Jay-Z was a nobody in 1996

[Whips-n-Chains]

He wasn't a superstar a la 'Pac or BIG or Snoop, and he really wasn't even top tier star a la Raekwon, Dogg Pound, but he wasn't a nobody...

The truth lies somewhere between.

A nobody isn’t getting spins, going gold with features from Biggie. No one debuting in a crowded 1996 was an instant superstar. The superstars in 96 were mostly established artists.

 

[BmoreGorilla]

Jay just so happened to drop his debut the same year a bunch of high profile releases came out. Even other debuts from folks like Kim and Ghostface were rappers we already were familiar with. Jay kinda came outta nowhere. But everybody I knew who heard his album when it dropped fukked with it and thought it was one of the best of the year

 

[Yecht]

You're saying RD & Vol 1 are trash?

RD is classic regardless how relevant or irrelevant Jay was in 96, Vol 1 is on par lyrically with RD, maybe even better.

All his albums til Blueprint were ehhhh, and I think blueprint is overrated af

The 1st Blueprint and The Black Album are easily Hovs best work, gtfoh

 

[Yecht]

This brings up a good point. I hate comparisons like Lebron to MJ cause they weren't in the league at the same time.

It's a fair comparison when you were in the same league at the same time.

That's what defines who you really were.

This is unrealistic, how do you compare anything that isn't happening at the exact same time then in any field, sport, or medium?

 

[Whips-n-Chains]

The 1st Blueprint and The Black Album are easily Hovs best work, gtfoh

You're entitled to your opinion but I disagree completely

1st Blueprint is possibly the most overrated album of all time to me, it's up there with GRODT. He dumbed down the lyrics significantly and leaned heavily on the production

Now, I'm not saying it's trash...it's a great album and is a classic. Its just not a classic in the same vein as something like Doggystyle or Ready to Die.

Black Album is good album, the singles got hella played out to me.

RD and Vol 1 were his lyrical pinnacle.

 

[Yecht]

You're entitled to your opinion but I disagree completely

1st Blueprint is possibly the most overrated album of all time to me, it's up there with GRODT. He dumbed down the lyrics significantly and leaned heavily on the production

Now, I'm not saying it's trash...it's a great album and is a classic. Its just not a classic in the same vein as something like Doggystyle or Ready to Die.

Black Album is good album, the singles got hella played out to me.

RD and Vol 1 were his lyrical pinnacle.

I prefer Hov when he's in his bragadocious bag over great production, somewhere in between super lyrical and commercial. I think those 2 albums are the best example of that Hov for most of each album

 

[Yecht]

I was going to leave this thread alone, but I'm seeing too much bullshyt being spewed

By December 28, 1996, as @Cloud McFly posted, Jay was a somebody. Reasonable Doubt was not as popular yet

I wasn't even in grade school yet at the time but Ain't No was definitely getting play in Philly. The girls in my class loved rapping Foxy Brown's verse and it was my first time ever hearing Jay but I didn't listen to a full Jay Z album until Vol. 1

I also remember going to Myrtle Beach that summer and it was also getting played down there as well

The OP got you cats in a head lock.

The thread was actually praising Jay-Z. There is pockets of people that legit had no idea who he was in '96, but I don't think anyone is seriously arguing he was a nobody in '96. Some of us knew who he was and were completely indifferent to him, though. I'm not gonna sit here and lie like "RD" was received like Pac, Outkast, The Fugees, Ghost, Mobb Deep, Nas, Busta Rhymes, WSC, etc.

There was just way too much shyt out in 1996.

Fred.

Outside of the 2 or 3 special Olympians posting on the first few pages of this thread, everyone else seems to get the sarcasm of the OP. He was quickly pushed aside though and this has turned into a debate on how big Jay was (pause) after Reasonable Doubt dropped.

He certainly became a name people knew pretty quickly, so he was definitely NOT a nobody. And the posts from people from other regions saying he was only a NYC thing are nonsense. In 1996 there were only so many rap music videos that even came out every year, so if you watched Yo, Video Music Box, or BET you would see them all. Dead Presidents got solid play, but Aint No was all over the channels (partly because the video was from a Movie Soundtrack, not just RD). And Kim and Foxy both blew up quickly for being 1) female rappers, and 2) fine as shyt and damn near naked in the vids, both a novelty for young men at the time


Like I said early in this thread though, Hov started to become a giant star around Streets is Watching. The movie and soundtrack dropped with almost no promotion and both sold out immediately in the areas I was in around the tri-state (NYC, Philly, NJ). When the Annie shyt hit, he was officially a Superstar and never looked back.

 

[Whips-n-Chains]

I prefer Hov when he's in his bragadocious bag over great production, somewhere in between super lyrical and commercial. I think those 2 albums are the best example of that Hov for most of each album

Totally fair.

I like the introspective hustler vibe on RD

Sounded Almost like a dealer having an existential crises

 

[NO-BadAzz]

If Jay z did a tour by himself in 1996 on the West Coast would he sell out? Could he sell out a 2-5k arena in 1996 No

Same if he did a tour in the south in 1996, he would not sell out because he did not have singles that made folks want to go purchase his album for 20 bucks or concert tickets for 25 -100 bucks in 1996.

I'm almost willing to bet he would not sell out in the Midwest, but guess where he would sell out in 1996? The tri-state area and the DMV area.


Aint no nikka, let's talk about that song, Jay-Z wasn't even the stand out artist on the track, the track got bumped because of Foxy and it being on the soundtrack of a movie. Foxy was the bigger star at the time, her album had just come out that year so she was the artist folks were checking for, not no Jay-Z. That song got played on the Radio because of that.

nikkas weren't coming to school saying, man that Jay-Z dude got off or we need to go and cop his album, nikkas were talking more so about Foxy's verse or the visuals from the video becuase at the time in 1996, nikkas were pressed on Foxy, just like we were pressed on Lil Kim.

Jau-Z in 1996 was the equivalent to Jude Buchler on the Chicago Bulls Team or your Stacy King in other regions outside of the tri-state and DMV area in 1996. let's cut it out now folks with the rewriting of history

 

[maxamusa]

This is unrealistic, how do you compare anything that isn't happening at the exact same time then in any field, sport, or medium?

There's a lot of metrics 4 that....its half the threads in the booth

 

[Tommy Gibbs]

The 1st Blueprint and The Black Album are easily Hovs best work, gtfoh

you think the Black album, with songs like "justify my thug" "my first song" and " change clothes" is better than RD? Are you trolling looking for atention?

 

[maxamusa]

Naw my guy im already on 94

Bout to sip on some hendog

damn you couldn't have doubled back and poured up a cup for @EastsideRio

its so cold in the MF D

 

[Yecht]

you think the Black album, with songs like "justify my thug" "my first song" and " change clothes" is better than RD? Are you trolling looking for atention?

Yes, I do.

 

[diggy]

Summer 95 he was on a ton of mixtapes. I came back from NY loaded up with music, which got him rolling.

 

[DANJ!]

...and I'm sure there's someone in North Carolina talkin' about how Michael Jordan got cut from his team in middle school... but who gives a fk now.

Why there's people still reiterating in 2024 that Jay-Z wasn't a multi-platinum rapper in 1996... I don't really see a point in it but yeah, there's a lotta folks that still like saying this shyt, even tho it wasn't true.