Old heads....just how powerful was "Hard Knock Life" when it dropped?

[Mike Statik]

The fact that you think ur small idea of what lyricism is based on ur concept biases and preferences of subject matter is how u can decide if a rapper can spit or not shows me that you understand nothing when it comes to the art of rap..all u know is what these foolish oldheads know as lyricism..which rlly isnt credible because our personal preferences and perception will affect what we call lyricism.

Are u a cac tho? nikka talm bout sell outs and sht nikka sit down u dumass cac

my man u think Jay is still lyrical.... so stfu u obv have no clue

u come on this site spewin what u think is an intelligent and compelling argument..thinkin im retarded like i dont have a masters degree...just say u dont like me cuz i think Jay fell off and move on...stop tryna disguise your love for jay into...I dont know what lyrical means/is

 

[blackslash]

my man u think Jay is still lyrical.... so stfu u obv have no clue

u come on this site spewin what u think is an intelligent and compelling argument..thinkin im retarded like i dont have a masters degree...just say u dont like me cuz i think Jay fell off and move on...stop tryna disguise your love for jay into...I dont know what lyrical means/is

Then how come u dnt refute my rebuttals to your foolish assesments

All u say is that me thinkin Jay is lyrical somehow equates to me not knowing anything about lyricism

And u say that without any backing of proof that refutes my points

Which only proves the points I made in my last post

So in the end

Ur just a pious..self centered cac fakkit that believes his limited biases are good indicators of how to judge an mc

 

[Mike Statik]

Then how come u dnt refute my rebuttals to your foolish assesments

All u say is that me thinkin Jay is lyrical somehow equates to me not knowing anything about lyricism

And u say that without any backing of proof that refutes my points

Which only proves the points I made in my last post

So in the end

Ur just a pious..self centered cac fakkit that believes his limited biases are good indicators of how to judge an mc

or... i dont feel like arguing with a Jay stan online anymore

 

[KTD2]

Yo the Everybody Eats era is probably the best name one could give for that time.
NORE, Pun, Tribe called Quest were selling millions and charting high during that time.

True story.

*is a rapper in 98*
*drops albums in January and September*
*goes triple plat both times*

 

[Ohene]

I was 15 then

It was the first time he WAS that nikka...any account before this and money aint a thing saying that he was the man (reasonable doubt dvd bullshyt for example) is straight lies. This was the hottest song out until hate me now dropped.

only 7 years old at the time and I would agree. Money aint a thing was my fave song when it dropped HANDS DOWN! 97-99 BLESSED a lil nikka in hip hop. Hate me Now dropped and it was

 

[CashmereThoughts]

Jay came outta nowhere, he wasn't a big star on vol1 buy the time can a get a came out he was massive

 

[mr.africa]

jay was famous in america and hip hop circles before that song and became an international hip hop superstar after it!!!
it was a crazy thing to witness all the way in africa!!!
clap for em!!!

 

[BronxFleeZ]

this was his first to go plat

 

[Wacky D]

I was 15 then

It was the first time he WAS that nikka...any account before this and money aint a thing saying that he was the man (reasonable doubt dvd bullshyt for example) is straight lies. This was the hottest song out until hate me now dropped.

nobody ever said he was the man when reasonable doubt was out. its definitely a great classic album tho. anybody who says otherwise was just out-the-loop at the time.

besides, DMX was the man when volume 2 was out.

 

[up in here]

there was no deny this track. shyt was massive. it was this song that really shot jay to the upper echelon superstar staus. before that he was ja rule status (before ja really blew up). but this song put him up there with dmx, pun and wyclef (yes wyclef was poppin at the time, get the fukk over it). listening to it now still takes me back. dope ass song

 

[Durrbrowski]

Hard knock life got the people's attention. Big Pimpin fukked nikkas lives up. Jay was smart and saw the south on the rise. I believe he hopped on that HA remix with Juve after this and it was lights out. nikkas up north down south east and west loved Jigga by Vol 3.

But Vol 2 got the city behind him. Definitely.

Reservoir Dogs

And Can I Get A was a bigger single than both Hard Knock and Money Cash Hoes. This is primarily bc Ja Murdered that track. No pun intended.

 

[Master Teacher]

That was the album that made most of these 80's babies Camel fans. even tho they front and act like RD was always in they rotation

Jigga was that dude when this album dropped. HKL was getting heavy MTV play and damn near every track on the album got some type of radio play.

One of the greatest commercial albums ever.

Then camel went to the well one too many times with



didnt get the same kinda love . Good record tho

Hard Knock Life is his worst album here, I think it was just time him to blow, he had put in the work with the other albums

also anything wasn't meant to he a hit, it was a track on Beanie Sigel's album to help boost his sales

 

[Wacky D]

lol @ all the people that took offense to the term "oldhead".

i think the coli is more up on the lingo now. its a term of endearment.

and ive been called an oldhead as early as middle school, before this song even came out.

And skip all the revisionism....Reasonable Doubt got lost in the shuffle in '96.I'm not knocking it, that's my favorite Jay album, but that album was 3rd tier status back when it dropped.Jay was still "the little engine that could" amongst all the juggernauts that year "(Snoop...Pac...Big...Bone Thugs..etc)


But I agree, Hard Knock Life is when Jay took over that #1 spot.97-99 was the most vulnerable years in hip hop history.The market was literally begging to be taken over....the hip hop community was in a slumber, a general malaise.That's why Puff & Mase had success with that shiny suit shyt.Coming out the tragic period of Sep '96-March of '97, the masses would've accepted anything just to be distracted from all the drama and bullshyt.


Nobody grabbed the bull by the horns like Jay.Now he is what he is today

nah.

reasonable doubt wasnt a huge mainstream juggernaut, but it was huge in the streets, which is what matters most. i'd liken jay's run off of reasonable doubt to master p's "ice cream man" run at the time. coincidentally, they were both on priority.

so much so that volume one was the album where jay-z was expected to make a run for the throne but he dropped the ball. if reasonable doubt was lost in the shuffle like people try to say, then volume one wouldnt have been seen as such a dissappointment.

volume one went platinum by the way. i even remember jay-z performing that "city is mine" bullchit on mtv's spring break. long before volume 2.

 

[I_Got_Da_Burna]

after biggie died, everyone was expectin the little nikka to step up and shine. and he did...this song was the anthem of the summer of that year

 

[MooseMouthMthafuga]

lol @ all the people that took offense to the term "oldhead".

i think the coli is more up on the lingo now. its a term of endearment.

and ive been called an oldhead as early as middle school, before this song even came out.





nah.

reasonable doubt wasnt a huge mainstream juggernaut, but it was huge in the streets, which is what matters most. i'd liken jay's run off of reasonable doubt to master p's "ice cream man" run at the time. coincidentally, they were both on priority.

so much so that volume one was the album where jay-z was expected to make a run for the throne but he dropped the ball. if reasonable doubt was lost in the shuffle like people try to say, then volume one wouldnt have been seen as such a dissappointment.

volume one went platinum by the way. i even remember jay-z performing that "city is mine" bullchit on mtv's spring break. long before volume 2.

Where you from?

I'm from Cali.Never heard anybody in my area bumping Reasonable Doubt.


I heard Kriss Kross Young Rich & Dangerous get more play