Jay-Z - HOVA (1997)

Following the critical success of 1995's 'Reasonable Doubt', which was later included in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time at No. 248, Jay-Z struck a distribution deal with Def Jam Records in 1997, and they released the follow-up 'In My Lifetime, Vol. 1', featuring production by Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, DJ Premier, and Ski, and which went on to earn platinum status in the United States. In 1998 he released 'Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life', which spawned the biggest hit of his career at the time, 'Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)'. This relied more on flow and wordplay, and he continued with his penchant for mining beats from the popular producers of the day such as Swizz Beatz, an upstart in-house producer for Ruff Ryders, and Timbaland. Other producers included DJ Premier, Erick Sermon, The 45 King, and Kid Capri, and other charting hits from the album were 'Can I Get A...', featuring Ja Rule and Amil, and 'Nigga What, Nigga Who', featuring Amil and Jaz-O. 'Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life' would eventually become Jay-Z's most commercially successful album, selling over five million copies, and winning a Grammy Award. During the making of these two albums, he recorded a number of tracks with artists such as Sauce Money, Horace Brown, Lord Tariq & Nas, Jaz-O, and Tone Hooker, none of which have ever been officially released, and so for the second post in this look back at the career of Jay-Z, here are some of those tracks that he recorded between 1995 and 1997. 'Dead Presidents' is the 1995 promo release with the original verses which were removed from 'Dead Presidents II' when it appeared on 'Reasonable Doubt', and 'In My Lifetime' is the original Ski Street version.   

 

Track listing

01 Reach The Top
02 Dead Presidents
03 In My Lifetime
04 HOVA
05 Dead Or Alive Pt. 1 (Sauce Money)
06 Things You Do For Love (feat. Horace Brown)
07 Analyze This (feat. Lord Tariq & Nas)
08 If You Want It (feat. Tone Hooker)
09 Foundation (feat. Jaz-O, Sauce Money & Tone Hooker)
10 Dead Or Alive Pt. 2 (feat. Sauce Money)
11 Bring Back Your Love (feat. Christion)