Album: “The Black Album”
Release Date: November 14, 2003
Singles: “Change Clothes” “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” “99 Problems”
Best Songs: “Justify My Thug” “Public Service Announcement” “What More Can I Say” “Lucifer”
Arguably the most anticipated album of the 2000s, we all thought Jay-Z was exiting the game as the Dynasty was coming to an end. My parents purchased a copy on Black Friday (not the actual “Black Friday”) but the funny shit about it was I didn’t get my CD for a week because they were constantly playing the R. Kelly themed song “Threats.” With the passing of his pops and his new found love in the southern girl from H-Town, Hovi Hov went out with bang enlisting the best producers in the game from Timbo, The Neptunes, 9th Wonder and DJ Quik to name a few.
One of the best lines: “If skills sold, truth be told, I’d probably be lyrically Talib Kweli, Truthfully I wanna rhyme like Common Sense, But I did 5 mill, I ain’t been rhyming like Common since” – “Moment of Clarity”