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GAF-Hop |OT8| Let Blackace Down
- Thread starter enzo_gt
- Start date
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PhoenixDark
Banned
dope but not feeling them drums at all. Sounds unfinished.
Man we've been on the same wavelength lately.
Spiderjericho
Member
I'm sure Hov is senile.
His best work is RD, TBA, BP1, AG and then all of that other hot garbage (which you could probably just fill the gems on a greatest hits album).
It's funny how he clowned Nas:
He's been in the game for almost 20 years. 2 flawed blue prints, asinine volumes of dribble (except for possibly Vol 1), a Jordanesque come back and then an album that can be likened to Illmatic in that he had a group of super producers and A1 talent to work on (Ross, J.T., Nas, Frank Ocean, Beyounce, Timbaland, Swizz Beatz, Rick Rubin, Pharrell Williams, etc).
And agreed on the track being a passing of the torch. He could've had Young Guru get J.Cole, who has rapped 2 Dead President freestyles to get on the track to generate buzz for his album.
I know you guys had discussion about old school rappers a few days ago and acts like Ghost Face Killah, Outkast, Masta Ace, Rakim (especially with Eric B) have really strong discographies. A lot of other rappers don't.
Easily. I'm listening to it right now, and it's a damn good album. Could have used a little more diverse production.
PhoenixDark
Banned
Vol 1 is like Armageddon. Bloated, stupid, entertaining at times, forced, glitzy, very expensive...and unfortunately very influential. Rappers have been remaking it for more than a decade now, trying to go from the low profile act to the superstar in one leap.
It's a street album with pop appeal. I realize that is something that creates salt, but it is what it was.
Intro
Streets is Watching
Where I'm From
Friend or Foe '98
Who You Wit II
Lucky Me
Imaginary Player
Rap Game/Crack Game
i like pretty much all of it except the joints with Foxy and Lil Kim which are
It's basically a fusion of It Was Written with some of Biggie's work, if you don't like that or the idea offends you, you'll hate it.
Intro
Streets is Watching
Where I'm From
Friend or Foe '98
Who You Wit II
Lucky Me
Imaginary Player
Rap Game/Crack Game
i like pretty much all of it except the joints with Foxy and Lil Kim which are
It's basically a fusion of It Was Written with some of Biggie's work, if you don't like that or the idea offends you, you'll hate it.
Spiderjericho
Member
I hated Vol. 1. But it's definitely the best out of the 3. He was still rapping like Reasonable Doubt but definitely trying for that cross over fame with the Lil Kim, Black Street and Sunshine. The pop tracks weren't strong (unlike Ain't No...or future hits like I Wanna Love You, Hard Knock Life, Big Pimpin').
And there was an edge missing from Reasonable Doubt. But he did have more swagger on this album, as he became one of the Brooklyn Knights.
It seemed like he was flossing on this album. What's the difference between a 4.0 and a 4.6? Like 30 to 40 grand cock ducker.
And there was an edge missing from Reasonable Doubt. But he did have more swagger on this album, as he became one of the Brooklyn Knights.
It seemed like he was flossing on this album. What's the difference between a 4.0 and a 4.6? Like 30 to 40 grand cock ducker.
PhoenixDark
Banned
Intro
Streets Is Watching
Friend Or Foe 98
Who You Wit 2
Rap Game/Crack Game
Where I'm From
You Must Love Me
that's it. I'd call it a stereotypical mainstream rap album, but it's the blueprint for stereotypical mainstream rap albums.
Streets Is Watching
Friend Or Foe 98
Who You Wit 2
Rap Game/Crack Game
Where I'm From
You Must Love Me
that's it. I'd call it a stereotypical mainstream rap album, but it's the blueprint for stereotypical mainstream rap albums.
Spiderjericho
Member
I like Hova Song (including the European intro, interlude and outtro), Big Pimpin and Do it Again, So Ghetto and There's Been a Murder.
Vol. 2 and 3 were so wack. Also, we never got the real Vol 3. The European one is considered the real version with Is That Your, Hova Interlude, Anything, etc.
And then we got the Roc La Familia, which some might not consider an actual Jay-Z album. The only notables was it was the first Beanie/Hov/Scarface song. And Kanye got his first shine on this album.
WanderingWind
Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
Can I Get A... was the In Da Club of it's day. Shit was everywhere and everybody loved it.
Zeus Molecules
illegal immigrants are stealing our air
Unfortunately a lot of people like AG more i think because a lot more people were Jay fan's when it came out. I tell them all the time AG is lthe equivalent of jay digging in the back of his fridge finding something that was pretty damn good fresh (vol.1) and warming it up for someone when they complain their hungry.
Yeah it taste good but all the flavors are old and slightly spoiled. You just love it cause your hungry. I might of got that analogy from here (or came up with it myself...I can't remember) but its still apt....
Shit was in RUSH HOUR. I was jamming to that shit and I was like 8.
TheKaeptain
Banned
Vol 3 has some really good shit on it. It's better than anything post-retirement.
Spiderjericho
Member
Are you saying it's like Reasonable Doubt? AG is sort of a rehash, sequel.
Personally, I liked the album. It was a return to form after Kingdom Come. Yeah, it was safe and old territory. But the production was good (not great, it was just old Hitmen tracks). I liked Say Hello, No Hook, American Dreamin', Blue Magic, Sweet, I Know (an okay pop track with a message), Party Life, Ignorant Ish, Success (with the odd Nas line at the end).
I can see how some can prefer Vol 1.
Tokubetsu
Member
Net_Wrecker
Member
I feel like I'm taking crazy pills when it comes to Jay-Z. I can't stand a lot of that Volume 1-3 sound. It's so corny late 90's pop-rap, but not in the Mase/Bad Boy kind of way. Yuck. There's maybe one good album if you take the best tracks from all 3 of those projects.
TBA > RD > BP > AG >>>> the rest
Zeus Molecules
illegal immigrants are stealing our air
That exactly. Vol. 1 was the same thing but it was closer to the source material RD. So AG ended up being just like Vol.1 but the product had been in the fridge even longer so to me it feels out of place in relation to where Jay had gone as an artist up to that point. Though Jay's story that he was inspired by the movie made the whole thing plausible.
However, don't get it wrong at the time I was eating AG up like everyone else but now that, that album is just part of the Jay rotation the truth of what that album is seems more apparent to me. It was him playing it safe after Kingdom Come failed to deliver.....
Having said all that MCHG to me is him retreading KC (self awareness, Rich peoples issues with being rich, whine/bragging) but with 4 things in his favor he didn't have last time.
1) an understanding that you can get as artsy as you like as long as you have a street single (fuckwithmeyouknowigotit)
2) kanye helped show him how to whine/brag better
3) samsung bought a million copies early and then promoted the shit out of his album for him
4) less expectations cause no one even knew it was coming a few weeks ago
Net_Wrecker
Member
Like, Blueprint 2 condensed to the best tracks is better than that whole Volume 1 to Dynasty era Jay-Z.
For me, a lot of that stuff was my first exposure to the genre in general. I'm pretty sure Hard Knock Life was the first rap song I can remember hearing. I was around 7-9 at the time, so the idea of a rapper (who i immediately identified as a gangster/uncreative/bad person) flipping an Annie song had me scratching my head. But you couldn't deny that it was a clever, powerful idea. I was never poor like that, but I knew a lot of poorer kids and that joint was an anthem to them. Looking back, I feel like a lot of that straddling the line gangsta / commercial pop rap affects people really differently based on what it was like back then. Whereas you can listen to something like The Black Album or Illmatic or The Chronic and they kinda have a more 'timeless' quality to them.
I like BP2 probably more than anyone in this topic and lmfao no.
TheKaeptain
Banned
Vol 3 is more street than pop. Hova Song (s), Sp Ghetto, Dope Man, It's Hot, Watch Me, There's Been A Murder, Come and Get Me are some of the best Jay-Z tracks.
The Dynasty had some gems on it too. That was probably Jay-Z at his most charismatic and fun. However unlike his new shit he would add personal shit into the mix like This Can't Be Life, Where Have You Been, and Soon You'll Understand.
Spiderjericho
Member
BP 2.1?
I hated Bonnie and Clyde. And BP 2 is Jay trying to recreate Life After Death after the success of Blueprint. He was gassed by yes man and let that bloated mess onto the masses. But there was definitely some gems, especially on the Curse.
Seriously, Vol. 2 to Roc La Familia + BP2 definitely throwing a bunch of darts against the wall and seeing what sticks. None of them really solid albums, cohesive themes, etc.
But I can't complain. Nas dropped Nastradamus, I Am, Stillmatic, God's Son, Streets Disciple, etc. So his list of albums isn't stellar either.
There are very few hip-hop artists with a consistent, quality-laden discography besides Masta Ace, Outkast, Ghostface (but he definitely watered it down with his last two efforts), etc.
Zeus Molecules
illegal immigrants are stealing our air
Outside of Nastradamus I have no idea what your talking about.....
Spiderjericho
Member
Ugh, I never said that. I said Besides Illmatic, Nas' discography is terrible. I probably didn't communicate it clearly in my last post. It Was Written was solid but other than those (and Lost Tapes), meh. He's a great artist but his ear for beats is poor, some of concepts fall on their head and he tries to be different for difference sake (and he says it on We Major).
TheKaeptain
Banned
You know what? I've never heard all of Streets Disciple.
Spiderjericho
Member
Don't waste your time unless you want to hear Nas rap as a girl. Or him rehash that one "beat" that he used again in Hip Hop is Dead.
Seriously Streets Disciple, Hip Hop is Dead, Life is Good, Untitled, etc were supposed to be daring attempts at pushing hip-hop, flying in the face of pop rap and just Nas doing what he wants to do (and having a terrible ear for beats).
Net_Wrecker
Member
I agree about the appeal it had at the time, but I can't revisit a lot of that material these days, it's sounds so dated. Like "bad nostalgia" vibes. I remember what it was like when Hard Knock Life was blowing up, and Money Cash Hoes was THE rap car song. Not to lie, I still really like Ninja What Ninja Who; immaculate flows on that track.
Admittedly, I might be looking at this a little harshly. IDK man, I'm just not a huge fan of those Jay-Z years.
I just don't enjoy the sound, even on the street tracks. I think other late 90's stuff is way more listenable these days like Redman or DMX.
Complex Shadow
Cudi Lame
Big ups on esch for a cooking lesson. Just tried something different, ended up some amazing chicken.
I know you didn't I'm telling you it is...Nas has It Was Written, Illmatic, Stillmatic, and Lost Tapes...God's Son is decent.
Hov has Reasonable Doubt, Blueprint, Black Album and Vol. 1...He has the better discography, but it's closer than people make it out to be.
i dont know i'm not responsible for anything. Lowkey chicken is the thing i'm worst at cooking, because it's hard to achieve the combination of a satisfying outer texture + cooked internal temperature that doesn't promote salmonella + juicy, flavorful meat. I don't make much indian food but I tend to make most of my chicken in various indian styles. If something is floating in gravy or has been marinated in yogurt or lemon heavy (acidic) mixtures I don't have to worry so much about the fine points of getting the meat to taste just right.
Or thai.
The Return of
Banned
Stillmatic is a pretty average album. Couldn't see myself including it in the list of good Nas albums then leaving out the average albums Jay-z :/ or life is good for that matter
Speaking of Stillmatic, I find it odd how terrible some of these albums have aged in the early 00 decade.
Speaking of Stillmatic, I find it odd how terrible some of these albums have aged in the early 00 decade.
Without the feud it would be another failure, lets be honest. One Mic and 2nd Childhood are some of the dopest hip hop tracks ever, but the rest is hit or miss for me. The production is a solid C-.
PhoenixDark
Banned
BP2.1 is the ultimate self ether. It's basically "hey, I released an album with too much wack shit. Let me cut all that stuff and instead give you the aite tracks on a new album, ok?"
The Return of
Banned
Lmao it truly is....I ain't never listened to it. Forgot 2.1 even existed honestly
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