There are very few artists who can match the potency of Jay-Z, the premiere music mogul, undoubted king, and undeniable rhyme master. Hova has rightly established himself as one of the legends of hip-hop and while he certainly made his name away from the mic, being Beyonce’s husband can have that effect on your career, it is in the studio that Jay really put his own spin on the rap game.
Unlike any other hip-hop artist before him, the rapper made sure that his albums weren’t hit singles with a few fillers, they were bodies of work, pieces of art set to be discussed for decades. It means that the playlist of his entire discography is whopping 335 tracks long and still as potent as ever.
Announcing himself in 1996 with Reasonable Doubt, Jay-Z has become the foreword in class. His rhymes are silky, visually engaging and underpinned by Hova’s natural flow, they are as happy to discuss the usual tropes of hip-hop (making money, getting girls and being a gangster on your block) but he’s also, especially in his later years, used his position to try and open the minds of his audience.
Never afraid to take a creative leap, there’s no doubt that Jay-Z will be a legendary name in the rap game forevermore. Even his most recent release 4:44 was built out of pure creative genius.
Born Shawn Corey Carter in 1969, the writing was on the wall for Jay at an early stage in his career. The rapper founded his label Roc-A-Fella in 1995 before he later released his debut LP a year later. It showed that while easily considered one of the greatest rappers of his generation, above all else, Jay was a businessman as well as an artist. In his albums, he gets to showcase both with a rare simplicity that few can match.
With a career that reaches back across three decades, it can be hard to know exactly where Jay’s career crescendoes, perhaps it hasn’t quite reached that point? But, below, we’re trying to lend a helping hand by providing you with a definitive playlist of his most prized work.
We take a look at the rapper’s entire career through one extensive playlist that not only pays attention to his full-length releases but also showcases his lesser-known projects too. If Hov is your favourite rapper, then there’s everything you need in this one playlist.