Jay-Z ranks his own catalog

[Jack Trippa 3z company ho]

Reasonable doubt and blueprint are his only strong albums. Black album has about 4 great songs, the rest ass.

Eh, I wouldn't call it a classic but I thought Black Album was a very good album as someone whose not even a huge Jay fan.

I think people are extremely biased on that album due to the production names. Quik's shit was ass, Kanyes shit was ass, em's shit was ass, neptunes shit was ass. Legit 4 really good songs the rest of the album was crap.

[Fraxxx]

i agree with that, he's a radio rapper. He can be clever here and there, but i've never listened to a whole jay-z album and just been blown away. or walked away from it with it on my mind all day.

to me i don't think Jay-z has one hip hop classic , album wise, in his catelouge. Is that me being bias? naw i really don't think so, because if I divorce my opinion and look at it more objectively....really i can't say that one of his albums stacks up to the true blue classics of Illmatic,cuban linx,  36 chambers, ready to die, chronic, doggystyle, most of outkasts'  albums....ect.

i think he has classic SONGS here and there on his albums. but i think he gets too much props because of that. I feel that he's a medium sized fish in a low talent pond....meaning his talent is blown up way beyond what it should be, because of how whack the rap game has been the last past decade or so. People are hungry for a hip hop savior so i think they see him and drink his kool aid.

I feel you.

[GangstaBoogy]

Reasonable doubt and blueprint are his only strong albums. Black album has about 4 great songs, the rest ass.

Eh, I wouldn't call it a classic but I thought Black Album was a very good album as someone whose not even a huge Jay fan.

I think people are extremely biased on that album due to the production names. Quik's shit was ass, Kanyes shit was ass, em's shit was ass, neptunes shit was ass. Legit 4 really good songs the rest of the album was crap.

I'm not a big Jay-Z fan either but The Black Album was great. Probably my personal favorite Jay album.

[Remedy360]

Reasonable doubt and blueprint are his only strong albums. Black album has about 4 great songs, the rest ass.

Eh, I wouldn't call it a classic but I thought Black Album was a very good album as someone whose not even a huge Jay fan.

I think people are extremely biased on that album due to the production names. Quik's shit was ass, Kanyes shit was ass, em's shit was ass, neptunes shit was ass. Legit 4 really good songs the rest of the album was crap.

I'm not a big Jay-Z fan either but The Black Album was great. Probably my personal favorite Jay album.

Same here, I get that Reasonable Doubt is regarded as one of the best hip hop albums of all time but it doesn't really do much for me.

[Will_B]

Reasonable doubt and blueprint are his only strong albums. Black album has about 4 great songs, the rest ass.

Eh, I wouldn't call it a classic but I thought Black Album was a very good album as someone whose not even a huge Jay fan.

I think people are extremely biased on that album due to the production names. Quik's shit was ass, Kanyes shit was ass, em's shit was ass, neptunes shit was ass. Legit 4 really good songs the rest of the album was crap.

I'm not a big Jay-Z fan either but The Black Album was great. Probably my personal favorite Jay album.

Same here, I get that Reasonable Doubt is regarded as one of the best hip hop albums of all time but it doesn't really do much for me.

They believe what their masters tell them

[Remedy360]

Reasonable doubt and blueprint are his only strong albums. Black album has about 4 great songs, the rest ass.

Eh, I wouldn't call it a classic but I thought Black Album was a very good album as someone whose not even a huge Jay fan.

I think people are extremely biased on that album due to the production names. Quik's shit was ass, Kanyes shit was ass, em's shit was ass, neptunes shit was ass. Legit 4 really good songs the rest of the album was crap.

I'm not a big Jay-Z fan either but The Black Album was great. Probably my personal favorite Jay album.

Same here, I get that Reasonable Doubt is regarded as one of the best hip hop albums of all time but it doesn't really do much for me.

They believe what their masters tell them

How does it rank on the Will scale?

[Will_B]

Reasonable Doubt?

It's a solid 7/10 (very good, not great)

[LAC/EASTSIDE]

Reasonable Doubt would be the only album I'd give a pass for "Classic". After that, most are overrated. Maybe not wack but overrated for sure. Maybe NY cats might consider other shit classic. Out West, they're laughable.

[LAC/EASTSIDE]

i agree with that, he's a radio rapper. He can be clever here and there, but i've never listened to a whole jay-z album and just been blown away. or walked away from it with it on my mind all day.

to me i don't think Jay-z has one hip hop classic , album wise, in his catelouge. Is that me being bias? naw i really don't think so, because if I divorce my opinion and look at it more objectively....really i can't say that one of his albums stacks up to the true blue classics of Illmatic,cuban linx,  36 chambers, ready to die, chronic, doggystyle, most of outkasts'  albums....ect.

i think he has classic SONGS here and there on his albums. but i think he gets too much props because of that. I feel that he's a medium sized fish in a low talent pond....meaning his talent is blown up way beyond what it should be, because of how whack the rap game has been the last past decade or so. People are hungry for a hip hop savior so i think they see him and drink his kool aid.

You pretty much nailed it. The reality is that most of his popularity comes from his longevity and the fact that he became a successful business man (money). Most people consider his first album to be a classic. I thought it was a good album. I ain't going to lie. But what always stood out for me was the fact that when Pac and Biggie were on top, he wasn't really relevant like most people assume. Growing up in LA, I didn't know one motherfucker with a Jay-Z album. Not one. Most people I knew thought he was corny. Something phony about him. When Pac and Big died, it gave other artist the opportunity to step in and kinda...fill in the hole, that was left behind. He stayed consistent, and continued to bring out more albums, while making more money. All of a sudden, he was everywhere. He became more famous but not just in the Hip Hop community. FAME always helps you stay on top. It helps you stay relevant and even sell more records. You meet different people and it opens opportunities. Now even WHite executives know who this fool is but don't know shit about Hip Hop. He also got married to Beyonce, who was a star herself. So, I always felt that people confused why he's considered "great". In terms of him just being an MC; he's very overrated. His albums can't fuck with BIggies, Wu-Tang or Nas.

[V2DHeart]

Reasonable Doubt - The one and only classic in my opinion. The Blueprint was very close and could have been, but it was a solid album mostly propped up by solid production by Just Blaze and a young Kanye, and certainly stands out.

The rest of his catalogue has some great songs, some even classics, but no other album stands out