They just don’t make them like this anymore. Reasonable Doubt is the well-known Jay-Z’s first album, and definitely gave the west coast a run for its money. But this period was already host to many other fine artists with stellar albums such as Nas and Illmatic and the Notorious BIG with Life after Death. Maybe it was due to this that Reasonable Doubt doesn’t get its just dues. From the lyricism, to the distinct east-coast production, the street soliloquies to the thought-provoking perspectives, this album has classic material written all over it. This album has little or no filler, meaning you never need to reach for the fast forward button, for every track is uniquely lyrical

This album seemed reminiscent of Illmatic, as Jay-Z was influenced by the legend (with whom he’d later have a beef with for the hip hop history books) – and he even samples Nas on Dead Presidents. Both albums were dropped by New York hustlers with brutally honest street experiences with enough quotables and clever wordplay to write a novel. Unlike Nas though, Jay-Z hosted many a famous rapper/singers like the late Notorious BIG, Foxy Brown, Mary J Blige, Memphis Bleek, and many more. Noticeably, there were NO flaws I could find after listening to it a million times over; this album is almost as close as perfect as it will get in hip hop history. If you can find this album (Reissue version), definitely pick it up, and I guarantee you won’t be sorry.

For first time listeners, this album is almost like a “gateway” album: once you start listening to it, you’ll discover a whole new level of rap, and want as many albums like this as you can find. Unfortunately for us, Jay-Z never does drop another album of this calibre in his career. As he himself admits: “I dumbed down my lyrics to double my dollars.” My favourite songs would have to be Dead Presidents, Coming of Age, Bring it On, and 22 Two’s.

Written By: AJ47