When I reflect about historically great hip hop albums, there is always one that comes to mind: Reasonable Doubt. I have read many blogs, and participated in many discussions about the greatest hip hop albums of all time. Usually, Reasonable Doubt is mentioned after Illmatic, Ready to Die, and the Chronic. Although the aforementioned albums are certified classics, Reasonable Doubt is easily my favorite.
Developing a Love for Music
Growing
up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina (in my best Big Mike from the Wood voice), I was influenced by
music at an early age. This is not surprising
to me considering my father’s love for music.
He remembers events in history based on what he was listening to at the
time. I thought this was very
interesting and decided that I would be like my father by trying the same
technique. It worked out pretty well for
me.
In
my early years of listening to music, I listened to the albums my dad played on
his record player. This could range from
James Brown and Isaac Hayes, to the Supremes, to Sade to Michael Jackson. Then, in the early 1990s, I started listening
to the radio where I began hearing a new genre of music called hip hop. During this era, west coast hip hop artists
were experiencing mainstream success. I
remember listening to Ice Cube, Ice T, NWA, MC Eight, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and
many other west coast artists. At that
point, I was very young, so I had not developed my pallet for music. I loved anything with a good beat.
If I Got to Choose a Coast I
Got to Choose the East . . .
My
love of east coast hip hop began once I heard Wu-Tang Clan. The Clan was not rapping about low riders, beaches
and 40 ounces; instead, they were rapping about MPV’s, Timberland Boots, and
Tommy Hilfiger. Although I was still
very young, I was hearing about many of these topics at school, and around
older members of my family. This made me
want to listen to hip hop from other artists.
Shortly thereafter, I was introduced to other east coast artists such
as: The Notorious B.I.G, Nasir Jones, Big L, Busta Rhymes, A Tribe Called Quest
and many others. It was at that time
that I knew what my musical pallet would consist of.
[Hip Hop] and Basketball
In
the summer of 1996, I was playing basketball for an Amateur Athletic Union team
called North Carolina Select. I was 14
years old, but because I was a pretty good player, I played with the 17 and
Under team. Our team played extremely well
in the North Carolina state tournament, so we earned an invitation to the AAU
Nationals that were being held in Orlando, Florida. We rented a van for the trip to Florida. At this point, people were transitioning from
using cassette tapes to using compact discs.
I was fortunate to have a Discman and was listening to the 4 or 5 CD’s I
had brought with me. At this point, I had
not heard of Jay-Z. I saw one of my
teammates constantly bobbing his head, so I asked him what he was listening
to. He said “Jay-Z.” I asked him to let me listen when he was done
with the CD, and he said “okay.” I must
have listened to the album three times from start to finish without skipping
one track. This is really rare for me because
I am easily turned out by a track. It
might be because I do not like the beat, or because it sounds too much like an
R&B track. I’m very picky when it
comes to the hip hop music I like.
After
the tournament concluded, and we made it back to North Carolina, there was only
one thing on my mind: to purchase Reasonable
Doubt. I bought the album from a music store on Stratford Road. I must have listened to the album 30 times
during that first week. By this point, I
had fully developed my pallet for music; I knew that east coast hip hop was
going to be my choice.
“Friends” and “Classics”:
Two Overused Terms
I
do not use the word “friend” loosely at all.
I am more likely to say that someone is an associate. Likewise, I do not throw the term “Classic”
around often. In fact, I think I have a
much higher standard for a classic than most people do. If I skip one track it cannot be a classic in
my eyes. With that being said, Reasonable Doubt is an undeniable
classic. From the start of the album to
the end, Jay-Z seamlessly weaves in stories about money, power, respect,
struggle, street life, fashion, regrets, and everything in between.
What’s Your Favorite Track?
Can’t
Knock the Hustle. Jay-Z came out of the blocks swinging with
this track. Being able to get Mary J.
Blige on a track was a pretty big move for an artist who had to start a record
label in order to be able to push his own product. This track grabs the listener’s attention and
sets the tone for what is to come.
Favorite Line: “Got the US Open,
advantage Jigga/Serve like Sampras, play fake rappers like a campus Le Tigre,
son you too eager”
Politics
as Usual. I love the way this song begins. The beat is unbelievable, which should not be
surprising considering that Ski Beats was the man behind the boards. If you have ever hustled anything—legally or
illegally—you can probably relate to this song.
Favorite Line: “suckin me in like a
vacuum, I remember telling my family: “I’ll be back soon, that was December 85
and Jay-Z rise 10 years later, got me wise still can’t break my underworld ties”
Brooklyn’s
Finest. Anytime you combine Jay-Z and B.I.G on a track,
you are in for a treat. You could sense
that each artist had respect for the other, but you could also sense the
competitiveness in each artist. I love this song because Jay and B.I.G. went
toe-to-toe, blow-for-blow for over four minutes. It is still difficult for me to definitively
declare a winner.
Favorite (Jay-Z) Line: “From 9-6, the only MC
with a flu, Yeah I rhyme sick, made a fortune
off Peru, extradite, China white heroin Nigga please, like short sleeves I bear
arms”
Dead
President’s II. This might be my favorite Jay-Z song. Ever. If
you have been living under a rock and have not heard this track, please go to
youtube to listen to it. This song
epitomizes true 1990s hip hop.
Favorite Line: “The Icon, baby, you like
Dom, maybe this Cristals change your life, huh?
Roll with the winner heavy
spinners like hit records: Roc-A_Fella don’t get it corrected, this shit is perfected . . .”
Feelin
it. When I am having a good day, I will listen to
this song because it is all about celebrating individual and group success.
Favorite Line: “Making sure every nigga
stay rich within my cipher, we paid the price to circle us, success—they turned the mic up, I’m bout to hit these
niggas with some shit that’ll light ya
life up if every nigga in your clique is rich, your clique if rugged, nobody will fall cause everyone will be each other’s
crutches”
D’Evils. What is a dope hip hop album in the 1990s
without a DJ Premier beat? Jay-Z made
sure to get a Premier beat on his first album, and as always, Premo delivered. The play on the word “Devils” is pretty clever
I might add.
Favorite Line: “Whoever said illegal was
the easy way out, could not understand the mechanics
and the workings of the underground, granted nine to five is how you survive, I ain’t trying to survive, I’m tryna live it
to the limit and love it a lot”
22
Two’s. Ski Beats delivered a dope beat on this song.
Favorite Line: “If you could catch Jay
right, on the late night with the eight, right, maybe you could test my weight,
right”
Can
I Live. D.J. Irv Gotti masterfully sampled an old 70s
track for this epic song. This song is
flawless. No more explanation
needed.
Favorite Line: “The youth I used to be,
soon to see a million no more Big Willie my game has grown prefer you call me William, illin for revenues, Rayful
Edmund-like, Channel 7 News, round
seven jewels, head dead in the mic”
Ain’t
No Nigga. This is an iconic track featuring a young
artist by the name of Foxy Brown.
Favorite Line: “Yo, ain’t no stopping this, no lie promise to stay monogamous, I try but love you know these ho’s be making me weak, ya’ll know how it goes B so I stay deep”
Friend
or Foe. Once again, Jay-Z retained the services of DJ
Premier for a banger. “Friend of foe yo,
state your biz . . .”
Favorite Line: “You draw, better be Picasso, you know the
best, cause if this is not so, ah, God
Bless . . . “
Coming
of Age. I believe this was Memphis Bleek’s first time
rhyming on wax.
Favorite Line: “Yeah, the only way to
blow you let your shit bubble quietly and then you blow, hey keep your cool.”
Cashmere
Thoughts. This song has a catchy beat, and the lyrics
are on-point.
Favorite Line: “Ghetto’s Errol Flynn, hot
like heroin young pimps is sterile when I pimp through
your borough and I gotta keep your tricks intact, cause I walk like a pimp,
talk like a mack . . .”
Bring
it On. Another Dj Premier banger featuring Sauce
Money. Sauce Money was really on-point
on this track.
Favorite Line: “Can’t do for dolo, had to
turn away when Tony killed Manolo, that’s real, mixed feelings like a mulatto, thug thought he was O.G. Bobby
Johnson, I played him like Benny Blanco .
. .”
Regrets. This song is the perfect way to end a
masterpiece. After all, who does not
have regrets?
Favorite Line: “Time waits for no man,
can’t turn back the hands once it is too late, gotta learn to live with regrets.”
The
authenticity of the lyrics, stellar production, song placement, and
collaborations catapult this album to the top echelon of hip hop albums. I would put this album above Illmatic, Ready to Die and Chronic
any day.
Peace
