Jay-Z's Volume 1 Appreciation Thread

[Love Sosa]

City is Mine

 

[Alexander Wiggin]

With this album Jay is kinda hit or miss. There's half of the tracks that are Ill. And the other half is mediocre

 

[Whitty Hutton]

Yea theres a couple joints on there I hate like the one with Lil Kim and Sunshine

I think Sunshine is a decent song with a classic hip-hop sample. It gets a bad rep because it has one of the worst videos of all time
But I find "I Know What Girls Like" and "City is Mine" awful. Rest of the album is dope with right blend of gutter and commercial

 

[Whitty Hutton]

@BmoreGorilla what is your favorite rhyme scheme off this album.

This nikka still doing this?

 

[Absolut da poet ®]

Lucky Me top 10 Hov track

The album is a classic

Even the tracks that are horrible to listen to like "I know what girls like" & "City is Mine"

When you ignore the beat and just listen to the lyrics he's killing those joints

Very underrated album. It used to be my favorite for while but only cause I slept on RD until Vol3

 

[MoneyBags]

this was my first jay-z album that I bought. I've said it before, but Iceberg Slim/Jigga was Jay at his peak flow wise. Only tracks I didn't fukk with were that last slow ass song at the end, Face Off (it's cool here and now) and Girls Like. I used ot hate Sunshine but I went back and listened to Jay's verse with more polished ears and that is the craziest rhyme scheme I ever heard on the first verse.

 

[BmoreGorilla]

I think Sunshine is a decent song with a classic hip-hop sample. It gets a bad rep because it has one of the worst videos of all time
But I find "I Know What Girls Like" and "City is Mine" awful. Rest of the album is dope with right blend of gutter and commercial

Maybe its the Babyface feature. I cant stand anything he's on

 

[Manuel Hot Pepper Lopez]

what ban i was never banned on this account this site is boring that is why i haven't been coming on this site.

Shut up fakkit you should have stayed gone

 

[DJ Mart-Kos]

This is 1 of Jay's best albums musically. Great production on it. Much better than Vol. 2 and Vol. 3.
The whole album kinda had a R&B vibe which i liked about this album. When you see the cover of the CD it even matches the vibe of the album.
Songs like Lucky Me and You Must Love Me are simply beautiful.

I would say it's a very "warm" Hip-Hop album.

 

[Jack Trippa 3z company ho]

I think Sunshine is a decent song with a classic hip-hop sample. It gets a bad rep because it has one of the worst videos of all time
But I find "I Know What Girls Like" and "City is Mine" awful. Rest of the album is dope with right blend of gutter and commercial

I don't care what anyone says, that song goes hard as fukk on a system. The "Rockin It" sample was dope as fukk. Baby face on the hook.

That video was everything wrong with the jiggy era. Really highlights what a trend hopper jay was. But I'll tell u this, Foxy wore this see thru lace shyt in the video, and I swear I could see her nipple. This was a big deal when I was 16.

 

[RAW_SPK]

What yall no about that a million and one 98 remix tho


-DMP-

"Well they call me Jay-Hova cause the flow is religious
And ever since I was 16 I was holding digits
I'm seeing this industry clearer
As if I had coke in the trunk and cops in the rear mirror
I slow flows y'all to death, so y'all ho's know who's best, Jigga!!
The flow be Ay Bendito, for the mamis I hable español poquito
Oete I got timing like a segue, now holla back baby "

man that nikka took tf off in the 3rd verse

 

[licktheballs]

I think Sunshine is a decent song with a classic hip-hop sample. It gets a bad rep because it has one of the worst videos of all time
But I find "I Know What Girls Like" and "City is Mine" awful. Rest of the album is dope with right blend of gutter and commercial

that video was trash

the worst elements of a bad boy shiny suit era video mixed with a missy elliot video

 

[DarkmanX]

It's a weird album.

It has some of Hov's best stuff.....those last two tracks in particular. Also Imaginary Players, the intro.

But at the same time there's something about it that feels off. It's a transitional album. Hov ain't quite the superstar yet and whilst there's traces of RD era Hov, you can tell he's already dumbing it down. Plus the fact he's jumping on the whole Bad Boy sound feels like a forced attempt to fill Biggie's shoes.

His later stuff comes across more natural and distinctive.

I give it 8/10

Agree. Great analogy.

 

[re'up]

Always has been my personal favorite Jay album, his most introspective and street records, with that Hitmen/Bad Boy era production I love…..Theres a weak link or three, but it doesn't have the glaring, screeching flaws of his later works, and feels like Jay at his smoothest and most raw at the same time, production a little more polished then RD, lyrics a little sharper, more direct.

Someone said that the beat on 'I Know What Girls Like' sounded like someone opening up kitchen silverware drawers and banging a pot on the counter at the same time, which always killed me….I liked that track when I first heard it in like 98-99, but rarely play it now, and

'I never seen a face like yours before, and I been around some cute whores before…but either me or my boys tore it up before….so i'm hoping you different' always loved that line since middle school...

edit, how anyone can hate on 'City Is Mine' is beyond me….maybe the video is over the top, reflection of the era, but that song is classic defined…I love the beat, sample, verses…ominous, 'Miami Vice' sound….

 

[eMDee92i]

he fukkin SNAPPED on Streetz is Watching

That motherfukking third verse bruh
The way he starts completely spazzing with the flow effortlessly halfway through the verse bruh

Then he switches it back up like it aint shyt

All time heavyweight champion of flowers

Spoiler

Just stop rapping Hov, you had a great run