Found in the Inbox, sent by Wit-E aka Dirk…

“Pretty rare bonus disc I got @ the Hard Knock Life show in ’98. Tried finding it for ’98 week but I had way too many discs to dig thru. Just located it today.” Read the rest of this entry »

But I did 5 mil, I ain’t been rhyming like Common since…

In all fairness, Shawn Carter has never resembled Rashid Lynn on the mic. True, both MCs are very adept in the art of mic wizardry, but when the Chicagoan was comfortable kicking rhymes about orange pineapple juice, Jay-Z was detailing his accounts of the drug game on records. One of the original D-Boys, as far as lyrics are concerned.

But in 1998, he be damned if he didn’t take his career to greater heights with his third album Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life. Hip-Hop had barely recovered from the tragedy that befell Pac and B.I.G. and Jay-Z set himself up to be the premier attraction by default. Say what you will about the album, but this is the project that made “Jay-Z” as you know him today. The deal with Live Nation and marriage relationship with Beyoncé were all spawned because of this album. With Reasonable Doubt and In My Lifetime under his belt, the question wasn’t whether or not he had skills to allow his career to blossom, but if the music he made would allow his career to do so. Eventually, Vol. 2 became a landmark for albums that looked to incorporate a popular sound without going Pop. Read the rest of this entry »

We need a September 29th, 1998.

It was the eve of what would become one of the greater days in Hip-Hop, and music history at large.

Five of the most impacting albums to ever be released that year dropped on the 29th: A Tribe Called Quest split ways on The Love Movement, as Brand Nubian reunited on Foundation, Jay-z got back on his grizzly with Hard Knock Life, while Mos Def and Kweli came together (none) for Blackstar. All the while Outkast prepared to change the world with Aquemini.

There was more than just new music being released, there was history being made by each one of these releases. Read the rest of this entry »