Five Earpieces 23rd July - enters the H.O.V.A

Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt

Ima just put it out there and to hell with the shame. I never really listened to Jay-Z's debut album much before the last couple of months. I don't know if the back of my head was working on some strict Illmatic loyalty program (Nas' debut has been a regular in my walkman-to-discman-to-mp3 player pretty much since 1994, and you can browse hip hop forums since the late '90s to read about Jay-Z-Nas beef and arguments about which debut album is better), and of course I'd listened a couple of times and was familiar with a few of the better-known tracks like Ain't No Nigga (see below - and on that track, does anyone know where Foxy Brown's been since the '90s?...).

But to be honest the mates I formed my hip hop taste with and I just never gave Reasonable Doubt much rotation....

Anyway, bygones are just that. It's July 2009 and - listening to it on heavy rotation - Reasonable Doubt to my mind clarifies why Jay-Z is as big as he is much better than his more recent material does. Not saying that Jigga's more recent music isn't dope, but R.D is the real reason he's the H.O.V.A - it's Jay-Z's Ready to Die/Illmatic/Paid in Full. Tell me I'm wrong (go on - there's a comment function below...).

I find it hard to get past the first three tracks (my god Brooklyn's Finest with Biggie is SSSSOOOOOO dope!), but it's worth pushing through - the album does pass through a bit of a low-tempo trough through the middle, but those slower tracks are classic street poetry. Reasonable Doubt is gold from start to finish.