Reasonable Doubt (album)

Reasonable Doubt
Studio album by Jay-Z
Released June 25, 1996
Recorded 1995–January 1996
D&D Studios
(New York City, New York)
Genre Hip hop, mafioso rap
Length 55:32
Label Roc-A-Fella, Priority
Producer Sean Cane, DJ Clark Kent, DJ Premier, Irv Gotti, Jaz-O, Knobody, Peter Panic, Ski
Jay-Z chronology
Reasonable Doubt
(1996)		 In My Lifetime, Vol. 1
(1997)
Singles from Reasonable Doubt
  1. "Dead Presidents"
    Released: February 20, 1996
  2. "Ain't No Nigga"
    Released: March 26, 1996
  3. "Can't Knock the Hustle"
    Released: August 29, 1996
  4. "Feelin' It"
    Released: April 15, 1997

Reasonable Doubt is the debut studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released on June 25, 1996, by Roc-A-Fella and Priority Records. It features production by DJ Premier, Ski, Knobody and Clark Kent, and guest appearances from Memphis Bleek, Mary J. Blige, and The Notorious B.I.G., among others. Reasonable Doubt features Mafioso rap themes and gritty lyrics about the "hustler" lifestyle and material obsessions.

The album peaked at number 23 on the US Billboard 200, on which it charted for 18 weeks. It was promoted with four singles, including the Billboard Hot 100-charting "Ain't No Nigga" and "Can't Knock the Hustle". Reasonable Doubt has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and,[1] as of 2006, has sold 1.5 million copies in the United States.[2]

Well received by critics upon its release, the album has since been heralded by music writers as Jay-Z's "crowning achievement", "a seminal work"[3] and an "undisputed classic".[4][5] It appears on numerous best album lists by music publications, including The Source,[6] Blender,[7] and Rolling Stone, which ranked it number 248 on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and 250 on the revised list.[8][9]

Background

In 1989, aspiring rapper Jay-Z was recruited by mentor Jaz-O to appear on his song "Hawaiian Sophie".[10] He appeared on two more Jaz-O songs in the next year, but after Jaz-O was dropped from his record label, Jay-Z dealt drugs to support himself.[10] He continued to pursue a rap career and appeared on two songs from Original Flavor's 1993 album Beyond Flavor. Jay-Z then caught Big Daddy Kane's attention and toured with him; they collaborated on Kane's 1994 posse cut "Show & Prove" along with Wu-Tang Clan's Ol' Dirty Bastard, Wu-Tang affiliate Shyheim, Sauce Money, and Scoob Lover.[10]

Despite the exposure he received from Kane, Jay-Z was still without a record deal. He began selling tapes from his car with help from friend Damon Dash.[11] The success of his street-level marketing led to a deal with Payday Records, which released his first solo single, "In My Lifetime" and its B-side "I Can't Get wid Dat". In an unconventional move, Jay-Z then spurned the record contract he had long sought and left Payday Records to form his own label, Roc-A-Fella Records, with Damon Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke. Jay-Z later explained that he thought he could do a better job of marketing his records on his own:

[Payday] eventually signed me to a deal, but were acting shady the whole time, like they didn't know how to work a record or something," says Jay. "The things that they were setting up for me I could have done myself. They had me traveling places to do instores, and my product wasn't even available in the store. We shot one video, but when the time came for me to do the video for the second single, I had to be cut out. They gave me the money and I started my own company. There was a little arguing back and forth, but our conflict finally got resolved. The bottom line was they wasn't doing their job, so I had to get out of there.[11]

Jay-Z rented a small, cheap office for Roc-A-Fella Records on John Street in one of the "dreariest parts of the busiest city in the world".[11] Jay-Z and his compatriots thought of their low-rent headquarters as a "starting point" that would eventually lead them to Manhattan.[11] In 1995 and early 1996, Jay-Z appeared on records by Big L and Mic Geronimo, further raising his profile. At this point, he was still considered an "underground"[12] rapper with a "new jack" style.[13] Roc-A-Fella released Reasonable Doubt with Priority Records.[14]

Recording

Reasonable Doubt was recorded at D&D Studios and mixed at Platinum Island, however, its beats were formed elsewhere. "Can't Knock the Hustle" was produced by Knobody at his mother's home in 1994, while the vocals were recorded on tour at a studio in Tampa Florida named Progressive Music with Mary J Blige. Ski produced "Feelin' It" and "Politics as Usual" while recording with Camp Lo.[15]

The recording sessions for the album were generally dominated by competition; Ski and Clark Kent created similar beats for "Politics as Usual", but Ski submitted his to Jay-Z first causing his to appear on the album.[15] "Brooklyn's Finest" was a competitive, though friendly battle between Jay-Z and The Notorious B.I.G. in which Jay-Z tried proving that he is of Biggie's caliber, while Biggie tried brushing his rhymes off as insignificant.[15] Although the rappers had already met on the set for the "Dead Presidents" music video, they discovered that neither wrote down their rhymes while recording.[15] The recording of "Brooklyn's Finest" spanned two months and moved from D&D Studios to Giant Studios where the Clark Kent-sung chorus was recorded.[15] The studio sessions affected Jay-Z mentally: as he told Rolling Stone, "The studio was like a psychiatrist's couch for me".[8]

Music and lyrics

Reasonable Doubt has Mafioso rap themes.[16][17] David Drake of Stylus Magazine considers the lyrics to be characterized by "gritty realism".[18] Journalist Dream Hampton explains Jay-Z's lyrics saying: "MC's had definitely touched [...] on hustling. But Jay, talks about what it can do to a person's inner peace, and what it can do to their mind".[10] Allmusic's Steve Huey describes him as "a street hustler from the projects who rapped about what he knew—and he was very, very good at it...detailing his experiences on the streets with disarming honesty".[19] Huey summarizes the album's subject matter saying:

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 [...] the album's defining cut 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.[19]

Allmusic's Steve Birchmeier writes that the album's production exhibits characteristics of "the pre-gangsta era, a foregone era when samples fueled the beats and turntablism supplied the hooks", which "sets Reasonable Doubt apart from Jay-Z's later work".[20] "Can't Knock the Hustle" features a smooth beat.[21] "Politics as Usual" has an R&B sound and a sample of "Hurry Up This Way Again" by The Stylistics.[21] "Dead Presidents" samples Nas' voice from "The World Is Yours" in its chorus.[22] According to IGN's Spence D., "Ski brings back the stripped down piano fill style lending the track a late night jazz vibe" on "Feelin' It", and "22 Two's" has a "mournful jazz inclined groove" that prominently features string instruments.[21] "Coming of Age" contains a Clark Kent-produced beat that samples the melody and drums from "Inside You" by Eddie Henderson.[21]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[23]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[24]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[25]
IGN7.8/10[26]
Los Angeles Daily News[27]
MSN MusicA−[28]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[29]
The Source4/5[30]

After its release on June 25, 1996,[17] the album peaked at number 23 on the Billboard 200.[31] It spent 18 weeks on the chart, and 55 weeks on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, on which it reached number three.[32] By the end of 1996, it had sold 420,000 copies in the United States.[17] On February 7, 2002, Reasonable Doubt was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of one million copies in the US.[1]

Four singles—"Dead Presidents", "Ain't No Nigga", "Can't Knock the Hustle" and "Feelin' It"—were released in promotion of Reasonable Doubt. "Dead Presidents" is the only single that did not chart, though it was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.[1] The second single, "Ain't No Nigga", featuring Foxy Brown, was the most commercially successful single, reaching #50 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales.[33] "Can't Knock the Hustle", the third single, features guest vocals by Mary J. Blige and reached #73 on the Billboard Hot 100 making it the second most successful single on the album,[33] and #30 on the UK Singles Chart making it the most successful single in the United Kingdom.[34] The fourth and final single was "Feelin' It", which reached #79 on the Billboard Hot 100.[33]

Reasonable Doubt was well received by critics. Allmusic's Steve Huey noted that its lyrical appeal lies within Jay's "effortless, unaffected cool" flow, "disarming honesty", and his knack for "writing some of the most acrobatic rhymes heard in quite some time".[19] Huey writes that this lyrical depth "helps Reasonable Doubt rank as one of the finest albums of New York's hip-hop renaissance of the '90s".[19] Fellow Allmusic writer Jason Birchmeier claims that Jay-Z's lyrics are "candidly professional, but it's the producers more so than Jay-Z himself that make this album so untouchable".[20] Birchmeier remarks that the album "boasts an amazing roster of producers", and Steve Juon agrees describing Ski, Clark Kent and DJ Premier as "the best beatmakers in rap".[13] In a retrospective review for MSN Music, Robert Christgau wrote, "Designed for the hip-hop cognoscenti and street aesthetes who still swear he never topped it, his self-financed debut album is richer than any outsider could have known, and benefits from everything we've since learned about the minor crack baron who put his money where his mouth was. You can hear him marshalling a discipline known to few rappers and many crack barons, and that asceticism undercuts the intrinsic delight of his rhymes".[28]

In 1998, Reasonable Doubt was listed one of The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums.[6] It has since ranked on top of albums lists by Rolling Stone (2003's "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time",[8] Blender (2003's "500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die"),[7] Vibe (2004's "51 Albums Representing a Generation, a Sound and a Movement"),[7] and Hip Hop Connection (2006's "The 100 Greatest Rap Albums 1995-2005").[7]

Publication Country Accolade[7] Year Rank
About.com United States 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums[35] 2008 14
Best Rap Albums of 1996[36] 2008 2
10 Essential Hip-Hop Albums[37] 2008 5
Blender 500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die 2003 *
Tom Moon 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die 2008 *
MTV.com The Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time[38] 2005 6
Rhapsody The A's, B's and Kilos of Coke Rap[39] 2010 *
Rolling Stone The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 2003 248
100 Best Albums of the Nineties[40] 2011 17
The Source The 100 Best Rap Albums of All Time 1998 *
Vibe The Greatest 50 Albums Since '93[41] 2013 18
150 Albums That Define the Vibe Era (1992–2007) 2007 *
51 Albums representing a Generation, a Sound and a Movement 2004 *
Hip-Hop Connection United Kingdom The 100 Greatest Rap Albums 1995-2005 2005 13
New Nation Top 100 Albums by Black Artists 2007 13
(*) designates lists that are unordered.

Legacy and influence

Reasonable Doubt is often "considered one of hip-hop's landmark albums", according to Pitchfork Media's Ryan Schreiber.[42] It is compared to The Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready to Die and Nas' Illmatic as a classic hip hop album.[19][43][44] The album's success helped popularize Mafioso rap and its associated imagery of high class and expensive lifestyles, including drinking Cristal, driving Lexus automobiles, and living out the plots of films such as Scarface and Carlito's Way.[16] This in turn displaced gangsta rap as the dominant style of hip hop at the time.[16] Stylus Magazine writer Evan McGarvey claims that hustler rap group The Clipse try emulating Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt sound on their 2006 song "We Got It for Cheap".[45]

Despite being the lowest charting Jay-Z album,[31] it is also often considered by many fans to be his best record.[4] Carter himself lists it as number one on a list of his albums from best to worst.[46] It differs from his future albums in its lack of "pop-crossover" songs and chart topping hits.[4] Shaheem Reid of MTV explains, "Reasonable Doubt might not have the radio hits or club bangers of many of his other albums, but it may be Jay at his most lyrical—and certainly at his most honest, according to him".[12] Jay-Z has said that recreating Reasonable Doubt would be challenging, as he was living a different lifestyle with a completely different state of mind when he wrote the album.[12][22][42] Ian Cohen of Stylus Magazine writes of its significance in context of Jay-Z's catalogue, "Reasonable Doubt was the come-up, The Blueprint was the comeback, and The Black Album may not have found him at his strongest lyrically, but it gained gravitas from meta-awareness and introspection".[47]

In 2006, Jay-Z performed the songs from Reasonable Doubt at the Radio City Music Hall to celebrate its tenth anniversary. The concert's band included The Roots' drummer Questlove, the Illadelphonics, a 50-piece orchestra dubbed The Hustla's Symphony and Just Blaze, the performance's disc jockey.[12] On "Can't Knock the Hustle", Beyoncé Knowles replaced Mary J. Blige, who was preparing for her Breakthrough Tour at the time.[12] Jay-Z rapped The Notorious B.I.G.'s verses on "Brooklyn's Finest", and Jaz-O's verse was left out of "Bring It On".[12] Jay-Z added a verse to "22 Two's" in which he says variations of the words "for/four" 44 times over the beat of "Can I Kick It?" by A Tribe Called Quest.[12] Other alterations include Jay-Z changing a lyrical mention of Cristal to Dom Pérignon and Jay-Z's band "spruc[ing] up tracks like 'Regrets' to add more energy".[12] Celebrities such as Alicia Keys, Young Jeezy, Jadakiss, Chris Tucker, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony attended the concert.[12] 3,000 tickets were put on sale; all were sold within two minutes according to Roc-A-Fella Records' website.[48]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s)Producer Length
1. "Can't Knock the Hustle" (featuring Mary J. Blige)Shawn Carter, Lesette Wilson, Meli'sa Morgan, Marcus Miller, Jerome FosterKnobody, Dahoud Darien, Sean Cane 5:17
2. "Politics as Usual"  Carter, David Willis, Cynthia BiggsSki 3:41
3. "Brooklyn's Finest" (featuring The Notorious B.I.G.)Carter, Christopher Wallace, Rodolfo Franklin, Leroy Bonner, Greg WebsterDJ Clark Kent 4:36
4. "Dead Presidents II"  Carter, Lonnie Liston Smith, WillisSki 4:27
5. "Feelin' It"  Carter, WillisSki 3:48
6. "D'Evils"  Carter, Christopher MartinDJ Premier 3:31
7. "22 Two's"  Carter, WillisSki 3:29
8. "Can I Live"  Carter, Irving Lorenzo, Jr., Burt Bacharach, Hal DavidIrv Gotti 4:10
9. "Ain't No Nigga" (featuring Foxy Brown)Carter, Inga Marchand, Jonathan Burks, Dennis Lambert, Brian PotterJaz-O 4:03
10. "Friend or Foe"  Carter, MartinDJ Premier 1:49
11. "Coming of Age" (featuring Memphis Bleek)Carter, Franklin, James MtumeDJ Clark Kent 3:59
12. "Cashmere Thoughts"  Carter, Franklin, Hamilton Bohannon, Leroy Emmanuel, Melvin RaginDJ Clark Kent 2:56
13. "Bring It On" (featuring Sauce Money & Jaz-O)Carter, Martin, Burks, Todd GaitherDJ Premier 5:01
14. "Regrets"  Carter, Patty F. Di PasqualePeter Panic 4:34
Total length:
 55:32
Notes
Sample credits

Personnel

  • Jay-Z - performer, executive producer
  • Damon Dash - producer, executive producer
  • Kareem "Biggs" Burke - executive producer
  • Big Jaz - producer, performer, mixing
  • Memphis Bleek – performer
  • Notorious B.I.G. – performer
  • Sauce Money - performer
  • Mary J. Blige - vocals
  • Foxy Brown – performer
  • Mecca – vocals
  • Ski - producer, mixing
  • DJ Premier - producer, mixing
  • Clark Kent - producer, mixing
  • DJ Irv - producer, mixing
  • Sean Cane - producer
  • Dahoud - producer
  • DJ Peter Panic - producer, mixing
  • Kenny Ortíz - engineer, mixing
  • Joe Quinde - engineer, mixing
  • Eddie S. - engineer, mixing
  • Carlos Bess - mixing
  • Adrien Vargas - art direction, design
  • Cey Adams - artwork
  • Jonathan Mannion - photography

Charts

Chart (1996)[31] Peak
position
US Billboard 200 23
US Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums 3

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
United Kingdom (BPI)[49] Silver 60,000
United States (RIAA)[50] Platinum 1,000,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "RIAA Platinum and Gold Searchable Database". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 22, 2007.
  2. ↑ Trust, Gary (2009-08-07). "Ask Billboard: Steve Vai, Jay-Z, Radiohead". Billboard. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
  3. ↑ Lewis, Miles (2006-11-27). "Hova's Slight Return". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
  4. 1 2 3 Birchmeier, Jason. "Jay-Z Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved July 22, 2007.
  5. ↑ Thompson, Bonsu (2006-06-23). "Jay-Z: Cocaina". XXL Magazine. Retrieved 2007-06-22.
  6. 1 2 "100 Best Rap Albums". The Source. January 1998. Retrieved 2007-06-21.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Acclaimed Music: Jay-Z". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved July 21, 2007.
  8. 1 2 3 "500 Greatest Albums of All Time: #248 (Reasonable Doubt)". Rolling Stone. 2003-11-01. Archived from the original on 2012-07-28. Retrieved 2007-06-21.
  9. ↑ Smits, Jimmy (July 22, 2012). "500 Greatest Albums of all time Revised list". Listology. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Driven: About the Episode". VH1. Retrieved July 19, 2007.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Hunter, Asondra. "Rockin' On A Roc-A-Fella at Yahoo! Music". Music.Yahoo.com. Archived from the original on June 9, 2007. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Reid, Shaheem. "Jay-Z Rolls Out Classics, Big Surprises At Reasonable Doubt 10th Anniversary Show". VH1. Retrieved July 21, 2007.
  13. 1 2 Juon, Steve (2001-12-12). "Reasonable Doubt Review". RapReviews.com. Retrieved 2007-06-22.
  14. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1996). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice (New York). Archived from the original on February 11, 2010. Retrieved 2012-06-16.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Making of Reasonable Doubt Told U So". XXL Magazine. 2006-06-23. Retrieved 2007-06-20.
  16. 1 2 3 "Hip-hop Generations: Defining Albums - A&E". The Clarion. 2007-04-11. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2007-06-23.
  17. 1 2 3 "Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt By the Numbers". XXL (Harris Publications). June 25, 2011. Retrieved 2012-06-16.
  18. ↑ Drake, David (2004-04-28). "RBG (Revolutionary But Gangsta) Review". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 Huey, Steve. "Reasonable Doubt Review". Allmusic. Retrieved July 20, 2007.
  20. 1 2 Birchmeier, Jason. "Reasonable Doubt (Clean) Review". Allmusic. Retrieved July 21, 2007.
  21. 1 2 3 4 Spence D. (2003-11-10). "Reasonable Doubt Review". IGN.com. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
  22. 1 2 3 Hatfield, Quinton (2007-01-07). "Roc-A-Biz: Ski Beatz". HNNLive.com. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2007-06-23.
  23. ↑ Huey, Steve. Review: Reasonable Doubt. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2009-09-06.
  24. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. p. 381. ISBN 0857125958.
  25. ↑ Ehrlich, Dimitri. Review: Reasonable Doubt. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2009-09-06.
  26. ↑ D., Spence. Review: Reasonable Doubt. IGN. Retrieved on 2009-09-06.
  27. ↑ Pendleton, Tonya. "Review: Reasonable Doubt". Los Angeles Daily News: July 26, 1996.
  28. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (September 9, 2011). "Jay-Z". MSN Music. Microsoft. Retrieved 2011-09-15.
  29. ↑ The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (November 2, 2004). Jay-Z: Album Guide | Rolling Stone Music. Rolling Stone. Fireside. Retrieved on 2011-05-02.
  30. ↑ The Source (New York): 95. August 1996.
  31. 1 2 3 "Jay-Z: Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved July 22, 2007.
  32. ↑ "Reasonable Doubt - Jay-Z". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2012-06-16.
  33. 1 2 3 "Jay-Z: Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved July 20, 2007.
  34. ↑ "UK Top 40 Hit Database: Jay-Z Singles". EveryHit.com. Retrieved July 20, 2007.
  35. ↑ Adaso, Henry. About.com's 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums. About.com. Retrieved on 2010-03-04.
  36. ↑ Adaso, Henry. About.com's 90 Best Rap Albums of the 90s. About.com Retrieved on 2010-03-04.
  37. ↑ Adaso, Henry. 10 Essential Hip-Hop Albums. About.com. Retrieved 2010-09-02.
  38. ↑ Columnist. MTV's Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time. mtv.com. Retrieved on 2010-03-04.
  39. ↑ Mosi, Reeves. The As, Bs and Kilos of Coke Rap. Rhapsody. Retrieved 2010-08-05.
  40. ↑ 100 Best Albums of the Nineties. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
  41. ↑ The Greatest 50 Albums Since '93. Vibe. Retrieved 2013-04-18.
  42. 1 2 "The Black Album Review". Pitchfork Media. 2003-11-17. Archived from the original on 2007-05-28. Retrieved 2007-06-23.
  43. ↑ McGarvey, Evan (2007-05-10). "Da Drought 3 Review". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
  44. ↑ Breihan, Tom (2006-06-26). "Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt Anniversary Show at Radio City: Really That Good". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
  45. ↑ McGarvey, Evan (2006-11-27). "Hell Hath No Fury Review". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
  46. ↑ http://lifeandtimes.com/the-scoreboard
  47. ↑ Cohen, Ian (2006-11-22). "Kingdom Come Review". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
  48. ↑ Humphreys, Quanah (2006-06-13). "Jay-Z to Play Reasonable Doubt Anniversary Gig". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on March 8, 2008. Retrieved 2007-06-22.
  49. ↑ "British album certifications – JAY Z – Reasonable Doubt". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Reasonable Doubt in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
  50. ↑ "American album certifications – JAY Z – Reasonable Doubt". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH

External links

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