We often see the past through rose-colored glasses. In the case of hip hop, this is especially true of the '90s, an era in which the genre matured into a richly diverse, fully realized art form and a genuine commercial force. The '90s also saw the rise of hip hop's most beloved stars, including a silver-tongued slickster from Bed-Stuy named Jay Z.
This list primarily explores the four albums Jay Z released in the '90s: Reasonable Doubt, In My Lifetime Vol. 1, Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life, and Vol 3... Life and Times of Shawn Carter. Click through the gallery to listen to 10 of the best tracks from '90s-era Jay Z.
"Rap City Freestyle" (1990)
You gotta start somewhere. In 1990, a bright-eyed 20-year-old named Shaun Carter appeared on an episode of Rap City alongside Big Daddy Kane. Prime directs most of his attention at Kane, then asks the young Hov to spit a freestyle -- though he neglects to mention his name.
"I Can't Get Wit That" (1994)
The double-time triplet flow Jay Z showed off on Rap City persisted for at least another four years. By 1994, his flower had already begun to blossom. He raps with confidence in "I Can't Get Wit That," and struts around the Marcy Projects with an equally formidable swagger in the music video.
"Can't Knock the Hustle" (1996)
Reasonable Doubt could hardly have started on a sweeter note than "Can't Knock the Hustle." Aside from the intro, in which Jay Z affiliate Pain In Da Ass vows that "Jay Z's gonna stick your heads up your asses faster than a rabbit gets fucked," it's a mellow, understated track that smoothly immerses the listener in Hov's world. The hustle speaks for itself.
"Brooklyn's Finest" feat. Notorious B.I.G. (1996)
I always thought "Brooklyn's Finest" was secretly the best track on Reasonable Doubt. Jay Z and Notorious B.I.G. rap over a beat can only be described as *jiggy* fora joyous summertime effect that serves as a sumptuous counterpart to the album's mostly wintry feel.
"Dead Presidents II" (1996)
The Ski Beatz-produced "Dead Presidents II" beat sounds pretty tragic. Hov is the diametric opposite -- he could not sound more pleased to be fiscally separating himself from the pack:
"I got a good life man, pounds and pence
Nuff dollars make sense, while you ride the bench
Catch me swinging for the fence... Dead Presidents, ya know?"
"Feelin' It" (1996)
Ski Beats was originally planning to give beat for the fourth Reasonable Doubt single to Camp Lo, then decided to give it to Jay at the last minute. As told by XXL:
"It was me and Geechi Suede from Camp Lo, it was my hook and everything. Jay heard it and was like, 'I want that record. I don’t care what you do, I want that record.' I didn’t want to give it to him, but I had to because I knew he was going to be the man at the time. So I said, 'Fuck it, take the record.' It really was me and Suede from Camp Lo, the flow and everything, the way he was flowing on it. That’s the way we was flowing on it. So he just took the whole thing. But you know, he killed it in his own way."
"Who You Wit" (1997)
A single from In My Lifetime Vol. 1, "Who You Wit" utilizes the ultra-saucy minor 9th chord that is prevalent throughout Reasonable Doubt. The chord that precedes the minor 9th, however, is wrought with angst, thus distinguishing the song from RD.
"Can I Get A..." feat. Amil and Ja Rule (1998)
Vol 2... Hard Knock Life is the most underrated Jay Z album in existence, and "Can I Get A...", groovy, modern, is its best song. What's more, it augured the rise of Ja Rule in the years to come.
"Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" (1998)
Jay Z's attempt to clear the "Hard Knock Life" sample from Annie was initially rejected. Here's how he emerged victorious. as told in his book Decoded:
"I decided to write the company a letter myself. I made up this story about how when I was a seventh grader in Bed-Stuy, our teacher held an essay contest and the three best papers won the writer a trip to the city to see Annie. A lie. I wrote that as kids in Brooklyn we hardly ever came into the city. True. I wrote that from the moment the curtain came up I felt like I understood honey’s story. Of course, I’d never been to see Annie on Broadway. But I had seen the movie on TV. Anyway, they bought it, cleared it, and I had one of my biggest hits."
"Big Pimpin" feat. UGK (1999)
Released on the fourth-to-last day of the '90s, Vol 3... Life and Times of Shaun Carter springboarded Jay into the new millenium, and the decade in which he would fully realize his dreams. The album produced "Big Pimpin'," an exotic Timbaland production and one of the greatest odes to extravagance hip hop has ever conceived.