Amazon.co.uk Review
Best-known--and reviled, by many hardcore headz--as the man who set a rap to a tune from
Annie, that notorious tale of life in the 'hood ("Hard Knock Life"), Jay-Z clearly decided some time ago that amassing the Benjamins came before keeping it real, in the greater scheme of things. Still, even his harshest critics might be somewhat placated by the re-issue of this, his first album, which sees a tougher, more worldly MC than on anything that followed it. The late
Notorious B.I.G. guests on "Brooklyn's Finest"--a torrent of lazy, boastful braggadocio--while
Foxy Brown, feisty as ever, lends her distinctive presence to "Ain't No Nigga". And while his sleepy, monotonal vocal style will never place him within the first rank of MCs, his eye for detail is often surprisingly acute, lending many of these vignettes a chilling verisimilitude.
--Andrew McGuire
CD Description
In the past few years, the hip-hop community has embraced alot of rappers who falsify their identity with hard-rock gangster images, and created superstars out of average MCs. But where others proclaim, Brooklyn, New York native Jay-Z lyrically illustrates that he knows first hand what he is talking about. Jay-Z mixes original concepts with an imperative rhyming style, showing his versatility on cuts like "22 Two's" and "Friend Or Foe", while still managing to school youngsters on tracks like "Can I Live" and "Regrets", teaching them to learn from his mistakes.
Not only is REASONABLE DOUBT heads above other rap albums lyrically, it's a musical gemas well, with production that ranges from the R&B flavour of DJ Clark Kent to the rugged beats of the flawless DJ Premier. As rap's premier underground MCs begin to emerge above ground, Jay-Z's debut album sounds like the next classic.