The worst album of his career, according to Jay-Z
As an artist and businessman, Jay-Z is considered one of the most influential hip-hop musicians of all time. During the mid-1990s, he was irrelevant and merely a protege of other, more prominent Brooklyn MCs. However, as a solo act, he cleverly navigated the industry and quickly found himself rising to the top.
Although it’s hard to believe for many, Jay-Z was a reject. The legend primarily set up Roc-A-Fella Records alongside his former friend and renowned businessman Dame Dash due to his inability to land a major label record deal. As a result, Carter decided to partner up with Dash and release Reasonable Doubt in 1996. From there, his career skyrocketed.
Although the New York native has reached heights no one else has, the ‘Marcy Me’ emcee has done some pretty callous things in his pursuit of money, and, whether it’s Damon Dash or Beanie Sigel, it is evident that Hov has a business first mentality.
As ruthless as he may be, his focus and hustler’s mindset have made him a billionaire. He has made some blunders along the way, but for the most part, his business acumen is flawless and commendable.
With a passion for making music, Jay-Z has released 13 studio albums, one compilation album, one mixtape, five collaborative albums, two live albums, and one soundtrack across his 30-year career. He began releasing albums every year. However, after his 2003 album The Black Album, the rapper began releasing more erratically.
That said, some are undoubtedly better than others. Many are packed with hits, while others are cult classics and even Jay-Z himself admits this. As such, when asked to rate his albums with a single picture, the musician revealed what he believes to be his worst project ever.
In a 2013 post to his Life + Times blog, Hov posted a picture of every CD he had ever released but stacked from worst to best with his favourite sitting on top. The top three albums in the stack were The Black Album, The Blueprint and Reasonable Doubt which sat at number one.
Jay labelled Reasonable Doubt a “classic” but admitted that Magna Carta Holy Grail was “not the best”. The body of work sitting at the bottom of the pack was his 2006 CD Kingdom Come, which arrived after a three-year hiatus. Giving a reason, Jay simply wrote, “First game back, don’t shoot me.” Similarly, The Blueprint 2 was dismissed as having “too many songs”.
Since this ranking, he may have changed his mind as, in an interview with Gayle King earlier this year, he asserted that his third project, Vol 2 …Hard Knock Life, was a turning point in his career and is the most important in his catalogue.
Perhaps, like all people, the billionaire had a change of heart, or maybe he still truly believes his debut, Reasonable Doubt, is his best.