Classics Discussion: Jay-Z

[arel]

RD, BP and TBA are all universally considered classic Jay Z albums by everyone 27 and under. TBA was my freshman year of HS and solidified him as arguably the GOAT to us. It's usually people in their 30s or stans of other rappers trying to deny that album's impact. If you were going to make someone who knew nothing about Jay Z and album to make them a fan, I'd choose the Black Album despite RD and BP being better.

So... I mean you could read my post without reading the post it is written in reference to but you might not get much from it...

In other news, I don't see how being an entry level album is analogous with being a classic. Elaborate?

 

[Tikal]

Blue Print and Reasonable Doubt i put up there.

The production and lyrics were just..

Co-sign. I also really liked Black Album when it dropped but it didn't age so well IMO, still a good album

 

[mobbinfms]

RD, BP and TBA are all universally considered classic Jay Z albums by everyone 27 and under.

Not sure if you meant to word it this way...but a classic Jay-Z album isn't necessarily a hip hop classic.
I agree with you that it didn't resonate with older people (I'm 35) the way it did with younger people.

 

[Squirrel from Meteor Man]

RD, Volume 2, and The Blueprint are clear classic albums to me. They each showed a level of skill and overall production that is unpralleled.

I voted yes for The Dynasty because of the approach and quality of the production and because the intro is the best intro of all time. of all time!

 

[The Bilingual Gringo]

I voted for RD, Volume 2, and Volume 3.

RD, for obviously reasons, there are few releases out there that ended up setting the stage for such a career.

Volume 2, as "commercial" as people say this album way, really set the stage for my favorite version of Jay. Production, flow, etc. really just had a great vibe.

Volume 3, production kind of slipped a bit, however, the rhymes on this one, IMO, Jay really reached his pinnacle.

 

[No1]

Not sure if you meant to word it this way...but a classic Jay-Z album isn't necessarily a hip hop classic.
I agree with you that it didn't resonate with older people (I'm 35) the way it did with younger people.

I meant universal classics to everyone 27 and under. The Black Album was rated pretty high on most best of the 2000s lists. It is the quintessential Jay album because it touches on every aspect of him. @arel I'm not really a fan of unnecessary snark but everyone else seems to get what I said. No one said it was an entry level album. Read slowly. I just said an entire generation of rap fans see that album as a classic. TBA not being a classic is something that only occurs on the internet or among people in their mid to late 30s. Like those 80s albums people list don't mean shyt to me outside of certain projects but I know the history.

 

[Dusty Bake Activate]

The Cac Album is not a classic.

 

[Art Barr]

Jays has no classics.
This is low key a kinda troll the community thread.
So, I am out.
If you nikkaz try to change history with that revisionist bullshyt and I peep it.
Chu catching that table on sight,...just know dat.

Art Barr

 

[Lucky_Lefty]

Only voted yes for BP. Oddly, Dynasty is my favorite Jay album

 

[beenz]

There's the whole trifecta (RD, BP, BA) but I also voted for Vol. 2 because it made Jigga a superstar and its my first cd I physically bought growing up. not to mention the shyt had like 4-5 charting singles (Hard Knock Life, nikka What, Can I Get A, Money Ain't A Thang, It's Alright, Money Cash Hoes)

Voted yes for Reasonable Doubt, Blueprint and The Black Album.

same way I voted as well.

 

[arel]

@arel I'm not really a fan of unnecessary snark but everyone else seems to get what I said. No one said it was an entry level album. Read slowly.

If you were going to make someone who knew nothing about Jay Z an album to make them a fan, I'd choose the Black Album despite RD and BP being better.

 

[A.V.]

I think the only thing that pushes TBA into classic discussions is that at the time everyone thought Jay was done, it was a damn good farewell album. Most people weren't left feeling like Jay had to do any more. He displayed lyricism, diversity in production, (great production at that) and influence (Button ups, stock rims dressing more maturely), which in turn, caused the whole game, and fans to follow suit. It's not a personal favorite, but objectively speaking, definitely deserves to be in classic discussions for those reasons, if no others.

 

[SHAQAVELLI]

RD and Blueprint are no-brainers. It's hard to refute those two being classics.

I also picked The Black Album. It's got some skippable tracks, yes. But 99 Problems, PSA, Dirt off Your Shoulder are three of the most iconic songs released the past 15 years. Remember how big the hype was around TBA? I think it might've been the first rap album I purchased. So, it's a personal classic for sure ... and debatable classic based on quality.

 

[the cac mamba]

The Cac Album is not a classic.

...magna carta?

 

[SHAQAVELLI]

Also, show your face, 6 percent of you who say Volume 3 is a classic