I feel like the argument people were making last night was a bit off-base and gave too much credit to mainstream mediums like MTV and rap publications. 1 Mom pendants, he was talking about pushing weight and spending the re-up on Cristal. Jay wasn’t rapping about sticking pregnant mothers up and taking No. My uncle and his friends played that album constantly because they related to it. I remember being 13 years old in 1996 and hearing Reasonable Doubt all over North Jersey, where I grew up. However, and more importantly, the streets did fuck with him, and so did Biggie. In terms of mainstream success and recognition, Jay didn’t really pop until Vol. In an attempt to settle this debate once and for all, Alex Gale and Angel Diaz have agreed to polite discourse on the subject.Īngel: I do and don’t get what Future and others are saying about Reasonable Doubt in the grand scheme of things. You have to go back and listen to Reasonable Doubt and this the best shit ever." When I Ruled The World came out, it was the best then. When Nas dropped his first album, it was great then. They always go back for your classic album. The 33 year old continued, "I’m saying at that time. During a conversation with LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Steve Stoute, he said, "Jay Z wasn’t great when 2pac and Biggie was alive. On Wednesday, it began all over again after Atlanta MC Future came out as Reasonable Doubt truther. This is not a new conversation in fact, it's a relatively well-trod debate in the hip-hop community. C'mon, you know it took years to get that acclaim. When Jay Z released his debut album, Reasonable Doubt, in 1996, it was hailed as an instant classic, a high-water mark for the genre and the announcement of the arrival of a genius talent.Ĭhill.