He’s back. You knew it was coming: a breakdown of the samples from the heart of Jay Electronica’s mythical debut, now a Hov-ridden reality.
jay z
The O[ther] G[uy]s: Hip-Hop’s Biggest Original Namesakes
They’re some of hip-hop’s biggest names, and they’re attached to some of the culture’s most unassuming bit players: these are the other guys, the namesakes who’ve since been eclipsed by bigger and oft-better artists of the very same name.
How J. Cole Flourished Under – and Ultimately Outgrew – Jay-Z’s Approach as a Label Head (ROTD 3 Preview)
J. Cole is changing before our very eyes. The infamous “no features”, self-reliant Cole that flourished under Jay-Z’s hands off management at Roc Nation has learned from his mentor to form a new mentality – far, far from his comfort zone. This new J. Cole is a label head first and foremost, sacrificing his own […]
The Grammys are Statistically Biased and Hip-Hop Doesn’t Need Them
It’s 2019. Hip-hop has been the biggest genre in music for more than two years now, but The Grammys still reek of bias against the genre. Recent snubs of iconic albums like Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. and Cardi B’s Invasion of Privacy sting badly, but sadly they weren’t a surprise to anyone who has been paying […]
“The Black Album”: Lyrical Breakdown of Jay-Z’s Least Collaborative Record
Fifteen years ago, Jay-Z announced that he was leaving hip-hop: but only on his own terms and with his own voice. The Black Album was meant to be the climax of Jay’s career, a raw and personal record with minimal features. For the first time ever, here are the numbers to cement the album’s legacy […]
Behind “The Black Album”: Production & Sampling Deep-Dive
November 14, 2003: with nothing left to prove, Jay Z releases The Black Album, a project billed as his last. Fifteen years on, we reflect on the production throughout the LP, breaking down the sampling, examining the sonic palette and looking at the collaborators Jay chose to score his classic curtain closer. Fifteen years ago, […]
Dissecting No I.D.’s Production Masterclass on “4:44”
In a genre often preoccupied with youth culture, an album exploring the trials of adult relationships and responsibilities is like a breath of fresh air. That goes double when it’s the work of a veteran producer and a legendary emcee. We’re celebrating their excellence with this, an in-depth exploration of No I.D.’s incredible production work […]
Dissecting Jay-Z’s Forgotten Classic Album “Vol 2… Hard Knock Life” [20th Anniversary]
Today marks 20 years since the release of Jay-Z’s third studio album, Vol 2… Hard Knock Life. While the album’s legacy is often overlooked in favor of other Jay classics, Hard Knock Life still remains Jay’s commercial peak to this day, and represents the beginning of hip hop’s invasion of the mainstream. On Pusha T’s […]
The Numbers Behind Nas and Jay-Z’s Iconic Beef: “Ether” vs “Takeover”
The “Nas vs. Jay-Z” beef is now a legendary entry into the lexicon of hip-hop history. The beef is so permanently iconic that when the two artists both drop new projects (EVERYTHINGISLOVE and Nasir) on the same weekend seventeen years later, the rap world explodes with speculation that their feud is still alive and well. The beef between two […]
Gangsta Rap is Dead – and Your Favorite Rapper Has Blood on Their Hands
Imagine if Drake released his record-breaking album Scorpion in 1988, the year Straight Outta Compton hit the airwaves. Not only would the music would seem totally out of place, but he’d be straight up laughed out of the room. Now let’s flip the picture: imagine a young group of artists releasing Straight Outta Compton in […]
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