Jul 18, 2020

444 is a tad overrated. It’s good, but I would for sure rank Dynasty over it. Intro is great.

This thread reminding me how many good projects Jay got.

 

Jul 18, 2020

Idk if I agree. It’s hard to explain but his flow and verbal dexterity was soooo godly then. His recent material has that pedestrian middle aged rich guy cadence. If that makes sense- he’s still capable

 

Jul 18, 2020

Blueprint
Reasonable Doubt
V3
American Gangster
Dynasty
V2
Blueprint 2
Black Album
V1
4:44
Kingdom Come
Blueprint 3
MCHG

This was impossibly hard outside of the top 2 and bottom 3. I don’t think time has been that kind to the Black Album, the fact that he didn’t retire kinda defangs most of the songs imo.

 

Jul 19, 2020

I changed my mind. No way Dyansty is better than reasonable doubt.

1. Blueprint
2. American Gangster
3. Reasonable Doubt
4. Dynasty

 

Jul 18, 2020

Idk Marcy Me sounds like Vol Three Jay to a tee

 

Jul 18, 2020

Disagree about 4:44. I listen to music throughout my work day so about 8.5 hours, and 4:44 has become a near daily listen. It’s concise, poignant and exactly what I want to hear at this point in Jays career. It’s the record he wanted to make with MCHG but didn’t know how to. His rapping is just as skillful as it was in 2000, his content is intriguing for the first time since 2003, and there is no filler.
Almost the perfect Jay record imo.

 

Jul 18, 2020

with jay there is this overwhelming push to canonize the more grandiose, introspective records that are conspicuously made + marketed as Classic Albums. sometimes this works, because he's good (or *was* good) at the hallmarks of that type of rap music, and blueprint/reasonable doubt are masterpieces. but it means people give less serious critical attention to the ones that do not have all those signifiers. when dynasty came out, jay was probably at the absolute apex of his actual rapping ability, and he merges it with extremely heady, morally knotty writing ("soon you'll understand," "this can't be life," the intro, etc). on dynasty he's an all-world talent going basically scorched earth on every song. on 4:44 he's a guy who's recently started therapy and is excited to talk to you about it. i don't hate the latter record but there are really only two, maybe three songs that scan to me as anything other than overstuffed notebook dumps that don't come with the kind of stylistic flair he used to be known for.

 

Jul 18, 2020

Blueprint
Reasonable Doubt
American Gangster
Black Album
Dynasty
Vol 3
Vol 2
4:44
Vol 1
Blueprint 2
Kingdom Come
MCHG
Blueprint 3

Honestly everything above Kingdom Come is either solid, then phenomenal and then reaches unimpeachable classics. Each of the volumes can be interchangeable depending on my mood, I definitely think he was reaching his apex right around Vol 3 however.

 

Jul 18, 2020

Probably something like this. It’s tough to parse - could def change a lot of this depending on the mood. No collab albums right? (WTT, r Kelly)

1. Blueprint
2. Black Album
3. Reasonable Doubt
4. American Gangster
5. V2
6. V3
7. 4:44
8. Blueprint 2
9. V1
10. Dynasty
11. Kingdom Come
12. Blueprint 3
13. MGHG

 

Jul 19, 2020

pretty great top 4 tbh

 

Jul 19, 2020

oh f--- @Donkey Kong Cuntry don't count that for the NarshQuotient my mistake it was a compliment

 

Jul 19, 2020

off topic a bit but do u remember Narshs battle rap where he was like I was born in 94 thats Illmatic thats big pop before he got his wig knocked

kinda tough bars tbh

 

Jul 19, 2020

1999 I arrived

 

Jul 19, 2020

plz don't remind me about that lol