Jigga held you down six summers; damn, where’s the love? – Jay-Z’s Heart Of The City off 2001’s The Blueprint Album
By the time hip hop fans heard those lyrics Jay-Z had literally dropped a new album for 6 straight years. Jay-Z also dropped 8 straight years in a row before taking a three year break after 2003’s The Black Album. Of course the artist formerly known as Sean Carter would record again after a short lived retirement. So, when looking at Jay-Z’s career of albums from his debut Reasonable Doubt (1996) through Magna Carta Holy Grail (2013), is this Hip Hop’s GREATEST Discography? You can view his discography below.
MY VERDICT – I would say that Jay-Z has one of the Top 5 Discographies in Rap History, maybe Top 3.
Solo studio albums
· Reasonable Doubt (1996) · In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 (1997) · Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life (1998) · Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter (1999) · The Dynasty: Roc La Familia (2000) · The Blueprint (2001) · The Blueprint2: The Gift & The Curse (2002) · The Black Album (2003) · Kingdom Come (2006) · American Gangster (2007) · The Blueprint 3 (2009) · Magna Carta Holy Grail (2013)
Collaborative albums
· The Best of Both Worlds (with R. Kelly) (2002) · Unfinished Business (with R. Kelly) (2004) · Collision Course (with Linkin Park) (2004) · Watch the Throne (with Kanye West) (2011) As an artist, the work ethic can’t be denied. ***
T-Hanes
Yep, can't deny the work. He possibly has 3-4 classic albums. There is a short list of MC's that you can even debate their albums vs Jiggas.
Jay continues to do great things in the Game! I agree that he has another great album in him and i dont thnk anyone has a better discography! His last album may be the one that I liked the least and many people loved that album.
I also believe he has one more great album in him...We see. Thanks for comment bro...
I agree. He is no less than Top 3 all time for me in terms of Albums.. You can't deny his legacy. For many, it's cool to diss Jay. If he died many would call him the greatest.
I'm probably somewhat biased being he is my favorite artist, so with that said they're very few that can put up work on the level he put it up and for the duration. 21 years of mostly classic joints as well as trend setting music. Just looking at duration I'm only seeing LL, Outcast, Common, and Nas that have consistently put out music worth mentioning and sometimes LL wouldn't be in there. Em has had a helluva run as well. As far as material, I'm hard pressed to mention anyone that's done it at his level. Even his weakest stuff was better than 99% of what was out at the time. It's like. MJ being helped off the court in game 5, even at what appeared to be his weakest he still dropped 38 and won the game for his team. Jay is the same way