When it comes to the greatest albums in rap, Jay Z is guaranteed to get a mention.
With his 2003 masterpiece, The Black Album, being his best LP, right?
Wrong. And that’s coming direct from Mr. Shaun ‘No more hyphen, please’ Carter himself.
That’s right, Jay Z’s best and worst albums have been ranked, according to the gospel of HOVA himself, who yesterday celebrated his 44th birthday by announcing he and Mrs. Beyoncé Knowles are embarking on a 22 day trial to become vegan (yes, really).
In the added spirit of growing a year older and a year wiser, the rap mogul has cast an eye back over his 12-record strong discography on his personal Life + Times blog, as Consequence Of Sound points out.
He may be one of the highest earning musicians and most streamed artists of the year, but Jay Z isn’t above viewing his own oeuvre with a little humorous self-criticism.
For instance, he wholeheartedly shares the view of the many fans that view his 2006 ‘comeback’, Kingdom Come, as a stinker, bottoming out on his list, with the cheeky footnote “first game back, don’t shoot me.”
It’s 2007 follow-up, American Gangster, the quasi-soundtrack to the film of the same name, fares better at #5 on Hov’s rankings for its cohesion. Meanwhile, Jay Z’s latest – the Nirvana-referencing, record charts game-changing Magna Carta Holy Grail falls in line just behind at #6.
As for The Blueprint III, the polarising final entry in Jay Z’s ongoing series, “Sorry critics, it’s good,” says the 44-year-old, thanks chiefly to the success of the Alica Keys-busting single, ‘Empire State of Mind’, which “gave Frank [Sinatra] a run for his money,” adds Mr Z cheekily. (No harm done for the Herald Sun, who named BPIII as the one Jay Z album you need to have in your music collection.)
But Jay Z’s finest hour in his own mind? He regards his first work as still being his best 17 years on, with his debut album Reasonable Doubt topping the list. Though it’s regarded as one of four classics by Jay Z in his body of work, along with The Blueprint, the aforementioned Black Album, and Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life (placed at #2, #3, and #4 respectively).
He might have 99 Problems, but a fresh sense of perspective isn’t one of them.
Read the full wit and wisdom of Jay Z’s ‘Scoreboard‘, complete with his footnotes, below.
1. Reasonable Doubt (Classic)
2. The Blueprint (Classic)
3. The Black Album (Classic)
4. Vol. 2 (Classic)
5. American Gangster (4 1/2, cohesive)
6. Magna Carta (Fuckwit, Tom Ford, Oceans, Beach, On the Run, Grail)
7. Vol. 1 (Sunshine kills this album…fuck… Streets, Where I’m from, You Must Love Me…)
8. BP3 (Sorry critics, it’s good. Empire (Gave Frank a run for his money))
9. Dynasty (Intro alone…)
10. Vol. 3 (Pimp C verse alone… oh, So Ghetto)
11. BP2 (Too many songs. Fucking Guru and Hip Hop, ha)
12. Kingdom Come (First game back, don’t shoot me)
