His battle for New York supremacy against Nas required him to be egotistical and cocksure. The optics of a proudly alternative band like the Roots collaborating with a shiny suit-era survivor like Jay-Z was already weird without it happening in 2001, when Hov was knee-deep in feuds. The bonus tracks have gems, too: Anti-war, вЂњblack Brad PittвЂќ meets bhangra on the remix to Panjabi MCвЂ™s вЂњBeware of the Boys,вЂќ and atop the NeptunesвЂ™ doomsday bounce on вЂњLa-La-La (Excuse Me Miss Again),вЂќ Jay-Z defiantly references the stabbing of Lance вЂњUnвЂќ Rivera (вЂњIвЂ™ll never make the news again, my manвЂ™ll shoot yaвЂќ) and makes a rude threat at then-Suns star Stephon MarburyвЂ™s expense. Even more tragically, The Blueprint 2вЂ™s misses do overshadow some of the finest work of Jay-ZвЂ™s career the father-son tragedy of вЂњMeet the ParentsвЂќ should never be as much of a deep cut as it is. The re-release couldnвЂ™t do much to salvage the pandering Biggie references and the haphazard rock fusions. But cutting fat can only do so much with an album that was mainly fat. If the sequelвЂ™s fatal flaw was its bloat, 2.1 -В a condensed version with new bonus cuts - shouldвЂ™ve been the obvious corrective. Years later, Young Guru would refer to what became The Blueprint 2 as a вЂњmistake.вЂќ If Jay wanted to be held in the same regard, the logic said he needed that overlong masterwork in his discography. And at the very least, Collision Course aged far better than Jay-ZвЂ™s other big name team-up.ДЄs the story goes, Jay-ZвЂ™s longtime engineer Young Guru talked Hov into doing a double album because the format was the linchpin to 2Pac and BiggieвЂ™s legacies. The set topped the Billboard 200, and while hip-hop purists wept to вЂњEncore,вЂќ it was вЂњNumb/EncoreвЂќ that dominated MTV video blocks. Its main issue here is just as obvious: Most of the songs are already near-perfect on their own вЂњIzzo (H.O.V.A.)вЂќ does not sound better with вЂњIn the EndвЂќ or vice versa.Д«ut Collision Course objectively worked on a commercial level. The obvious example is Collision Course, a mash-up mini-album that saw an artist leaving the game on top teaming up with a nu-metal group already starting to nearВ the end of their prime. interpolation from Murmur mightвЂ™ve been more interesting).

Carter Collection - which is still on DatPiff - take a look at the projects outside the big 13 thatвЂ™s landed on Spotify below.Д®xempting вЂњ99 Problems,вЂќ a majority of JAY-ZвЂ™s dalliances with rock are underlined by awkwardness, whether from silly public perception (Is it that surprising he likes Grizzly Bear?) or his own clumsiness (an R.E.M. What about that time he linked up with the Roots? Or that other time he toured seven cities in a day when he just came out of retirement? But even Jay-ZвЂ™s own listing, like most others, didnвЂ™t include the non-studio album projects. While understandable, thereвЂ™s also always been an excuse to have these sorts of debates, whether itвЂ™s a birthday, an albumвЂ™s 12th anniversary, or if Hov himself offered a ranking of his own work. The re-introduction of HovвЂ™s has reignited debates over the ranking of Jay-ZвЂ™s discography, which album is his most underrated, and if much-maligned вЂ™97 sophomore LP Vol.

Jay-Z's Catalog Returns to Spotify on His 50th Birthday

Jay z albums not on spotify