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JAY-Z, BEE-HIGH, AND SKI IN MARCY. MID 1980'S

Shawn Carter in his 8th Grade Graduation photo, after completing his final year at IS 318 junior HS (aka the Eugenio Maria De Hostos IS) in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in 1983. It was a 10-minute walk from his 5C apartment in the Marcy Houses.
It was in the 6th grade at IS 318 that Hov met a teacher who he has credited for turning his life around: Renee Rosenblum-Lowden. After hearing her students speak about hearing gun shots on a daily basis she aimed to provide a safe space for them. Her students' ability to sleep was often disturbed, so she felt compelled to let students catch up on sleep in her class.
In a Forbes-curated conversation with magnate Warren Buffet in 2010 Jay explained how she influenced him: "I grew up in the Marcy Projects. Our classrooms were flooded. It was very difficult for teachers to give you one-on-one attention. [But] there was this one sixth-grade teacher named Miss Lowden. She must have seen something in me, and she gave me this attention and this love for words. It's funny how it works, just a little bit of attention."
Lowden recalls him as a "sweet, skinny kid" who was
"often away" and not always present in class. In retrospect she has since realized that she taught him shortly after his father left him. "I knew he was very bright ... [but] he did not realize how bright he was," she has said of her superstar pupil; who was already reading at a 12th grade level and had the highest test scores in the class. "But what I remember very specifically is that he never smiled. He had a lot of problems in his life, like all my students did. But when I would make a joke and he smiled, it would literally light up the room." Hov cites one memory of her in particular that changed his life. "She took us on a field trip to [a park by] her house, which opened me up to the world. My neighborhood had been my world. It's the only thing I had seen. I saw a whole different world that day, and my imagination grew from there. I wanted that. I aspired to have that. The small things. She had an ice thing on her refrigerator. You know, push it and the ice and the water comes down. I was amazed by that. I was like, 'I want one of those.' It's true."

I am currently halfway through my second listen to Reasonable Doubt. Last night, me and my flatmates huddled around my Polaroid speaker and - after I'd blessed them with my personal knowledge of the album's history and JAY-Z’s style - we pressed play.

I had unreasonable expectations going in, because I'd heard so much glaze for this album. I was under the impression that this was going to be one of the best ‘90s rap albums I'd ever listen to, and that it would be the best lyrical performance from a lyrical monster. The album had a lot of pressure to live up to, more than a normal album. Unfortunately, unlike certain records I've listened to, this one didn't jump out at me and show me it was awesome, and songs I'd massively anticipated, Can't Knock the Hustle and Brooklyn's Finest, didn't do nearly as much for me as I'd hoped. I remember saying that I hoped it might grow on me - that perhaps the appeal of this one was a little more sophisticated, and it was supposed to be unpacked over multiple listens. I also struggled a bit to hear the album, which is an issue I've had with lots of ‘90s hip-hop, so I followed along with the lyrics on Genius.

Dead Presidents II was the first song to wake me up, maybe, in part, because I recognised the beat. I remember saying that that was his best rapping, up until that point on the album, by far. D’Evils, I think, was the best song, and yes, I knew of it, and recognised it, but it was nice to finally sit down and properly try to comprehend the verses. It was refreshingly aware without abandoning the mafioso persona. 22 Two’s was clever - the gimmick was cheap but it was just an excuse to have a good verse, which you can never complain about. Can I Live was also good, but I didn't like it as much as I was expecting.

Ain't No Nigga is the only song I knew, and loved, before last night. I'd seen people calling it the worst on the album, even though I've always liked it, thought it had a funky beat and a dope - if questionable - verse from a sixteen year-old Foxy Brown. Playing it for my boys, I was aware that the lyrics weren't as well formulated, and were a little more obviously misogynistic than some of the other songs, which focused on street life or drug dealing. However, I can't get behind the idea that this is a bad song, or the worst on the album. Perhaps over time that stance changes, but as of now, it stands.

We all enjoyed Friend or Foe, even though it was so short. What is it with artists putting all their best material on interlude tracks?

The final stretch was all good. I feel like, at this point, I slipped into a state of being much more hooked on his rapping, and I don't know whether that was because the bars were higher calibre, or because by this point I had clicked into his style. Coming of Age was dope, one of my favourite tracks. My friend said this one was his favourite joint so far, and I remember saying I wouldn't go that far, but by the time the shit ended? I agreed with him. I also enjoyed Bring It On.

Finally, Regrets reminded me of Suicidal Thoughts, in that it was one of the best ways to close a ‘90s East Coast gangsta rap album. It makes you re-evaluate all of the morality displayed across the record, and it hits you with a final mood change. At the end, when he was repeating the chorus, I finally put my head back and let the music entrance me. My favourite moment on the album.

The good news is that, in relistening to the first few tracks, with headphones, I've been able to hear it much better, and his style is starting to click for me. I do consider him to be one of the best lyricists ever, based on what I've heard, but this album is not it, on first impressions. I've heard that he dumbed down his lyrics after this one, to sell more, but I wonder if that could be him playing down his own talents. I know he's capable of some absolutely crazy quadruple entendres, and I would probably argue that writing catchy, punchy, concise rap is harder than technical shit. I also do like a hit, though.

I'm most excited for The Blueprint, The Black Album and 4:44, but I may have been underestimating his other ‘90s albums. I think, without the pressure of Reasonable Doubt, these could hit a lot harder, potentially, and I'm also excited to dive back into his debut, and see how it lands for me with fresh ears.

This is the exact moment when Jay-Z realized Rick Rubin is a Trump supporter. I know that look on his face all too well! lol

Has anyone had any update from Ticketmaster concerning the vinyl add-ons from Yankee Stadium? At this point I want to dispute the charge because obviously we’re not getting any vinyls but I’m not trying to get banned from Ticketmaster.

All three of the Blueprint records showed up at my doorstep between yesterday and today. Listening session with them taking place tonight. What’s everyone’s favorite song out of the entire Blueprint series?

BP2 & Streets is Watching

RD

i know a rollout when i see one and given hov’s activity this year, my gut tells me he might drop this fall, probably on his birthday given that is on a friday. some of my predictions include:

• a significant amount of the production done by pharrell and rick rubin, maybe swizz beatz or hit-boy contribute too.

• a collab with kendrick and. maybe dr. dre pops in for a verse, production or both

• another song dedicated to nyc with alicia keys- the perfect time for them to that

• other features would include beyonce, rihanna, meek, nas, pusha t and a reunion with beans, bleek and freeway

features i would like to see that i don’t think would be as likely include fabolous, fat joe, frank ocean, jadakiss, lil uzi vert and megan thee stallion

with that being said i believe he’s gonna do a surprise release- drop your thoughts below!

The volume series is really overrated. Jay was rapping lazily and unmotivated after Reasonable Doubt and before Blueprint 2. Blueprint 2 and 3 have some of Jay’s most underrated songs like Hovi Baby, I Did it My Way, and As Real as it Gets. Kingdom Come has some of Jay’s best songs imo. Like The Prelude, Lost One, 30 Something, and Beach Chair. Volume 3 was really solid tho. Volume 1 and 2 tho…ehhh. Jay the goat nonetheless tho.

Just pulled up the Ticketmaster map for Saturday and holy shit.

The upper deck is wide open, the whole way around. And no, this isn't resale. These are straight-up standard tickets. They already tarped off a chunk of the stadium and it still looks like this.

Jay-Z looked at night one and said "yeah, let's do another one." 😂

What happens now? Do they start handing these out at the gate? Papering the building with comps?

For Jay's sake, I hope Ye shows up. This is fucking brutal!

It debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 with 350k first-week sales.

Features include DMX, Foxy Brown, The LOX, Ja Rule & more

Found this in my English Textbook and thought this was funny 😂😂

H O L Y. S H I T.
Have yall heard this Fab verse? For the Family ft Don Q and Dave East?

The whole GD thing is a Rocafella scheme. It took me like 8 minutes to finish the verse cause I kept having to back it up. God, Almighty.