So like I was saying, the other day I had this conversation with Simone White and she asked me which Jay-Z album would I recommend her buying. She appreciates Jay-Z’s talent, which is basically undeniable, yet Simone has never purchased a Jay-Z album, due to, shall we say, the uneven quality of his output. And you know what? I had to admit that she was right. I couldn’t think of a single Jay-Z album that I could recommend in its entirety.

In general, with a Jay-Z album, you can count on two or three high quality songs: tight lyrics throughout, no filler, innovative production. Beyond that, well… you get what you get.

“But the real sh!t you get when you bust down my lines. Add that to the fact I went plat’ a bunch of times. Times that by my influence on pop culture, I’m supposed to be number one on everybody’s list. We’ll see what happens when I no longer exist.”

To be continued…