The Musik Lounge

I know, I know I've been off an on with these Jay features but I only got two left and I'm determined to knock 'em out! Of course The Black Album didn't end up being Jay's parting shot to the game and form the looks of things we might be many years and several more albums away from Shawn Carters departure from the mic. With Kingdom Come Jay-Z proved once and for all that his talk of laying down the mic was just that, talk. But was it bad? Most took it as less than top form Jay that we all expected from his return effort but time is a funny thing and listening today it stands in his discography as a different record. From less street talk to an elevated level of reflection and introspection this is grown man rap for the older heads to vibe with – but even if you are in your twenties, or teens for that matter, you should be able to find songs here to rock with. While Hov has always blessed us with impressive rhymes if you listen throughout the album you will be trea...

Jay-Z has done it all. While Biggie may have told the ultimate rags to riches story (what up Pomz?) , Shawn Corey Carter has lived it. From record sales, to sold out concerts… As the Dynasty began to crumble leave it to the man who built it to come through with one final (we all knew it was a joke) farewell. It was a great idea, and he gave us a great album that would have served him well in the annals of rap if it had in fact been the last. But it wasn’t and those most recent two are up next, right now it’s time to ask where does The Black Album stand next to the rest? As with any Jay-Z album this has it’s flaws, but they are minimal. DJ Quik contributes a weak track that should have been scrapped when the sample they had intended to use was denied (Why Madonna, why?) and the still unknown Buchannans lace a ridiculous track in “What More Can I Say” but even in all it’s glory it doesn’t do the rhymes Hov delivers justice, and that is a crime. There's never been a nigga this good f...

If my Jay-Z series hasn’t given you any indication, I’m a Roc-A-Fella fan. Yes, part of this is because of my memories associated with their reign at the top (when do you think the dynasty ended? After the split with Dame? Or was it the signing of Cam’Ron and Dipset’s arrival?) but it’s hard to deny the amount of great music they dropped . Memphis Bleek was always the rapper that should of done better from the Roc being Jay’s boy since day one. He lacked the charisma to charm the world, but the same skills that impressed Jay proved to be enough for some to ride with Memphis. I won’t claim he is on the same level as his benefactor, but Bleek has a smooth flow and can spit rhymes about smoking weed, chilling on the streets with his boys and impressing the ladies – this really is the formula for any one of his albums, along with some of the hottest beats from the streets of NY, the area his solo’s falter at times. While he won’t ever have to worry about being broke again (“Bleek can be ...

A friend had asked me to get her the The Black Album and it’s companion The White Album so she would have some Jay-Z in her collection. I’m gonna make her learn a bit more than she may want to, but before the end of the year you’ll have those two requests miss Caroline! But before we get ahead of ourselves let’s make it clear from now until the two double 0 nine I’ll be delivering a Jay album on Wednesday’s – it’s Jay Day. Jay-Z has been around this game for a long time now. While he has become a household name, at one point he wasn’t even able to command interest from the big dog majors and had to deliver his debut through the lesser known Priority records. But Priority also let him and his partners Dame Dash and Kareem ‘Biggs’ Burke establish there own label. Roc-A-Fella Records and a dynasty was born. That dynasty that ruled the end of the 90s and the beginning of this decade began with one record, a record that was suppose to be the only one from one Shawn Carter. But you all kno...