Notes & Personnel Info |  | This version of REASONABLE DOUBT contains one bonus track not on the original release. | | Personnel includes: Jay-Z, The Notorious B.I.G., Foxy Brown, Memphis Bleek, Big Jaz, Sauce Money (rap vocals); Mary J. Blige, Mecca (vocals). | | Producers include: Knowbody, Ski, Clark Kent, DJ Premier, DJ Irv . | | Engineers: Joe Quinde, Eddie S. | | Recorded at D&D Studios, New York, New York. | | Audio Mixers: Clark Kent; DJ Premier; Peter Panic; DJ Irv; Kenny Ort¡z; Joe Quinde; Ski; Big Jaz; Carlos Bess. | | Recording information: D&D Studios Inc; Sound On Sound Studios. | | Photographer: Jonathan Mannion. | | Before Jay-Z fashioned himself into hip-hop's most notorious capitalist, he was a street hustler from the projects who rapped about what he knew -- and was very, very good at it. Skeptics who've never cared for Jigga's crossover efforts should turn to his debut, Reasonable Doubt, as the deserving source of his legend. Reasonable Doubt is often compared to another New York landmark, Nas' Illmatic: A hungry young MC with a substantial underground buzz drops an instant classic of a debut, detailing his experiences on the streets with disarming honesty, and writing some of the most acrobatic rhymes heard in quite some time. (Plus, neither artist has since approached the street cred of his debut, The Blueprint notwithstanding.) Parts of the persona that Jay-Z would ride to superstardom are already in place: He's cocky bordering on arrogant, but playful and witty, and exudes an effortless, unaffected cool throughout. And even if he's rapping about rising to the top instead of being there, his material obsessions are already apparent. Jay-Z the hustler isn't too different from Jay-Z the rapper: Hustling is about living the high life and getting everything you can, not violence or tortured glamour or cheap thrills. In that sense, the album's defining cut might not be one of the better-known singles -- "Can't Knock the Hustle," "Dead Presidents II," "Feelin' It," or the Foxy Brown duet, "Ain't No Nigga." It just might be the brief "22 Two's," which not only demonstrates Jay-Z's extraordinary talent as a pure freestyle rapper, but also preaches a subtle message through its club hostess: Bad behavior gets in the way of making money. Perhaps that's why Jay-Z waxes reflective, not enthusiastic, about the darker side of the streets; songs like "D'Evils" and "Regrets" are some of the most personal and philosophical he's ever recorded. It's that depth that helps Reasonable Doubt rank as one of the finest albums of New York's hip-hop renaissance of the '90s. ~ Steve Huey | | In the past few years, the hip-hop community has embraced a lot of rappers who falsify their identity with hard-rock gangster images, and created superstars out of average MCs. But where others proclaim, Brooklyn, New York native Jay-Z lyrically illustrates that he knows first hand what he is talking about. Jay-Z mixes original concepts with an imperative rhyming style, showing his versatility on cuts like "22 Two's" and "Friend Or Foe," while still managing to school youngsters on tracks like "Can I Live" and "Regrets," teaching them to learn from his mistakes. | | Not only is REASONABLE DOUBT heads above other rap albums lyrically, it's a musical gem as well, with production that ranges from the R&B flavor of DJ Clark Kent to the rugged beats of the flawless DJ Premier. As rap's premier underground MCs begin to emerge above ground, Jay-Z's debut album sounds like the next classic. | | Reasonable Doubt stands out among Jay-Z's many albums and not entirely because it's his debut album. Unlike most of his subsequent albums, it's seamless. Every song belongs here, from timeless hits like "Can't Knock the Hustle" to personal moments like "Regrets." Each song is like a separate chapter, revealing another aspect of Jay-Z's story, which, in 1996, was still untold. Nobody knew who he was when Reasonable Doubt dropped, keep in mind. Jay-Z seemingly came from nowhere. All listeners knew was what's on this autobiographical debut -- tales of "extensive hoes with expensive clothes," warnings of "all d'evils that the game'll do," goals of "trying to live it to the limit and love it a lot," and, above all, one reoccuring maxim: "in order to survive, [you] gotta learn to live with regrets." Beyond Jay-Z's rhetorical wealth of insight and wisdom, Reasonable Doubt also boasts an amazing roster of producers. Granted, most Jay-Z albums do, but this lineup -- Ski, Clark Kent, and DJ Premier -- is different. They represent the pre-gangsta era, a foregone era when samples fueled the beats and turntablism supplied the hooks. This classic production style, which is essentially refined hip-hop in its canonical sense, sets Reasonable Doubt apart from Jay-Z's later work. The lyrics do the same because they're so candidly confessional, but it's the producers more so than Jay-Z himself that make this album so untouchable. Similar to how every Nas album is continually measured against Illmatic and, in turn, often criticized for being different, every successive Jay-Z album was, likewise, held up to Reasonable Doubt. Few compared. And not necessarily because they're inferior, but rather because Reasonable Doubt is such an anomaly. For most listeners who heard this album in 1996, and perhaps for many who subsequently discovered it after being drawn in by more popular albums like Hard Knock Life, Reasonable Doubt will forever be Jay-Z's one definitive effort. ~ Jason Birchmeier |
Musical Guests | | The Notorious B.I.G. | | Mary J. Blige | | Foxy Brown | | Memphis Bleek | | Mecca | | Sauce Money | | Big Jaz |
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