), and so their hooking up here definitely makes a lot of sense. Busta Rhymes showing up on here would have been nice (DMX had not yet begun his streak in the genre back in '96), but the song probably was best left as this back-and-forth job. Biggie's unintentionally self-deprecating "diss" towards his foe 2Pac notwithstanding, the verses on here are excellent, but that hook does bug the shit out of me.

4. Dead Presidents II (prod. Ski)

Absolutely terrible.

Got ya going there, didn't I? This is easily one of the best songs I have ever heard, and if you don't have this in your top 5 Jay songs, then you're simply just trying to be different. That beat is BEAUTIFUL, and easily the best production credit that Ski has ever been behind. Jay's smooth-as-a-motherfucker flow and braggadocios yet introspective lyrics, along with the infamous Nas sample all come together with the beat to create a mind-bogglingly good song, that needs to be heard by everyone who even slightly doesn't mind hip-hop. This song is phenomenal.

5. Feelin' It (feat. Mecca) (prod. Ski)

This feel-good track is also an absolute banger. I have no idea who the hell Mecca is, but I do know that she has a really nice hook on this one, and Jay-Z does his best to mesh with the incredibly memorable beat with a flow that is just dope. This song heavily reminds me of another song I already reviewed - "It's a Party" by Busta Rhymes. It's likely more people know "Feelin' It" than that song, so fans of this one had better check that track out immediately or else feel eternally apprehensive.

6. D'Evils (prod. DJ Premier)

Arguably the second most popular track on here (after "Dead Presidents II"), this one is also one of the best. When I was first bumping this album, I actually thought this was one of the more dull tracks, but upon re-listening, I found that I was very, VERY wrong back then. The piano beat on here is haunting and impactful, and the verses are some of the best yet, with Jay talking about some more hard hitting stuff this time. That weird little scratch at the very end was an odd touch, though.

7. 22 Two's (prod. Ski)

Set up as a kind of live freestyle, Jay spits some more fast-paced and creative verses, speaking some form of the word "two" (e.g. "to", 'too", "two" etc.) during the first verse at a pretty rapid rate over the action film style beat. The second verse doesn't utilise the same concept, but it's still really dope regardless. Could have done without the random homophobia (although that was probably par for the course in the 90s), but overall this is definitely one of my favourites on this whole album.

8. Can I Live (prod. DJ Irv (aka Irv Gotti))

Slowing things down pretty drastically with its sentimental beat, on this one Jay addresses the fact that he was once a heavy drug dealer, and the results are pretty good. This track is definitely not as entertaining as the previous few songs, and is more one to listen to while sitting down or having some kind of "main character moment", and as such it isn't a huge highlight, but in the right place at the right time, this song does have its place.

9. Ain't No Nigga (feat. Foxy Brown) (prod. Big Jaz)

Do rappers not get annoyed when their names are misspelt on the back of CDs featuring them? If I was "Foxxy Brown", then I would probably have been on my way down to the Roc-a-Fella office right after the album's release to give the incompetent responsible for that a good chewing out. Although, said incompetent might point out that I deserved it for being on a song with such a pathetically bad chorus. Still, I see this track in a whole new light after Busta Rhymes recently attempted to remake it, with results that went down the gullet about as well as a large boulder. Now, that was a true example of incompetence on the artist's (and people that told him it was a good idea's) part.

10. Friend or Foe (prod. DJ Premier)

A quick one-verse-wonder over some pretty solid production, which is made infinitely better by Jay's final, hilarious lyrics. Unfortunately (or not, depending on how you look at it), this song would be bettered by its sequel, released just one year later.

11. Coming Of Age (feat. Memphis Bleek) (prod. Clark Kent)

For those who don't know, Memphis Bleek was the first artist that Jay signed to Roc-a-Fella Records, and one who is shitted on by pretty much every reviewer out there for having absolutely no unique qualities whatsoever. I thought this was slightly unfair, however, as his lyricism on here is actually pretty smooth. However, I then found out that Jay wrote Bleek's verse on here for him, which shut that bit of praise down quickly. This song has a pretty nice overall concept, though, even if the beat is subpar.

12. Cashmere Thoughts (prod. Clark Kent)

Every album has that one song that stands out the least, and on Reasonable Doubt, that badge of honour belongs to "Cashmere Thoughts", which has no hook, a pretty nice beat, and some pretty alright verses from Jay-Z. The sudden stop at the end was a bit of a shock (and affected the track for the worse), but otherwise, there isn't too much to say here.

13. Bring It On (feat. Sauce Money & Big Jaz) (prod. DJ Premier)

With Big Jaz being the person that got Jay on his first ever guest verse (back on 1989's goofy "Hawaiian Sophie", which has, might I add, one of the most hilarious music videos I have ever seen), Jay only saw it fit to return the favour on his debut. This song is very good, with a smooth yet slightly menacing beat, and great verses from all three rappers. The Fat Joe sample meshes in nicely as well. The best song on here in a little while.

14. Regrets (prod. Peter Panic)

Definitely one of the better sentimental Jay-Z album closers, "Regrets" is easily one of Hov's best tracks. The chilly and slightly eerie beat is the perfect backdrop for Jay to reflect on his past, and he does so in a very engaging way, that culminates in a thoughtful and quite educational hook that is also very good. This one probably won't stick immediately, but after a few listens, you'll probably find yourself agreeing with me that this is one of the best tracks on the album.

The following songs are all bonus cuts on varying editions of the album, and since I'm a completist, I made sure to hunt them all down to see what they're like (the first one appears on my CD).

15. Can't Knock the Hustle (Fool's Paradise Remix) (feat. Meli'sa Morgan) (prod. Irv Gotti)

Mostly, I won't be reviewing remixes on here, but since this one is basically an entirely different song to the original, I'll make an exception here. This track is good, but it's basically just not as good as the original, and I would probably like it more if they just thought up a new hook, and titled it as a completely new song, as that, really, is what it is. Still good, but why not just listen to the original?

16. Dead or Alive (Part I) (feat. Sauce Money) (producer unknown)

Pretty rare song that came with certain Japanese pressings of the album, this track is famous for the fact that it disses 2Pac WHILE HE WAS ALREADY DEAD. Seems unnecessary, especially as the only shot Pac sent Hov's way was a small mention on the end of his Biggie diss track "Hit 'em Up". No wonder the label refused to let this one onto the album tracklist. A shame, as this song is actually very, very good. The beat is bangin', and the rhymes are dope. The sooner I seek out that Japan pressing, the better.

17. Can I Live II (feat. Memphis Bleek) (prod. K-Rob)

This track was actually made in 1998 for the re-release version of Reasonable Doubt, and, despite the title, bears no similarities to the original "Can I Live" from earlier in the tracklist, except the shouts of the titular phrase during the hook. After a shout of "YeEEaah" at the start to get things going, Jay spits some nice verses over some slow but still energetic production, that I do like a lot. Memphis Bleek's grating delivery unfortunately makes things a lot worse towards the end. "What you want, nigga?" Well, I would like you to stop screaming in my face, for a start.

Reasonable Doubt is easily a classic album, and one of the best to be released in what could already be argued as the best ever year for hip-hop, 1996. Jay-Z has gotten rid of the rappity-rap-rap speedy flow that he was using on his early 90s guest appearances completely, and on this album, he uses his slow and calm flow to its fullest, constantly allowing you to take in his every word. Of course, there are albums that are more entertaining released in '96 (example: Busta Rhymes' The Coming), but are there any albums that are so well-rapped and concise? I don't know about that (no, really: I'm still young, and there's a lot I haven't yet heard). Jay-Z's debut album definitely stands as one of his top 3 releases to date, despite the minor drop off in quality from tracks 9-12, a run that should stop this from being an outright classic. The fact that this is still definitely one of the best hip-hop releases ever made should show you how incredible a lot of the music on here really is. It's definitely worth your time, and if you are thinking of getting into Jay-Z, this is the perfect place to start.

Best Tracks: Can't Knock the Hustle, Dead Presidents II, Feelin' It, D'Evils, 22 Two's, Can I Live, Regrets, Dead or Alive (Part I)

Worst Tracks: Ain't No Nigga