Dec 26, 2025Vol 1 has some of his most personal writing. Lucky Me, Imaginary Players, and Where I’m From are some of the most well written songs in hip hop history idk the album is crazy good to me despite having maybe two duds on it
- Dec 26, 2025·1 reply
flizzyVol.2 is really great. Vol. 1 has some highs but a lot of filler and dated songs.
Money Cash Hoes, Hard Knock Life, Reservoir Dogs, If I Should Die, Jigga Who, A Week Ago all fire.
Vol 2 kinda underrated. Paper Chase might be the only weak one on there
- Dec 26, 2025
2wordsIt’s a good ranking
Part of what you’re noticing I think is how good Jay has been at self mythologizing and marketing his albums long term
From Reasonable Doubt on, these are not albums that just came out and got a certain reception
Years of narratives and revisiting and referencing past works, and reframing them in the context of Jay’s greater career story, including things like this ranking, have always made the public reexamine the albums in interesting ways
Reasonable Doubt went from slept on album to undeniable classic
Vol 1 went from being seen only for its botched singles to being lauded for the quality of the rest
Vol 2 was a smash on impact, but Hov ranking it so high in this ranking had an effect. Around this time, it was a given that his top 3 were RD, BP, and TBA for most people. AG was usually the 4th. When Hov made this ranking emphasizing the importance of Vol 2 in his career, people started to follow suit and the album is thrown out closer to the top
There’s just something about Hov’s catalog, it’s kind of like The Beatles. Every piece feels like it matters. The art the titles and consistency in branding. And I really think the way that we all have a collective idea of these albums is more important than the quality itself. It’s something deeper that stands out. It’s one thing that Nas was clearly less successful with: projects like Street’s Disciple just don’t “feel important” somehow on a surface level way.
Because really Jay’s authenticity shines in his music. Like he’s not just a great musician he’s great at telling stories and sharing thoughts in a palatable way. He doesn’t sound like He’s not just rapping for the sake of it even if it did make him hundreds of millions that’s what really separates him aside from just skills and everything
- Dec 26, 2025·1 reply
CHROMED_OUT_1100Bp3 so good
BP3 has some amazing music but songs like What We Talking About and Reminder have great production and verses and are let down by bad hooks. Same issue I have with some of the new Clipse album
Dec 26, 2025·1 replyClassiqueVol 2 kinda underrated. Paper Chase might be the only weak one on there
It’s like that is one of them ones, one of Hov’s most underrated
- Dec 26, 2025Don Santana
It’s like that is one of them ones, one of Hov’s most underrated
Exactly the song I had in mind
Dec 26, 2025ClassiqueBP3 has some amazing music but songs like What We Talking About and Reminder have great production and verses and are let down by bad hooks. Same issue I have with some of the new Clipse album
venus vs mars hook 🤢
Dec 26, 2025MCHG hate is so overblown
Some of y’all treat it like revival
Dec 26, 2025·1 replyHis late career post 2010 albums are/were simply not good. 90s up until early 00s still had the juice.
- Dec 26, 2025·1 replyGodzillaMinusOne
His late career post 2010 albums are/were simply not good. 90s up until early 00s still had the juice.
4:44?
Dec 26, 2025I was gonna kill a couple rappers, but they did it to themselves
I was gon' do it with the flow, but they did it with their sales
I was gon' 9/11 'em, but they didn't need the help
And they did a good job, them boys is talented as hell
Dec 26, 2025Real ones know In My Lifetime vol.1 is a top 3 Hov album
- Dec 26, 2025·2 repliesDon Santana
4:44?
Alright album but his flow on that is really hit or miss imo and the Nas old man albums that dropped after were better imo but didn’t get nearly the credit.
His flow in the 90s and up until TBA was just better than when he returned imo. Still some solid albums and great songs here and there
Dec 27, 2025Listened to vol 2 yesterday and it’s mostly bad beats and weak hooks
Dec 27, 2025GodzillaMinusOneAlright album but his flow on that is really hit or miss imo and the Nas old man albums that dropped after were better imo but didn’t get nearly the credit.
His flow in the 90s and up until TBA was just better than when he returned imo. Still some solid albums and great songs here and there
Yeah the only post-TBA project I mostly fw overall is American Gangster.
4:44 is alright but very overrated imo, and the rest of those feel non-canon
Dec 27, 2025GodzillaMinusOneAlright album but his flow on that is really hit or miss imo and the Nas old man albums that dropped after were better imo but didn’t get nearly the credit.
His flow in the 90s and up until TBA was just better than when he returned imo. Still some solid albums and great songs here and there
Kings Disease was Nas’ first Grammy, he got the credits lol
Dec 27, 2025American Gangster to me is 4th after RD, Black Album & Blueprint (The top 3 order varies on mood)
I love the writing, story telling and cohesion of the album. Felt like a huge return to form after Kingdom Come. It also felt super tight tracklisting wise & in length.
BP3 should be ranked higher than Magna Carta. Outside of Holy Grail which was a WTT song I don't really see the appeal of the album. None of the songs really stuck out for me or aged well. I think it really got a boost because Suit & Tie was performing well.
On a side note the JT Jay Z tour was amazing. BP3 has timeless singles and I always liked how it showcased the new gen. It does feel like a hello kids kinda album so I understand why people don't like it.
- Dec 27, 2025
You know what tho listening to Kingdom Come, it wasn't that bad of an album, it was just boring. Tough to follow up the Black Album.
Some of the production was really good. I probably enjoy 5-6 out of the 14 songs
Dec 27, 2025He was promoting Magna Carta at the time so it makes the list rigged
- Dec 27, 2025RahRahLike
Get that man's p**** out your mouth, it's Jesus birthday
Dec 27, 20252wordsIt’s a good ranking
Part of what you’re noticing I think is how good Jay has been at self mythologizing and marketing his albums long term
From Reasonable Doubt on, these are not albums that just came out and got a certain reception
Years of narratives and revisiting and referencing past works, and reframing them in the context of Jay’s greater career story, including things like this ranking, have always made the public reexamine the albums in interesting ways
Reasonable Doubt went from slept on album to undeniable classic
Vol 1 went from being seen only for its botched singles to being lauded for the quality of the rest
Vol 2 was a smash on impact, but Hov ranking it so high in this ranking had an effect. Around this time, it was a given that his top 3 were RD, BP, and TBA for most people. AG was usually the 4th. When Hov made this ranking emphasizing the importance of Vol 2 in his career, people started to follow suit and the album is thrown out closer to the top
There’s just something about Hov’s catalog, it’s kind of like The Beatles. Every piece feels like it matters. The art the titles and consistency in branding. And I really think the way that we all have a collective idea of these albums is more important than the quality itself. It’s something deeper that stands out. It’s one thing that Nas was clearly less successful with: projects like Street’s Disciple just don’t “feel important” somehow on a surface level way.
Not sure what your last paragraph even means tbh.
Not every Jay album "feels important."
How often does Dynasty, Vol. 3, Blueprint 2, Kingdom Come, Blueprint 3, Everything Is Love, and Magna Carta come up in rap album convos when it comes to importance?
Jay and Nas both have important albums and there's not much of a gap between them.
Niggas still reference Hip Hop is Dead like it just came out and you yourself said the Untitled paved the way for TPAB 4-5 years ago on here. Life Is Good did 4:44 level subject matter 5 years before 4:44 came out too.