my favourite albums

For me, this is the greatest hip-hop record of all time.

It’s perfect, everything about it. The lyricism, the rhyme schemes, the flows, the luxurious ‘champagne & crime’ production, the vocal cadences, the curation of the feature list, the placements of skits, the character possessed by its lead artist. This is the most evocative, immersive insight into the life of a hustler that has ever been provided, and it’s the one that captivates me, an outsider, the most.

Something that I love about the tracklist is that you have all the staple song concepts you would expect from a 90s rap album, with a plethora of really unusual ones sprinkled in. There is ‘Cashmere Thoughts,’ a pimp song. ‘Ain’t No N****,’ a song about his relationships with women. ‘Brooklyn’s Finest,’ a fast-paced track about evading police and fending off opposition. ‘Feelin’ It’ is about kicking back, giving into temptation, and enjoying life. Of course, it would be wrong to label these songs as generic, as Jay litters them with personal touches, and they are done to a much higher quality than what is standard. But then there’s the oddities. ‘Can I Live,’ a deep meditation on how the mentality of the hustler corrupts their mind and creates a desperation similar to the drug fiends they sell to. ‘Can’t Knock The Hustle’ reverses the roles completely, with the drug-dealing becoming his main occupation, whilst his music career is the side-hustle that he is berating spectators for ‘knocking.’ ‘D’Evils,’ with frequent references to the supernatural, is a chilling observation on how money corrupts the ghetto. ‘Coming Of Age’ sees him passing his wisdom down to a protégé.