Reacting to 'Reasonable Doubt' by Jay Z (Full Album, uncut)

same

Got Patreon because I never even knew you did this and it’s now saying video still doesn’t exist is there a way to see it still or I’m just kind of screwed on thos one

Adam Depew

Pumped to hear it's Black Album, was wondering which you'd pick. You know how I feel about Kanye, I love Jay Z almost as much. If I had to pick one, he's the top dog as far as rapping, though Ye is a superior artist.

FuzzyDunlop

Black album, Blueprint are on the list, though I don't know when that will be. I want to do more Jay - Z, but I know it will be blocked on YouTube... so that lowers my priority a bit.

Bob_the_Poppop

I got the Patreon just to get this video. Good reaction. Jay-Z has always been know for giving half the story. But this is a classic to me. Blueprint is likely the other best album. Black album next.

Eric Beehler

You should definitely react to Ready to die - Notorious BIG. One of the greatest HipHop album of all time.

Elie Maitre

Fun Fact Jay - Z and Nas dissed each other

Statute of Limitations is the reason for the line “I tell you half the story the rest you fill it in” also Reasonable Doubt is what you need from a jury and also being a rapper was an impossible achievement so coming from those places he has a reason to doubt his talent

Bro calm down, man has a life too. I had no clue. Thanks.

Dope video man! Would love to see Wu-Tang Clan next. Check out 36 Chambers, it's their first album and one of the best of all time. Just super cold Boom Bap and amazing lyrics :)

Maurice Ruetz

Bro calm down, man has a life too

Maurice Ruetz

Listen to Tupac all eyes on me or notorious big ready to die

we need Kanye's West Donda for Christmas tho.. :D

jimmyvinyl

So you’ve 3 out of 4 of arguably the best rap albums from the best rappers in the 90s Nas-Illmatic Pac- me against the world Jay Z- reasonable doubt. To cap off this 90s classics you have to do Ready to Die by Biggie. It the final perspective you need

bob, after a good line people usually just say "bars."

rashardo

Just realized I can comment here. The Dead President's beat is Garden Of Peace by Lonnie Liston Smith. It's wild how crazy it fits.

FuzzyDunlop

This is a great write up, man. Thanks for this. Those are some killer lines you shared. I really like 'em. And it's crazy to me he never wrote his lyrics down and just remembered them instead. To me, that explains his style a lot. His lines, though good, do feel somewhat like random thoughts at times.

Bob_the_Poppop

Blueprint sounds fun. I'll get to that one sometime for sure

Bob_the_Poppop

Interesting, thank you for this 👍

Bob_the_Poppop

My pleasure :)

Bob_the_Poppop

Jay was my dads favorite artist. I could never get into his music, too boring for me. But he’s a goat. Although 4:44 is his most recent album and it’s very good to me

Isaiah Piedra

Nah, he's both; some people just let their views of one effect the other.

Anthony Smith

I'd probably say black album if you're looking for a more introspective jay z but blueprint if you're looking for more wit and charisma. Both amazing

Muny Sullivan

Ok i saw that you finally are doing my favorite rap artist ever and decided to join the patreon. So i have been listening to Jay Z since the early 00s and during my brief time as a music writer i even reviewed some of his albums and did 2 profiles about him in a hip-hop magazine in my country. So believe me when i say i know what im talking about... so im going to offer some facts and rebuttals to some of the comments here. 1. "jay z is a great rapper but he was always a better businessman" this isnt a sentiment thats new people have been saying this since the black album. Half of this is true Hov is a great businessman, the other half is not Jat is not a great rapper Jay is one of if not the greatest rapper of all time. One of the only artists with 3 widely regarded classic rap albums ( Reasonable Doubt , The Blueprint and The Black album) and 3 more that are debatable ( In my Lifetime vol1, American Gangster and 4:44) his rhyme schemes and flows are too many to count hes had massive hits and huge mainstream appeal and has been super influential in the rap underground for people like Kanye (pre-fame), JPEGMafia, Westside Gunn , Stove God Cooks, MF Doom, Joe Budden and many others. 2. Jay does not write anything. This is somewhat correct in his book Decoded he explains that when he was a young dealer he had to write down all his rhymes on wrappers and paper bags that he later threw away, so he had to constantly remember what he wrote down. So at some point he stopped writing and simply started constructing his verses in his mind and remembering them. This has been confirmed by many people over the years and you can see it in the documentary about the making of the black album. 3. Speaking of his writing. One of the biggest critiques that people have about Jay Z is content the other being style. Unlike Pac or Nas Jay isnt as naive or optimistic about the world and about the music business, him starting his career at 26-27 may be the leading factor to that, The world is a harsh cruel place and Jay is only there to help himself and you the listener make it out - thus the capitalistic outlook in life. The other thing people talk about is that Hov doesnt have the wordplay of an eminem or the depth of Nas. Both of which are incorrect, it is true that Jay doesnt have Eminem`s ability tho who does but the wordplay is there and is insane and regarding Depth just listen to some of his other less popular songs and you can clearly see how wrong that is. D`Evils, Regrets, Moment of Clarity, The Story of OJ, Smile, Where Im From and many others show his absolute monstrous ability as an MC. 4. Influence - Jay Z was massive in the early 00s to about 2009 when he pulled most of his music off platforms and went to Tidal. Not only in terms of rappers/producers - Kanye West, Just Blaze, Beanie Sigle, Memphis Bleek and a few more came under his guidance in the rap world, but to hip hop culture as a whole. Hardknock life and Big pimpin were massive hits, he dictated fashion and dance trends, people stopped wearing hats and baggie t-shirts because of Change Clothes and started dusting off their shoulders because Jay said so on Dirt off your Shoulders (one of Obama`s favorite songs). Not to mention the many branding and product deals which he popularized and made his money from. 5. The hidden weapon of Jay Z - his ability to be laconic. Saying complicated things in a simple straightforward fashion packed into quotable soundbites. What other less competent rappers will drag on to a full verse or a whole song Jay can say in a couple of lines. Heres some examples and see if you can get what i mean. "Pop died, didn't cry, didn't know him that well Between him doing heroin and me doing crack sales" "Far as draft picks, my name did not get called Bet before I go I put a billion on the board Hall of Fame Hov, I did it all without a pen Y'all knew that was comin', I had to remind y'all again, huh?" "Motherfuckers say that I'm foolish, I only talk about jewels Do you fools listen to music or do you just skim through it? See, I'm influenced by the ghetto you ruined The same dude you gave nothin', I made somethin' doin'" "I used to give a shit, now I don't give a shit more Truth be told I had more fun when I was piss-poor I'm pissed off, and this what success is all about? A bunch of ni*as acting like bitches with big mouths" So ye i hope this helps you if you continue to listen go Jay Z and if somebody in the comments read it and liked it. Thanks for the content and i hope YT stops giving you trouble. PS: please do Ka - Honor Killed The Samurai one of the most complex and deep rap albums of the last 20 years a real grown man rap albu,.

Boyan Konov

“The Black Album” should definitely be your next jay z album

Helmer Moreira

jay z is a great rapper but he was always a better businessman

Henry

Good reaction dude, great album but if you get chance listen to the blueprint sometime, definetley his best record for me

Tom

great reaction, I was glad to see that you came around to understanding jay's unique style. I would also recommend Blueprint as the next album for Jay- much smoother and more soulful feel, more charisma. The lyrics maybe arent as deep but his wit and style is turned up to 11

Joseph Kiley

Fun Fact: Jay-Z doesn’t write. He’s been writing/rapping since he was 8 years old and by the time he was older he had wrote so many lyrics that he basically just had lyrics constantly bouncing around in his head. According to him every lyric he’s ever written is essentially imprinted in his memory so he can effortlessly just pull lyrics out when he’s recording. He’s known to finish some of his biggest songs in minutes. Now for a little context. During the late 80’s the popular rap style was gangster. You can hear that in artists like NWA. In the early 90’s it shifted to “street”. Basically the same as the gangster style but with a little more introspection and more of a desire for change. You can hear that with Tupac and Nas. In the mid 90’s you have a lot of “mafioso” rap. This album was at the forefront of that sound. It’s basically a more sophisticated and commercial version of “street” rap. You hear it a lot with Jay-Z and Biggie. They shifted focus from street shenanigans to WHY they were involved in it (money). Jay-Z and Biggie essentially turned their status as gangsters into a business, “I’m not a businessman I’m a business, man”. His album The Blueprint which is often held as one of rap’s greatest albums showcases a lot more depth in subject matter and a lot more variety (Also largely produced by Kanye). If you continue listening through his discography than The Blueprint is a must.

MadeByMali

Definitely agree with people recommending the Blueprint. Features a lot of early Kanye production. I'll also recommend his most recent record 4:44. Very different from this but it's a really good and personal album.

Matt Eaton

if you want really good storytelling, then you gotta dip into biggies catalogue. I’m a Tupac guy forsure, but his storytelling is unsurpassed.

Jorge Campos Jr.

Difference with 2pac and JayZ exactly how you said Jay embraced the capitalism and the idea of moving up the ladder im present time he claims to be trying to change the system from with in the system. 2pac was raised by the black panther the more money he made the more frustrated he became. Jay wasnt afraid of dying because he was playing the game....2pac wanted to revolutionize and as i write this im recalling an interview where they said to 2pac, your mother says "Pac is the one always making the game." Which to me is the antithesis of playing it. Not to mention pac was 23 for making me against the world and jayz was 27 i feel like them mid 20s are damn near a 2nd puberty we go through

Paul Salvador Estrada

Thanks Bob! Awesome stuff

Sam G

My most anticipated reaction; can't wait till I'm home to watch.

Anthony Smith

This is a good idea. I can post up 6 albums or so that I'm immediately interested in, and then the top 4 get voted in for the month.

Bob_the_Poppop

Yes indeedy

Bob_the_Poppop

Tpab next then die lit?

yeah, we understand but it could cause some difficulties with sensitive people

I love your term Zingers for the punchlines...interesting the correlations between comedy terms with hip hop terms...never really thought about that haha. Both rely heavily on rhythm/flow and timing aswell for the lines to impact the right way.

Tyler Scott

hey bob, just a small ettiquette suggestion is to censor part of the N word when putting a track title in the timestamps. no one in this community would take it the wrong way but I think it would ensure comfort for all parties in the future, since some people feel that writing it out may be offensive. anyone else feel free to add on if you'd like!

jeff

Just finished Dead Presidents....youre intuition and insight is top notch. Youve now encountered 2pac Biggie Nas and Jay Z throw in Eminem Andre 3000 and a handful of others and you have the pantheon. Along with that comes the folklore and mythology. 2pac had beef with Biggie and Nas. Nas had Beef with Jay Z. Were talking on records and in their personal lives shootings, sleeping with wives and baby mothers all types of trife life shit....gotta remember these are all dudes from the hood in their early 20s thrust into the spotlight.

Paul Salvador Estrada

His best album imo

Krys

If your going to react to more jay-s, I’d love to see the blueprint. The beats on that album are in my opinion the best out of any jay album.

Jack MacArthur

Lets Get it!

Paul Salvador Estrada

Yoo bob.. just a little suggestion, what do you think about starting a poll every month ? by selecting four albums, like the one u did with blond

Z E U S

Let’s goooo

Mr. Bigweld