The 1990s is known as “the decade” for many of rap’s best albums. This 10-year span is also widely recognized as the era of the most commercially successful time in hip-hop music — the East Coast as the focal point — with artists like DMX, Nas, Biggie, Mase, LL Cool J, (and etc.) all topping the Billboard charts, selling millions of units, and effortlessly dominating the radio airwaves.
20 years ago, on June 25, 1996, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter released his debut solo album Reasonable Doubt. Like many of the efforts released during the ‘90s, it was labeled a potent body of work, and, individually, a lyrical force adorned with an urban gothic backdrop, equipped with mafioso-themed ammo built to maintain its musical staying power through the years. And all of that it truly embodied — all while being the least commercially successful amongst that of his subsequent albums and the albums of his rap counterparts (note: it was eventually certified platinum 10 years after its release).
What makes Hov’sdebut LP of one of Brooklyn’s finest best projects? We came up with 10 reasons why.
(Photos by Jonathan Mannion)
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10 Reasons Why Jay-Z’s Debut Album ‘Reasonable Doubt’ Is One Of His Best
Image Credit: Jonathan Mannion -
10. We don’t need another Reasonable Doubt.
Image Credit: Jonathan Mannion Or another Illmatic. Or another Only Built for Cuban Linx. Or The Chronic. Or Get Rich 4 Die Trying. Or a remake of any other classic hip-hop album for that matter. Understandably, some artists strive to reinvent the magnitude of achievement they once had, widely due to the pressure of fans and/or for the sake of saying they can do it again—only to fail miserably. Hov has not really fallen into this trap, and therefore has enjoyed an abundance of success with every album succeeding Reasonable Doubt.
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9. It’s timeless.
Image Credit: Jonathan Mannion Although every album Jay-Z released after Reasonable Doubt topped the Billboard 200 (all debuted at #1, sans the #3-peaking In My Lifetime Vol 1), this debut effort is considered by many hip-hop fans to be within their top 10 favorite rap albums. Needless to say, Reasonable Doubt didn’t need to debut within Billboard’s top 10 to be profusely—and easily—ranked as Hov’s craftiest composition.
The production throughout this album is so smooth that any signs of time-stamping are nonexistent. Some albums just sound… well, dated. Reasonable Doubt does an excellent job at avoiding this rift.
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8. He did indeed make it a hot song, but probably not a better one than Nas’s.
Image Credit: Jonathan Mannion During the aforementioned Nas beef, Jay took to “Takeover” to tell the Queens lyricist that he utilized his sampled voice to create a better song in “Dead Presidents” than Nas’ line used in “The World is Yours.” Listening to both on repeat conjures up a healthy debate about which record one-upped the other. Listening to both “Ether” and “Takeover,” on the other hand, can take one down a nostalgic road almost too great to relive.
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7. The West Coast posse was probably spared.
Image Credit: Jonathan Mannion Take a hard listen at what he did with this album—full of clever punch lines and effortless quotables—then revisit the Nas hysteria. Put these two together and it’s a shame that Jay’s “too much West Coast dick lickin” jab wasn’t widely entertained during the height of the East vs. West rap rivalry. One can only wonder whose career he could have hung out to dry—even if it could have possibly been his own.
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6. Jay-Z is psychic.
Image Credit: Jonathan Mannion “… thinking longevity until I’m 70” is a line he spit in “22 Twos.” It’s been 20 years since then, and he’s still relevant… and nearly 50… and still rapping. Combine this with both his matrimony to superstar Beyonce and his nifty investment moves, and suddenly 70 doesn’t sound too far-fetched.
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5. You, too, can become (half a) billionaire.
Image Credit: Jonathan Mannion From the grit of the Bed-Stuy streets to Hawaiian shirts and beyond, Hov did it. And so can you. Just ask Jaz-O (or not).
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4. Excellence is hard—if not impossible—to recreate.
Image Credit: Jonathan Mannion The non-commercialized version of an artist rarely makes an appearance following mainstream success. And this album, although tapped with just a touch of commercial appeal, communicates exactly that. Jay couldn’t construct a debut doppelganger even if he wanted to. But not that he would try anyhow: “niggas want my old shit, buy my old albums.”
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3. He lyrically illustrated the “old Bed-Stuy,” or, rather, the “old New York” mentality as a whole.
Image Credit: Jonathan Mannion This album possesses flawless ability to freeze frame the initial form of Hova, bare in all of his natural ‘hood habitat that has long since passed since gentrification morphed the once notorious neighborhood into a hipster’s skateboarding playground. What would a Brooklyn rapper talk about now? The newest coffee shop? Atlanta?
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2. Reiterates that being lyrical was once the norm… and not an anomaly.
Image Credit: Jonathan Mannion Albums like these are a vivacious reminder that there was a time when an artist didn’t have to force three or four mainstream/crossover pop radio hits down our throats to earn our respect… and money—a tactic Hov later adopted with his following albums (and easily mastered).
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1. Lowest-charting albums can actually be the best albums—or, at least, highly arguably.
Image Credit: Jonathan Mannion Although every album Jay-Z released after Reasonable Doubt topped the Billboard 200 (all debuted at #1, sans the #3-peaking In My Lifetime Vol 1), this debut effort is considered by many hip-hop fans to be within their top 10 favorite rap albums. Needless to say, Reasonable Doubt didn’t need to debut within Billboard’s top 10 to be profusely—and easily—ranked as Hov’s craftiest composition.