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You know Jay-Z has gotten popular when you find they've actually re-issued "In My Lifetime" as a CD-single and they're selling it in the racks next to "Hard Knock Life" at Best Buy stores.
Due to this, a sudden resurgence of Jay-Z's earliest work is appearing on the scene. The trend started with a reissue of Jay's first major label album, "Reasonable Doubt". Now his pre-major label singles are surfacing too; as well as older cuts by Jaz (the rapper who put him on) and singles such as "The Originators". The irony of this is that people are going to hear it and go "Damn, this is best new shit he's done yet" and not realize it's actually years and years old. Fans who can't get enough of the Hard Knock Life will exhaust any old Jay-Z material that the industry can mine up, and then be somewhat stunned by how a thoughtful and insightful rapper has generally leaned towards flossier rhymes and more commercial beats. That's not to say Jay-Z was NEVER flossy -- most of today's baller rappers are at least somewhat derivative of his major label debut and subsequent "In My Lifetime Vol. 1"; but Shawn's topic matter used to have more breadth and diversity. One has to wonder if a resurgence in the popularity of his early material may actually make Shawn reconsider if the Knock is so Hard after all, or if winning a Grammy is such a bad thing. Maybe he can get back to some real rapping now that Money Ain't a Thing. Peace, Flash Go To Page: 1
The copyright of the article Jay-Z: Can't Knock the Grammy in Hip-Hop Music & Culture is owned by Steve Juon. Permission to republish Jay-Z: Can't Knock the Grammy in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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