JAY-Z’s name is consistently thrown around in Hip Hop G.O.A.T. conversations, a title he’s rightfully earned over the past 25 years and across 14 studio albums.
On Friday (April 3), super producer 9th Wonder made sure to remind everyone the billionaire Hip Hop mogul wrote seven songs from The Blueprint album in a single weekend.
“We can all like what we like…we can have opinions, we can have our favorites,” he wrote in a Facebook post. “And I swear to God I hate to do this…But let me speak from a professional, almost 20 years in this game….perspective, from a sitting in the studio, constructing songs, guiding artists, perspective. Listen to me…Nas is a GREAT…..without Question, great rapper, emcee (There is never really been a difference of the two, that’s some media/internet BS and y’all ran with it……).
“NaS is GREAT…arguably TOP five….not many can do what he does….and won’t be able to do it….Illmatic along with DoggyStyle is arguably the greatest debut solo effort….EVER….EVER I said…..But SHAWN CARTER, also known as JAY-Z fam? Listen to me. He recorded the first 7 songs from Blueprint in a WEEKEND. A WEEKEND. With NO. PAPER.”
He pointed out that included “The Ruler’s Back,” “Take Over, “IZZO,” “Girls, Girls, Girls, “Jigga That N**ga,” “U Don’t Know” and “Hola Hovito.”
9th then pointed out Jay has an innate ability for memorizing his lyrics — from his 1996 debut Reasonable Doubt to his latest solo album, 2017’s 4:44. He also noted Hov’s eighth studio project, The Black Album, was completed in a month.
“You go to Carowinds with the fam and go to the Great Wolf Lodge and come back on Sunday…..and he got these songs…..What?!?!?? Do you understand what NO. PAPER means? Do you understand that I watched this man stand against a wall and move his mouth form 15 minutes and constructed a verse? Record it, come out and do it two MORE times? Imagine doing that your WHOLE career. 14 albums…all the guest verses….with. NO. PAPER. NO. PAPER. NO books. NO a phone. NO NOTHING. NO PAPAYA, POR FAVOR.”
He continued, “Damn a Biggie QUOTE…that’s 30 lines spread amongst 14 studio albums?? 14??? About 200 songs??? What???? Do you know how HARD that is? Some of us can’t even remember phone numbers…Reasonable Doubt with NO. PAPER. And NO PEN FAMILY. He recorded the Black Album in a MONTH. A. MONTH. To record at that high level in a MONTH???”
At the same time, 9th blasted anyone who claims Hov’s projects lack substance.
“To say he has NO lyrical content … I’m convinced that most people hasn’t even listened to Jay past the radio singles,” he added. “All 14 albums? All of them? Little to NO lyrical content?!?? To say that all Jay talks about is Money, Cars, and Women, CLEARLY shows a level of listening….or….not listening. …..Nope nope nope. Opinions are GREAT and also heard…But BRUH.”
Finally, 9th insisted any producer would agree.
“Any. Producer. ON. THE. PLANET WILL TELL YOU,” he concluded. “From me, to Hit-Boy, to Mike Will, to PREMIER, to PHARRELL….to ANYONE..anyone that does this for a living, with plaques on their wall, the trained assassins of this will TELL YOU. Jay-Z is an ALIEN. He checks ALL the boxes. He can make all the shots. He can make all the throws, and all the catches. At a VERY. HIGH. CLIP.”
Revisit The Blueprint below.
So what! 7 songs in two days. should I be impressed? He wrote the rhymes before the sessions and just remember them. Actors do this all the time. I’ve never been a jay-z fan because he receives too much credit. Other rappers are dope too and don’t get enough credit for banging albums. But is jay-z rich and powerful so that’s always good. Black own baby!
It’s always the mediocre ones who can’t relate got an opinion,listen he gets the credit he deserves.
He is talking about this cos it’s a gift you rarely see.
7 song in a week,not pop songs lol
There are very few who do it like Sean.
I’m not even a fan but I see greatness,I recognise greatness!
Jay-z is a pop rapper not a hip hop artist. He left hip hop a long time ago. Anyone can sellout and receive more attention. I praise the underground artists that do not change their style to stay in the spotlight. Underground artists should be recognized more because they stay true to themselves. I’m tired of know nothing pop fans who say jay-z is the best. Listen to the great underground hip hop artists before jumping on jay-z jock. Never the less, jay-z CAN use his influence to help another brother to get his
shine too.
Nigga Please Jigga the king of rap periodt mutherfucker
The supposed “King Of Rap” was easily beaten by DMX in that video of the friendly freestyle battle. Dmx was so raw and real… Jay used to make great albums, but DMX was hands down the more talented spitter when comparing each of their true primes. (by true prime, I mean not their career heights, but the times they made their best music, which was BEFORE they hit their career heights and made radio shit)
He still ain’t dope as Nas
You never lived in a hood…Dope ? Was your word?….. Mehn , you don’t know……Asked for dope…. .. We all play Jigga…. As Shane O,, that’s the energy..”@Hecho”
He may not be better in your book, but he’s definitely had the better career.. Numbers don’t lie…
It just goes to show that their job isn’t very hard
then replicate it…..you gotta respect the masters
( see Jz Glastonbury, if you don’t think thats difficult, then you don’t get it )
That’s cause KRS already made the Blueprint first
Hahah
The ability to really deliver an expositry work is directly connected with the consistency and the reality of capacity, where we find men lie, women lie, numbers don’t… ”King HOV aka Pope Thoraic ”…… And he gets better with time, there variant observation about his work and contribution to the game, imagine all the players who changed, H.I.M is an undelayable essence.
It’s amazing how cats get on here and put another brother down. If he was white y’all would be saying he’s the coldest white boy. Jordan lost here and there but in the end he was crowned king. Iverson crossed Jordan up and everyone went bananas, but in the end who was the champion. I look at the Jay-z Nas battle as Nas crossing Jay-z but in the end Jay-z became the champion. If I’m getting too deep I apologize ahead.
You not deep, you surface level with lame ass basketball analogies
Both Are Champions Follow Your Own Logic lol
Flick this. Prodigy is the best ever to bless the microphone!
I have Nas above Hov, but I been listening to a lot of Reasonable Doubt lately, and it’s amazing how Jay can compound so much meaning in just a couple lines. On D’Evils, he goes, “We used to fight for building blocks. Now we fight for blocks with buildings that make a killing.” Then, he follows that up with, “Thinking back to when we first learned to use rubbers. He never learned, so in turn I’m kidnapping his baby’s mother.” Arguably no one is better at rapping about the inner-traps of the streets, where friend turn to foe. Hard to say he doesn’t have substance.
Use to be a big fan of Nas, all of that changed once I started to listen to more of Jay-z’s albums. It helped (big time) that I went back and listened to Reasonable Doubt (being older it left a better impression on me). Jay just has a way with words, hes good at stirring emotions, as was Scarface.
Why Not Still Be A Big Nas Fan lol Nas Conveys Alot Of Emotion In Single Lines Like In “Music For Life” “Purple” “Streets Disciple” “Talk Of New York” “N.Y. State Of Mind Part 2” “My Book Of Rhymes” Especially The Third Verse Of That Song Deep Shit “Get Down” “Reason” “America” “Street Dreams” Vinyl Reanimators Remix Or R.Kelly Remix “What It Is”(Esco Let’s Go) “Undying Love” “Last Words” “REWIND” “2nd Childhood” “One Plus One” “Fetus” “Project Windows” Yo Nas Is Too Versatile “What Goes Around” “Rule” Had Not One Curse Word In It And Nas Mastered The Subject Matter….
That’s just one album. After that it’s been money cash hoes to the exclusion of pretty much everything else.
A.. Jay is that main man never forget get that as a ghost disc jokey i feel he has managed everything but the Street he is made for the beats as an artist as well thats that everybody wish
I love 9th and respect his opinion but it’s just that – an opinion. So here’s mine. If you were a top 3 MC over 3 years which incorporated changing the culture, lyrical skill, and sales – you are in the debate. So yes you can toss in Jay, Nas, Pac, Big, Em, Wayne, Rakim, Cube, LL, KRS, Kendrick, Drake, 3K, Meth, DMX, Face, Kane, Chuck D, Black Thought, and the list goes on. All have a good argument. What would rap be without Straight Outta Compton? What about Fight The Power? You gonna say that there is a Jay without KRS, Nas, BIG, and other NYC rappers before him? Reasonable Doubt – a classic – was overshadowed because you had ATLiens, All Eyez on Me, Illadelph Halflife, etc the same year. All better albums as well. I’d have Em at top because you can’t deny his lyrical skill and his sales speak for themselves but if someone had any of the aforementioned rappers ahead of him, I’d completely understand.
I think you’re arguing content versus mechanics. Rap in general has allowed the world to express itself in a way unlike any other genre before. You have to give credit to all the God emcees that laid out the foundation for the art form. But fam, Jay-Z is in the songwriters Hall of Fame and has never written a song. We have to put some respect and perspective on that alone. All those rappers you mentioned are great and legends in their own right. 9th wouldn’t argue that, it’s HOW they did it that sets them apart.
Actually Jay Z Did Write He Wrote “Still D.R.E” And Some Foxy Brown Stuff But I Get Your Point….
I guess the fact that BIG and Jay, with some others, chose not to write down most of their lyrics doesn’t impress me as much as others. I care a lot more about the content of the songs… how many rappers are just free spitting in their car then record it now or write it down later like we used to? I used to generate damn near full songs while havin a smoke than go back and rewrite some elements to make it sound better. And I’m certainly not in my top 100,000 rappers haha…
Of all the rappers known for the non-writing technique, Jay-Z is the most successful with the largest discography . I get you don’t think it’s hard to freestyle songs and feel you have done it yourself, but fam nothing you have ever freestyled has ever made any charts or been relevant to anyone other than yourself. Jay moved and entire culture with his. You don’t have to think he’s the best, Nas is my favorite rapper. But Jay is different, shouldn’t take anything away from anyone to admit that
Pac is the G.O.A.T…. Ain’t no debate.
You sound like a fan boy. PAC was good Biggie was better, Jay on a entire different level. He’s 50ish and still the best rapper at this point. PAC was popular because he was a thug and the shit he said was real. Not just cause if his rhymes..
Biggie was better than jay in every way, flow, lyrics, beat selection, classic albums, humor, subject matter and storytelling. Jayz is basically a china town knock off of biggie. As far as pac is concerned the man rapped from his soul about things like poverty, race relations, politics and prison. Jayz is essentially a broken record bragging about money.
You sound like a jealous bitch
Jay lapped biggie years ago
You sound like a jealous bitch
I agree 1000%, I think Jay-z is like a bottle of aged wine…it just gets better with time because of the way it ages! ??
Blueprint is Jay-Z’s best album but lyrically it’s probably his weakest, so to say he wrote it in a weekend is understandable because it’s not the most complex. you can tell on Blueprint 2 he went harder lyrically on it.
Nah show me what you got album weakest lyrics. Nothing will top Reasonable Doubt
?You Mean “Kingdom Come” Lyrically It Wasn’t Weak Just Focused More On Song Making Like “Vol.2” And “BP3” As Opposed To Be Lyrically Dense Like “Reasonable Doubt” “Vol 1.” “Blueprint” “The Black Album” And “American Gangster”
BP2 is trash. Everyone knows that. A bunch of wasted Timbo and Neptunes beats… my ninja went 2/7 over those cuts. 5 out right garbage. People forget that he made BP2, Unplugged, and that RKelly trash right after Blueprint a legit classic. Had he not comeback so hard on the Black Album, most people would have said he was washed up.
Pac wrote His double disc all eyez on me 2 weeks after he was released from prison. He also wrote The Don Killuminati in 3 days.
the album is literally called the 7 day theory. why would you try to embellish the truth?
It was originally named “the 3 day theory” mate. Do ya research first.
Rumors has is he laid it down in 3 Days and mixing took 4 days
Ya point ❓❓
,,
If I may comment on the GOAT thing. To be the greatest, you have to have certain qualities. Changing the game is one. Being dominant .original.creative, maturity, relevance. Jayz hits a lot of those points, but he really didn’t change the game.
I became interested in JZ when he came out with Death of Autotune….a cool beat. ( which I’m listening to ).
But the biggest quality is being Genuine. His talent can easily lift any artist working with him. When I heard his sample NewYork by Alicia Keys, I said to myself, WTF , 3 card monty ???- he’s ruined the song by being in it…..So I listened to the original —-what i found was that JZ’s version actually gave wings to Alicia’ version. The song flew and iot became a hit and an anthem.
But the biggest thing I saw was his performance at Glastonbury. In front of 250 Thousand stoner white guitar rock fans….JZ waltzed onto a stage he wasn’t wanted. He played a gutitar he couldn’t play, he sang a song he couldn’t sing. He stood his ground till he bent their will.
There are 2 versions of this you tube….the first shows a traditional filmed version of it…the second was from a fans view —-infucvkingcredible.
In less than 30 seconds , he had them eating out of his hand…..he owned them in less than 45 seconds.
Now – for me, that kind of genuine power doesn’t come along often. Not many can do this. You can count them off on one hand in all types of performances.
Is he the greatest in rap – Depends how you look at it – from my viewpoint , I would have to say yes.
** 60 year old whiteman who generally doesn’t understand a lick of what is being rapped but does like good samples and original artists.
Thanks for the conversation
You became interested in Jay Z after Death of Autotune? Say no more.
Yea kinda late there but ok
Literally lol
” ** 60 year old whiteman”.. cause is matters…. why are you so obsessed with skin color?
I thought Jay didn’t write
I always thought Jay Z was the best of the rappers and enjoyed Blueprint. But when he married Beyonce , I no longer care for him.
I mean Jay Z is one of the best to ever do it.
9th Wonder a groupie. All you gotta do is say he wrote such and such over the course of a weekend and keep it moving. Also, he’s saying some pea brained shit too.
?
9th Wonder Lil Wayne Doesn’t Write Either Lol This Only Makes Jay Z Unique Not The Best…. Shit Nas Concepts Are Crazy “Rewind” “Book Of Rhymes” Where Even The Rhymes He Considered Weak Were Strong Lyrically “Last Words” “Undying Love” “2nd Childhood” “I Gave You Power” Props To Organized Konfusion With “Stray Bullet” “Phone Tap” Props To AZ Dr.Dre & Nature “Music For Life” Props To Hi-Tek “Fried Chicken” Props To Busta Rhymes “Fetus” “Sekou Story” “N.Y. State Of Mind Pt.2” Cinematic Storytelling Along With “Get Down” “Project Windows” “Life We Chose”(MF DOOM RE-MIX) “New World” Yo Nas Is Something Else Man….. “Nazareth Savage” “Reason” “Talk Of New York” “American Way”……..
Facts!!!
Yeah, and it shows. Overrated pop rap garbage. The only good songs are the few at the end.
Good 4 Hov, Pac did a album in 3 days…so ahhh it is what it is
What album was that?
Makaveli ? rookies
Well… nobody was there to prove it. As far as I’m concerned 9th Wonder can say Jay-Z saved a plane from crash it wouldn’t change anything since nobody was there to witness it. Just because Jay-Z entourage say something it doesn’t mean it’s the truth especially when their opinions are bias either because Jay-Z works with them or because he has some kind of filiation with them
Well… nobody was there to prove it. As far as I’m concerned 9th Wonder can say Jay-Z saved a plane from crash it wouldn’t change anything since nobody was there to witness it. Just because Jay-Z entourage say something it doesn’t mean it’s the truth especially when their opinions are bias either because Jay-Z works with them or because he has some kind of filiation with them
Well nobody was there to prove it. As far as I’m concerned 9th Wonder can say Jay-Z saved a plane from crash it wouldn’t change anything since nobody was there to witness it. Just because Jay-Z entourage say something it doesn’t mean it’s the truth especially when their opinions are bias either because Jay-Z works with them or because he has some kind of filiation with them
If Jay Z coughs it is the greatest cough of all time with you D sucking nukka a. Another rapper that has Jay’s D in his mouth… These dudes are so sad. Again, Jay Z is not even close to Nas! Not even close lyrically. And the greatest rap album of all time is illmatic are you crazy fool. That record is a masterpiece!!!! You guys kill me with this crap about Pop Artist The POP Artist.
Dude have Jay Z D in his mouth another Meek Mill… Jay Z is not F with no Nas on that Mic! all that other stuff maybe… F out of here fat boy…
Reasonable Doubt is Jay’s magnum opus
Another miss leading tittle. I thought he did it all without a pen??
Nas has more DEEP CUTS than Jigga. FACTS. Jay is cool with the wordplay here and there, but he seldom opens up his soul.
Jay always open up about his soul. 1. Regrets 2. You most love me. 3. This can’t be life 4. Whole 1st Blueprint 5. Dig a hole 6. …..
Just imagine what his music would be like if he actually took his time and tried harder… still team Nas tho haha
He has an “innate ability for memorizing his lyrics” dont all artist have to memorize there lyrics though to perform live? Anyone who performs has to memorize there lyrics.
Are we supposed to be blown away by the fact he doesnt write the words down or something? You really think he was the first person to do that? Also we know you love Jay-Z he is the only “big” artist you got to make “one” beat for back in 2001 Nas never wanted any of the basic 9th Wonder fruity loop crap so I can see why you threw Nas under the bus for no reason.
Good looks lol
Jay is better. Hands down!!!
I used to be on Jay’s balls gargling them. After I listened to “It Was Written” I would say Nas is better overall MC.
I used to be on Jay’s nuts! After listening to “It Was Written” Nas is better overall MC
I don’t care what nobody says…that nigga WROTE Can I Live. Somewhere…
I don’t believe he didn’t write all of Reasonable Doubt. Other stuff in his career was def mental exercise
So, Pac did All eyes on me in a week and a half and it was a double disk