So advertisers can give ’em more cash for ads, fuckers! They don’t play my hits – well I don’t give a shit, SO! Got beef with radio if I don’t play they show If you don’t like my lyrics, you can press fast forward I’m like fuck critics, you can kiss my whole asshole You’d celebrate the minute you was havin dough If you grew up with holes in your zapatos I’m from the hood stupid, what type of facts are those? Rap critics that say he’s ‘Money, Cash, Hoes’ Dot take shot at anyone who questions his hip-hop credentials, be they inside or outside of it’s mainstream:įoes that wanna make sure my casket’s closed “99 Problems” is a concept as old as Ice-T and as recent as Trick Daddy, but the Rick Rubin produced throwback track grounds Jigga in a guitar-rock anthem circa LL Cool J’s “Radio” days. Now why you frontin on me, is that necessary?”Īt other times, Shawn is righteously defiant. No panties and jeans, that’s so necessary No bra with that blouse, that’s so necessary He and the boy Phar-real make beautiful music “Then run and tell them ducks you heard Hovi new shit The catchy Neptunes produced “Change Clothes” embraces his entertainer’s side, a song whose lyrics keep matters light and allow the beat to move your feet: Shawn Carter shows himself to both be driven to success and stung by it’s effects on “The Black Album.” The album swings back and forth from one side to the other like a pendulum, with each slice carving out another song with a differing perspective. We’ll see what happens when I no longer exist I’m supposed to be number one on everybody list Times that by my influence on pop culture Or make up shit in a whole bunch of linesĪnd I ain’t animated like say I +Busta Rhymes+īut the real shit you get when you bust down my linesĪdd that to the fact I went plat’ a bunch of times The soul of a hustler, I really ran the streetĪnd no I ain’t get shot up a whole bunch of times

It’s a phenomenon he describes well with the words “fucks, too lazy to make up shit they crazy, they don’t, paint pictures, they just, trace me” on the song “What More Can I Say”: Dot, Jigga, Jay-Hova, or whatever, the only thing Jay-Z has to call himself is “The Blueprint,” the rapper other rappers wish they could be. Each of those albums has gone gold, platinum, and usually multi-platinum. You can’t argue with numbers, and Shawn ‘Jay-Z’ Carter has those in spades. From 1996-2003 though, Shawn Carter has released 9 full length albums. You can argue over whether or not he is the most prolific artist in hip-hop. You can argue over whether or not he is the most influential MC. You can argue over whether or not he is the best MC – from Brooklyn, from New York, from the East coast, whatever.

Jay z the black album cover