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After the death of friend and compatriot the Notorious B.I.G. in early 1997, Jay-Z made his claim for the title of best rapper on the East Coast (or anywhere) with his sophomore shot, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1. Though the productions are just a bit flashier and more commercial than on his debut, Jay-Z remained the tough street rapper, and even improved a bit on his flow, already one of the best in the world of hip-hop. Still showing his roots in the Marcy projects (he's surrounded by a group of kids in a picture on the back cover), Jay-Z struts the line between project poet and up-and-coming player, and manages to have it both ways. He slings some of the most cutting rhymes heard in hip-hop, brushing off a legion of rappers riding his coattails on "Imaginary Player." For "Streets Is Watching," high-tension background strings and vocal samples from the gangster film Sleeper emphasize the pitfalls of a rapper everyone's gunning for ("If I shoot you, I'm brainless/But if you shoot me, then you famous"). The song leads right into "Friend or Foe '98," the sequel to a track from Reasonable Doubt that only increases the sense of paranoia. But Jay-Z plays the ghetto celebrity equally well, and continues his slick, Cristal-sipping image with "I Know What Girls Like" (featuring Puff Daddy and Lil' Kim), "(Always Be My) Sunshine" (featuring Babyface and Foxy Brown), and "Lucky Me." Puff Daddy's Bad Boy stable is responsible for almost half the productions, and though they often verge far into pop territory, Jay-Z usually rescues them from a complete crossover. (Ironically, the most commercial production is actually from Teddy Riley on "The City Is Mine," with an unfortunate interpolation of Glenn Frey's "You Belong to the City.") Having one of the toughest producers around (Premier) as well as one of the slickest (Puff Daddy) sometimes creates a disconnect between who Jay-Z really is and who he wants to become, but he balances both personas with the best rapping heard in the rap game since the deaths of 2Pac and Notorious B.I.G.
© John Bush /TiVo
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Jay-Z, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - DJ Premier, Producer, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1997 S. Carter Enterprises, LLC.
Chad Hugo, Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Kenneth Gamble, ComposerLyricist - Jack Tempchin, ComposerLyricist - Teddy Riley, Producer, Mixer, Recording Engineer, Unknown, Other, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Serban Ghenea, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - LEON HUFF, ComposerLyricist - Jay-Z, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Glenn Frey, ComposerLyricist - BLACKSTREET, FeaturedArtist - G. Meyers, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1997 S. Carter Enterprises, LLC.
Kimberly Jones, ComposerLyricist - David Spradley, ComposerLyricist - Gary Lee Cooper, ComposerLyricist - Chris Butler, ComposerLyricist - Ron Lawrence, Producer - Lil' Kim, FeaturedArtist - Moore, ComposerLyricist - Jay-Z, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - P. Diddy, Producer, FeaturedArtist, ComposerLyricist - Mike Patterson, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Ronald Anthony "Amen-ra" Lawrence, ComposerLyricist - William Daryl Stronman, ComposerLyricist - Roosevelt Sheriff, ComposerLyricist - Joseph E. Malloy, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1997 S. Carter Enterprises, LLC.
Rene Moore, ComposerLyricist - Jay-Z, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Commissioner Gordon, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - ANGELA WINBUSH, ComposerLyricist - Joe Quinde, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - H. Chainey, ComposerLyricist - Daven Paul Vanderpool, Producer, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1997 S. Carter Enterprises, LLC.
Shawn Carter, ComposerLyricist - David Willis, ComposerLyricist - Jay-Z, MainArtist - SKI, Producer - Labi Siffre, ComposerLyricist - Joe Quinde, Mixer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1997 S. Carter Enterprises, LLC.
Shawn Carter, ComposerLyricist - Chris E. Martin, ComposerLyricist - Jay-Z, MainArtist - DJ Premier, Producer - Ineffie Woods, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1997 S. Carter Enterprises, LLC.
Karen Anderson, ComposerLyricist - Jay-Z, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - BUCKWILD, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Steve A. Jordan, Producer, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1997 S. Carter Enterprises, LLC.
TERRY LEWIS, ComposerLyricist - Jay-Z, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Bobby Robinson, ComposerLyricist - Foxy Brown, FeaturedArtist - JAMES HARRIS, ComposerLyricist - Commissioner Gordon, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Babyface, FeaturedArtist - Darryll Le Roy Barksdale, ComposerLyricist - Daven Paul Vanderpool, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1997 S. Carter Enterprises, LLC.
Jay-Z, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - SKI, Producer - Joe Quinde, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - David Anthony Willis, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1997 S. Carter Enterprises, LLC.
Shawn Carter, ComposerLyricist - Jean Claude Olivier, ComposerLyricist - Samuel Barnes, ComposerLyricist - Todd Gaither, ComposerLyricist - Jay-Z, MainArtist - Rich Travali, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Sauce Money, Rap Vocalist, FeaturedArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Samuel J. "Tone" Barnes, Producer - Jean-Claude "Poke" Olivier, Producer - Odilien Dibango, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1997 S. Carter Enterprises, LLC.
Too Short, FeaturedArtist, ComposerLyricist - Anthony Dent, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Jay-Z, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Joe Quinde, Mixer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1997 S. Carter Enterprises, LLC.
André Benjamin, ComposerLyricist - Nasir Jones, ComposerLyricist - Leroy Bonner, ComposerLyricist - Marshall Jones, ComposerLyricist - Marvin Pierce, ComposerLyricist - Clarence Satchell, ComposerLyricist - Jonathan Burks, ComposerLyricist - William Beck, ComposerLyricist - Jay-Z, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - James Williams, ComposerLyricist - DJ Premier, ComposerLyricist - Organized Noize, ComposerLyricist - Joe Quinde, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Antoine Patton, ComposerLyricist - Big Jaz, Producer - Ralph Middelbrooks, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1997 S. Carter Enterprises, LLC.
Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Ron Lawrence, Producer - Jay-Z, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Lane Craven, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Norman Whitfield, ComposerLyricist - Ronald Anthony "Amen-ra" Lawrence, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1997 S. Carter Enterprises, LLC.
Jay-Z, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Kelly Price, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Ron Tyson, ComposerLyricist - Nashiem Sa Allah Myrick, ComposerLyricist - Walter "Bunny" Sigler, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1997 S. Carter Enterprises, LLC.
Albumbeschreibung
After the death of friend and compatriot the Notorious B.I.G. in early 1997, Jay-Z made his claim for the title of best rapper on the East Coast (or anywhere) with his sophomore shot, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1. Though the productions are just a bit flashier and more commercial than on his debut, Jay-Z remained the tough street rapper, and even improved a bit on his flow, already one of the best in the world of hip-hop. Still showing his roots in the Marcy projects (he's surrounded by a group of kids in a picture on the back cover), Jay-Z struts the line between project poet and up-and-coming player, and manages to have it both ways. He slings some of the most cutting rhymes heard in hip-hop, brushing off a legion of rappers riding his coattails on "Imaginary Player." For "Streets Is Watching," high-tension background strings and vocal samples from the gangster film Sleeper emphasize the pitfalls of a rapper everyone's gunning for ("If I shoot you, I'm brainless/But if you shoot me, then you famous"). The song leads right into "Friend or Foe '98," the sequel to a track from Reasonable Doubt that only increases the sense of paranoia. But Jay-Z plays the ghetto celebrity equally well, and continues his slick, Cristal-sipping image with "I Know What Girls Like" (featuring Puff Daddy and Lil' Kim), "(Always Be My) Sunshine" (featuring Babyface and Foxy Brown), and "Lucky Me." Puff Daddy's Bad Boy stable is responsible for almost half the productions, and though they often verge far into pop territory, Jay-Z usually rescues them from a complete crossover. (Ironically, the most commercial production is actually from Teddy Riley on "The City Is Mine," with an unfortunate interpolation of Glenn Frey's "You Belong to the City.") Having one of the toughest producers around (Premier) as well as one of the slickest (Puff Daddy) sometimes creates a disconnect between who Jay-Z really is and who he wants to become, but he balances both personas with the best rapping heard in the rap game since the deaths of 2Pac and Notorious B.I.G.
© John Bush /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 14 track(s)
- Total length: 00:57:59
- Main artists: Jay Z
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Roc Nation - Jay-Z
- Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
© 1997 S. Carter Enterprises, LLC. ℗ 1997 S. Carter Enterprises, LLC.
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