Reasonable Doubt Lyrics
Reasonable Doubt is the debut studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released on June 25, 1996, by Roc-A-Fella and Priority Records. It features production by DJ Premier, Ski, Knobody and Clark Kent, and guest appearances from Memphis Bleek, Mary J. Blige, and The Notorious B.I.G., among others. Reasonable Doubt Wikipedia article Album by Jay-Z. Can't Knock the Hustle (featuring Mary J. Blige) Politics as Usual Brooklyn's Finest (featuring The Notorious B.I.G.) Dead Presidents II Feelin' It (featuring Mecca) D'Evils 22 Two's Can I Live Ain't No Nigga (featuring Foxy Brown) Friend or Foe.
Jay Z Reasonable Doubt Lyrics
Before fashioned himself into hip-hop's most notorious capitalist, he was a street hustler from the projects who rapped about what he knew - and was very, very good at it. Skeptics who've never cared for 's crossover efforts should turn to his debut, as the deserving source of his legend. Is often compared to another New York landmark, ': A hungry young MC with a substantial underground buzz drops an instant classic of a debut, detailing his experiences on the streets with disarming honesty, and writing some of the most acrobatic rhymes heard in quite some time. (Plus, neither artist has since approached the street cred of his debut, notwithstanding.) Parts of the persona that would ride to superstardom are already in place: He's cocky bordering on arrogant, but playful and witty, and exudes an effortless, unaffected cool throughout. And even if he's rapping about rising to the top instead of being there, his material obsessions are already apparent.
The hustler isn't too different from the rapper: Hustling is about living the high life and getting everything you can, not violence or tortured glamour or cheap thrills. In that sense, the album's defining cut might not be one of the better-known singles - 'Can't Knock the Hustle,' 'Dead Presidents II,' 'Feelin' It,' or the duet, 'Ain't No Nigga.' It just might be the brief '22 Two's,' which not only demonstrates 's extraordinary talent as a pure freestyle rapper, but also preaches a subtle message through its club hostess: Bad behavior gets in the way of making money. Perhaps that's why waxes reflective, not enthusiastic, about the darker side of the streets; songs like 'D'Evils' and 'Regrets' are some of the most personal and philosophical he's ever recorded.
It's that depth that helps rank as one of the finest albums of New York's hip-hop renaissance of the '90s.