r/jayz

Not enough people talk about it. I love it to death.

Someone posted about their love for the kingdom come album and I was surprised to see so much hate in the comments. I know Jay came out in the 90s and some of y’all have been fans since day one - nothing but respect, you clearly have good taste. But listen, some of us were born in the 90s, ok! Give us a chance. I didn’t get my hands on hip hop until I hit my teenage years. And that was right when kingdom come dropped. This album needs its flowers!!! Beach chair is some of the best lyrics I’ve ever heard in my life. Hollywood needs its own major motion picture movie. Highly recommend getting comfortable, as comfortable as you can, I like to spark up. Once you do turn on kingdom come start to finish and give it another chance. My heart hurts for the hate towards this masterpiece!

Me and the boys hit the beach for this one. It was a late one, and we had our whiskey, and a seaview. It was a bit chilly, and not everybody locked in fully, but I did, and others’ attention was intermittent. I enjoyed Memphis Bleek’s rapping on the intro, but I was really excited to hear Hard Knock Life, unlock it again, and see my friends’ reactions to it.

This album had a big advantage, in that it came out swinging with a song I already knew, and liked. This really wasn't a bad song. I think Reddit got to me, and had me thinking it was overrated, to the point that I forgot how decent it was. Not everybody agrees though. One of my friends gave it a solid 5/10, whilst the Jay-Z fan agreed with me that it was a banger.

If I Should Die was the first song on this album that was new to me, and it was really enjoyable. I had never heard of Da Ranjahz in my life, but both members had stellar verses, in which I was highly engaged. So deeply engaged that I didn't notice, until a discussion broke out about whether or not we could hear violins, how good the beat was. The only thing I wasn't a massive fan of was the chorus.

During Ride or Die, the Jay-Z fan pointed out that every song coming had a feature. Hard Knock Life and Ride or Die are the only two solo songs on the project. That's a crazy note, and changed the way I was listening to the album, in that I was checking for the feature each track, like I was checking for the title. It did lead to Jay-Z feeling less central, and we didn't really have any deep songs like Regrets or You Must Love Me, but it seemed to push him into a greater range of styles.

Nigga What, Nigga Who was a great example: aside from a few features he dropped before Reasonable Doubt, I've never heard Jay rap like this, and I think it's no coincidence that it was a song with Jaz-O, who he had been working with in those early years. He matched his flow and went so much faster, and more punchy, than normal. There were quite a few tracks on here where the flow was delicious, and I would definitely say that that was the album's biggest strength (though that's not usually what I'm looking for in a Jay-Z album). The rapping was far more interesting than the beats and the hooks, even if the rapping lacked substance, at times.

Money, Cash, Hoes had been hyped up to me by my Jay-Z loving friend, and I did enjoy it, particularly the DMX feature. I've always loved his voice, but preferred him on features over the little solo work I've heard. I thought the subject matter was a bit cliché, almost to the point of an eye-roll, but as Jay states in the track, I don't think he really cares. I also wouldn't usually be the type to mention it, but the use of the N-word on this project, along with all his other projects, is noticeably heavier than most rappers I've listened to. I wonder if there's a reason Jay uses the N-word so much more often than the average MC.

A Week Ago was a track with a premise that I might have been able to relate to, but I got a little distracted during this one, so I will have to relisten. Jay-Z’s discography’s getting daunting very quickly, with both of the Volume albums so far needing a relisten, and Reasonable Doubt feeling like it needs a third. Luckily, I've got all the time in the world to listen to Jay-Z as often as I like - and I've got another ten to go.

Coming of Age with Memphis Bleek, on Reasonable Doubt, was one of my friends’ favourite Jay-Z song so far (along with Hawaiian Sophie). He was pumped for Da Sequel. Honestly? I think I might have preferred this to the original. It was fantastic storytelling, and it had a lot of momentum. He disagreed, but he still liked it.

Can I Get A… was an intriguing title and turned out to be one of the most enjoyable songs on the album. I liked the whole song, but I particularly liked how the subject matter was actually interesting, and played like a conversation between Jay and Amil. I was skeptical, seeing Ja Rule, because I've never heard anything good about him, but he was alright.

Reservoir Dogs was the longest song on the album, and featured The LOX. I've never really listened to the Lox, but they were on Life After Death and really impressed me. Honestly, this is shaping up to be one of those albums with so many features that it's just a showcase of everybody from that area in that era. I like those albums, even if I don't always go back to them. Beanie was also alright. I only knew him from his work with early Kanye through the Roc, but his verse was good. I did enjoy this album, even if I think it was Jay’s weakest, so far. Some of my peers put it first, though.

During It's Alright, I became a Memphis Bleek fan. I realised his verses are always a treat. Why not? Finally, Money Ain't a Thang impressed us all. It's not that we hadn't been enjoying the album, but I think this was a cut above the rest. Not necessarily the best on the album, but one of the strongest. I remember being worried that the final verse might be shit, but then Hov dropped that crazy bar about the necklace and the chain reaction. Maybe it wasn't that impressive, but it made me go “ooh”. The only thing I didn't like so much was that he let Dupri finish off the album for him, instead of doing it for himself, but I think that's quite fitting for the album, overall.

The only song I know from Vol. 3 is Big Pimpin’, so I'm excited to see what that album holds. I've always had mixed feelings on that song because the rapping’s dope but I never liked the beat. Then the beat grew on me. Regardless, I don't expect that song to be emblematic of the album, as that’s not usually how it works out.