The 1990s will forever be defined by Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G. and according to Future, Jay Z was in their shadow.
“Jay Z wasn’t great when Tupac and Biggie were alive,” the Atlanta rapper says in an Instagram clip posted by Steve Stoute of a taped barbershop talk with Old Man Ebro, James Harden, Maverick Carter and sports analyst Paul Rivera.
Future’s argument is supported by the fact that Hov’s debut LP, Reasonable Doubt, dropped in 1996, the same year that Tupac died. Biggie was gunned down less than a year later. That’s not much time to build a buzz before the legends passed.
“It wasn’t hot until they died,” the Freebandz boss says of Reasonable Doubt, adding that “It’s flames. It’s hard. It’s a classic,” but it wasn’t fully appreciated upon its release.
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“It’s like a classic album, they always go back for your classic album,” Future continues.
Reasonable Doubt landed at #23 on Billboard’s Top 200 albums chart when it came out two decades ago and is now certified platinum. On 1998’s “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem),” which was at the time, Jay Z’s biggest hit to date, he famously rapped: “I gave you prophecy on my first joint, and y’all lamed out/Didn’t really appreciate it ’til the second one came out” so Future’s proclamation isn’t too far off base.
Listen to Future discussing Jay Z’s Reasonable Doubt below.
