Blog 18

As I'm sitting here and listening to "Reasonable Doubt", I'm not sure there is a more perfectly constructed hip hop album. This is not to knock my other favorites like "Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" or "Aquemini" but RD epitomizes such a feeling and emotion that the other albums just can't reach. The tension and paranoia is palpable throughout from the first track all the way to "Regrets". It's as if Jay Z left his street life or the life he had lived prior to becoming a rapper on a Wednesday, and all his emotions come pouring out on a Thursday. It's genuinely fresh and raw, very much a therapy session to a beat. The highs and lows of criminal life and success are prevalant. "Brooklny's Finest" is any classic day at a lunch room, with two friends battling over a nice beat. "Politics as Usual" is a bitter track warning of the perils of street negotiations. "Can I Live" is a plea to simply leave him alone. "Friend or Foe" is my favorite track. It's only 1:30 minutes long but is the ultimate track of arrogance as you can almost imagine his enemy withering in his presence and at his verbose. When I listen to this album, its puts you in such a mood that shows the highs and lows of life and how to make it.