Jay-Z
On The Life and Times of S. Carter, Jay-Z's century-closing guaranteed-platinum album, he compares his hit-making prowess to that of Michael Jackson--the unspoken difference being that Jigga appears to be far from wearing out his commercial welcome. For good reason, too; not only is the Roc-A-Fella king maker one prolific rapper and writer, his output is of high enough quality to keep heads ringin'. While there's no single classic on the order of "Hard Knock Life" here, collaborations with Dr. Dre (the truly defiant "Watch Me"), Juvenile ("Snoopy Track"), and UGK ("Big Pimpin'") argue well for Jay-Z's continued vitality. Further proof may lie in the fact that, faced with mass bootlegging weeks before the CD's release, the Z-man added several tracks, effectively revising it at the last minute. --Rickey Wright
1999-12-28 - Roc-a-Fella
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