Carátula del álbum Reasonable Doubt de Jay-Z

Reasonable Doubt de Jay-Z

Álbum de Jay-Z

  • Fecha de lanzamiento: 25 de Junio de 1996
  • Sello Discográfico: Priority Records
  • Compositores: Shawn Carter (Jay-Z), The Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige
  • Productores: DJ Premier, Clark Kent, Ski Beatz, Knobody

Valora este álbum

Reasonable Doubt es un álbum de Jay-Z, publicado en 1996 por Priority Records. El disco incluye 14 canciones, entre ellas «Regrets», «Bring It On», «Cashmere Thoughts» y «Coming Of Age».

Introducción: el nacimiento de un titán

"Reasonable Doubt" es el álbum de estudio debut de Jay-Z, lanzado en 1996. Lejos de ser un éxito comercial inmediato, es una obra que ha crecido con el tiempo hasta ser considerada unánimemente como uno de los mejores y más influyentes álbumes de la historia del hip-hop.

Este disco es la cumbre del mafioso rap, un subgénero que narra la vida del crimen organizado con un estilo lujoso y cinematográfico. Con una producción exquisita, llena de samples de jazz y soul, y un lirismo complejo y lleno de juegos de palabras, Jay-Z se presentó al mundo no como un rapero más, sino como un narrador sofisticado y un maestro de la técnica.

Es un retrato crudo y a la vez glamuroso de la vida de un traficante, lleno de paranoia, ambición y reflexiones sobre la moralidad. "Reasonable Doubt" es la piedra fundacional sobre la que se construyó todo el imperio de Jay-Z.

El origen del álbum

Antes de este álbum, Jay-Z ya era una leyenda en las calles de Brooklyn, pero no conseguía un contrato discográfico. Convencido de su propio talento, decidió tomar el control y fundó su propio sello, Roc-A-Fella Records, junto a sus socios Damon Dash y Kareem "Biggs" Burke. Esta independencia le dio un control creativo total.

La producción del álbum es uno de sus puntos más fuertes. Jay-Z reclutó a algunos de los mejores productores de la Costa Este, como DJ Premier y Clark Kent, quienes crearon un sonido de jazz rap sofisticado y atmosférico, que se ha convertido en un referente del sonido de Nueva York de los 90.

Análisis de canciones

"Can't Knock the Hustle" (feat. Mary J. Blige): El single principal es una declaración de principios. Es una canción suave y con mucho soul que defiende la ambición y la búsqueda del éxito por cualquier medio necesario.

"Brooklyn's Finest" (feat. The Notorious B.I.G.): Un dueto legendario con su amigo y rival, The Notorious B.I.G. Es una exhibición de virtuosismo lírico entre dos de los mejores raperos de todos los tiempos.

Rendimiento y legado

El álbum tuvo un éxito comercial modesto, debutando en el puesto 23 del Billboard 200 en Estados Unidos. Su influencia y su estatus de clásico han crecido exponencialmente con el tiempo. Es el álbum favorito de muchos fans de Jay-Z y es considerado una obra sobresaliente por la crítica. Su legado es el de haber establecido un nuevo estándar de lirismo y sofisticación en el hip-hop.

Listado de Canciones

  1. Regrets

    Letra

    Stress Sunshine, geyeah I sold it all from crack to o-pium, in third person I don't wanna see em, so I'm rehearsin With my peoples high to gm, from a remote lo-cation In the bm, scopin the whole situation like, "Dayamm!" Metamorphic, as the dope turns to cre-am But one of these buyers got eyes like a Korean It's difficult to read em, the windows to his soul Are half closed, I put the key in Pulled off slow, hopin my people flee-in Chink tried to knock the only link that tied me in Coppers was watchin us through nighttime binoculars This time they got us on tape, exchangin dope for dollars Make me wanna, holler back at the crib in the sauna Prayin my people bailed out like Time/Warner Awaitin call, from his kin not the coroner Phone in my hand, nervous confined to a corner Beads of sweat second thoughts on my mind How can I ease the stress and learn to live with these regrets This time... Stress... Givin this shit up... Fuck [Chorus One:] This is the number one rule for your set In order to survive, gotta learn to live with regrets On the, rise to the top, many drop, don't forget In order to survive, gotta learn to live with regrets This is the number one rule for your set In order to survive, gotta learn to live with regrets And through our travels we get seperated, never forget In order to survive, gotta learn to live with regrets As sure as this, Earth is turning souls burning In search of higher learning turning in every direction seeking direction My moms cryin cause her insides are dyin Her son tryin her patience, keep her heart racin A million beats a minute, I know I push you to your limit But it's this game love, I'm caught up all in it They make it so you can't prevent it, never give it You gotta take it, can't fake it I keep it authentic My hand got this pistol shakin, cause I sense danger Like Camp Crystal Lake and Don't wanna shoot him, but I got him, trapped Within this infrared dot, bout to hot him and, hit rock bottom No answers to these trick questions, no time shit stressin My life found I got ta live for the right now Time waits for no man, can't turn back the hands Once it's too late, gotta learn to live with regrets [Chorus Two:] You used to hold me, told me that I was the best Anything in this world I want I could posess All that made me want is all that I could get In order to survive, gotta learn to live with regrets... (when I was young) [repeat 2X] I found myself reminiscin, remember this one When he was here he was crazy nice with his son I miss him, long as I'm livin he's livin through memories He's there to kill all my suicidal tendencies In heaven lookin over me, or in hell, keepin it cozy I'm comin life on these streets ain't what it's supposed to be Remember Newton, mutual friend well me and him feudin On your life I tried to talk to him But you know niggaz, think they guns can stop foe niggaz Frontin like they're, Big Willie but really old niggaz Hoe niggaz, this year I'm sho' niggaz think I'm slippin I'm bought to send you a roommate, no bullshittin For my hustle's goin too well to hit him You was right niggaz want you to be miserable wit em Anyway, I ain't tryin to hear it, I think I'm touched This whole verse I been talkin to your spirit, a little too much [Chorus One: repeat 2X] Roc-A, Roc-A, Roc-A, Roc-A-Fella y'all
  2. Bring It On

    Letra

    [Sauce Money] Aiyyo Jay word up; these motherfuckers Fuckin talkin that comeback shit like they cookin crack shit I ain't frontin all I want my pockets green like slum change Yaknahmsayin? Front the roll we roll back like rubbers motherfucker For real; with no trace of aids We keep our pockets fully blown, Roc-A-Fella click nigga Aiyyo we pattin down pussy from Sugarhill to the Shark Bar fuck a bitch D in the marked car We got the bad bitches gaspin for air in Aspen Searchin for aspirin when I ask then, we swing You cling we do our thing and bring Sling your ding-a-ling from Bed-Stuy Brooklyn to Beijing East coast hostess hostile colossal, money flarin Like nostrils for drug dealin apostles, huh Al Pacino down to Nino Brown Me Jay and Primo, got it sewed across the board like poquino Teflon, make sure your jammy is full Cause I heard, Sammy the Bull lamps in Miami with pull Tropical leaves where I got a few keys With my man I'll stock a few G's, now it's unstoppable cheese Said we was garbage, so fuck college Street knowledge amazin to scholars when we coin phrases for dollars Star studded bitches with cristals, get fucked with pistols Just to see my shit, discharge puss I drop the stellar, even acapella I got to tell all about Roc-A-Fella [Chorus: Fat Joe] Yeah, bring it on if you think you can hang And if not then let me do my thang [repeat 4X] [Jay-Z] Mannerisms of a young Bobby Deniro, spent spanish wisdoms In a whip with dinero, crime organized like the pharoah I cream, I diamond gleam High post like Akiem, got a lot of things to drop Brooklyn to Queens, I gotta keep my steam niggaz wanna try to hem my long jeans Uptown fiend for Jay-Z to appear on the scene In the meanwhile, here's somethin dope for y'all to lean Liason for days on in Money make the world go around so I made songs to spin Can I Live, did dough, with my nigs, dividends flow Like the Mississippi riv', lookin jig' Can't do for dolo, had to turn away when Tony killed Manolo That's real, mixed feelings like a mulatto Thug thought he was O. G. Bobby Johnson I played him like Benny Blanco, mano a mano You ain't ready, I find no trigger straight up shoot my guns Horizontal, get your weight up, I am Two point two pounds you're barely a hundred and twenty-five grams Wouldn't expect y'all to understand this money Do the knowledge, do the few dollars, I'm due to demolish Crews Brooklyn through Hollis to a hood near you, what the fuck... ("Bring it on if you think you can hang..." --> Fat Joe) [Big Jaz] Money is power I'm into cheddick with facial credit Pure platinum fetish for cheddars Spread letters you move you're deadish I make moves that remove pebbles out of shoes You suck pistol like pipe with the cristal John Stockton couldn't assist you Cowboys or Benzes like we foulin in the you. N. So what the fuck you doin? Whatever nigga Fahrvegnugen, rugged yet polished Spankin dollars with the commas Bangin bitches out the Bahamas On hides of llama we cry nada, fly frather Fry hotter, you die gotta fuck with me witness manana Absence of malice in my palace Call cousin now Dallas trigger finger with the callous Tip scales from mail to keep these niggaz off balance Your frequent stops to O. T. B. You feedin me Steam a nigga schemin on the wrist action with the gleams Jewels for Pop Duke fulfill your dreams Never put the pure brown sugar before the dirty green cream [Chorus:] "Yeah, bring it on... bring it on..." --> Fat Joe [repeat 5X]
  3. Cashmere Thoughts

    Letra

    [Jay-Z has a conversation with some cat] Hah, hah, hah, hah, yeah, yeah What it is player? You player, it's all about you How you gon' say that man If I had your hand I'd turn mine in Far as I'm concerned, if I had your hand, I cut mines off Hah man, you know man, I'm just dealin that hoe money You know hoe money is slow money but it's sho' money Check this out man, when you run up on your bitch This this is what you tell her Stick they hands in they panties, grab that knot Stick they arm in a car window, drop it like it's hot [Jay-Z] Uhh, I talk jewels and spit diamonds, all cherry Like a hymen, when I'm rhymin with remarkable timin Caviar and silk dreams, my voice is linen Spittin venom up in the, minds of young women Mink thoughts to think thoughts type similar Might you remember, my shit is col-l-l-ld like December Smoother than Persian rugs, the cashmere Chromosomes make a nigga Jigga Jay-Z lethal drugs Eighteen carat gold pen, when it hits the sheets Words worth a million like I'm rappin em through platinum teeth I got the Grey Poupon, you been warned Cause all beef return well done filet mignon The Don, smell of Dom on my breath as I Yawn, (slow) when you hoes try to con a pro As if you didn't know, Jay's about gettin dough Spittin flow like fine wines down your earlobe I'm smooth but deadly like a pearl handled pistol Honies hum in melody when I, rub it like crystal The proper ettiquette, when I drop the subject verb Then the predicate, with this rich nigga preterite I'm solid gold, I rap like a mink stole I stick pearl tongues your world'll never know From New York, to Paris, the vocal style vary From nice to deadly like a bad bag of D, now Notice, the child swift like a locust Focus on the loc' I be the greatest nigga that wrote it Return of the Jedi, from Rio Degenero Worn da red eye, yet I, still feel the need to be fly I did die when I'm rappin then slide like satin You know the black eye white china in the brain cabinet I never cry if I did I'd cry ice From my nigga Sauce, I hit you with this advice Life's short, so play hard and stick hard And the only time you love em is when your dick hard Whoooh! That's cashmere baby Nah, you know, that's just laid back man Man, shit, J to the A to the Y to the Z Yeah baby Motherfuckin pimp that's what he be Cashmere baby Don't get no hotter than that Sho' you're right Them niggaz know Check it out, check it out Ghettoes, Errol Flynn, hot like heroin Young pimps is sterile when I pimp through your burough in I gotta keep your tricks intact Cause I walk like a p-iyimp, talk like a mack man The star player, the golden bar layer The sweet Ms. Fine Thing puh-layah, sho' yo right I'm game tight, so watch it it change to night Go tell your peeps dawg I'm lethal til it ain't right I pimp hard on a trick, look Fuck if your leg broke bitch, hop up on your good foot
  4. Coming Of Age

    Letra

    [Jay-Z] Yeah... Come experience... Life as we know it As some of you should know it, yeah, yeah Place, Marcy, Brooklyn Actions... Well, y'all know the actions Uhh, I got this shorty on my block always clockin my rocks He likes the style and profile I think he wanna mock He likes the way I walk, he sees my money talkin To honies hawkin I'm the hottest nigga in New York and I see his hunger pains, I know his blood boils He wanna, run with me, I know this kid'll be loyal I watched him make a few ends, to cop his little sneakers and gear Then it's just enough for re-up again I see myself in his eyes, I moved from Levi's To Guess to Versace, now it's diamonds like Liberace That's just the natural cycle, nobody wanna be like Michael Where I'm from, just them niggaz who banned from a gun We out here trying to make hard white into cohhhhld green I can help shorty blow out like Afro-Sheen Plus I can relive my days of youth which is gone That little nigga's peeps, it's time to put him on [Chorus: Jay-Z and Memphis Bleek] It's time to come up (and hold my own weight, defend my crown) Gots to lock it down and when they rush (stand my ground) It's time to come up (stick up my chest, and make some loot) Gots to lock it down and when they rush (stand on my own two) [Memphis Bleek] I'm out here slingin bringin the drama, tryin to come up In the game and add a couple of dollar signs to my name I'm out here servin disturbin the peace, life could be better Like my man reclined in plush leather seats He's sellin weight, I'm sellin eight... Balls Sixteen tryin to graduate to pushin quarters y'all I ain't gon' sweat him I'ma let him come to me If he give me the nod then these niggaz gon' see I'm tired of bein out here round the clock And breakin day, and chasin crackers up the block for my pay I'm stayin fresh, so chickens check I'm tryin to step up to the next level, pushin Vettes to the Jets Diamonds reflect from the sun, directly in your equilibirum And stunned I'm waitin for my day to come I got the urge, to splurge, I don't wanna lifetime sentence Just give me the word [Chorus:] [Jz] Hey fella I been watchin you clockin [Mb] Who me holdin down this block it ain't nothin You the man nigga now stop frontin [Jz] Hahahh I like your style [Mb] Nah, I like yo' style [Jz] Let's drive around awhile [Mb] Cool nigga [Jz] Here's a thou' [Mb] A G? I ride witchu for free I want the longterm riches and bitches [Jz] Have it all; now listen to me You let them other niggaz get the name, skip the fame Ten thou' or a hundred G keep yo' shit the same [Mb] On the low? [Jz] Yeah, the only way to blow You let your shit bubble quietly [Mb] and then you blow! [Jz] Hey keep your cool The only way to peep a fool is let him show his hand Then you play your cards [Mb] Then he through dealin I understand [Jz] Don't blow your dough on hotties [Mb] The only thing I got in this world is my word and my nuts And won't break em for nobody! [Jz] Hah, I like resume, pick a day, you can start [Mb] From now until death do us part... [Chorus 2X]
  5. Friend Or Foe

    Letra

    Check one check two, you know what to do Primo, cold crush when i give it to you Friend or foe yo, state your biz Ya tend to dough, ah , there it is Me, i run the show, oh, and these kids Don't like nobody commin around here fuckin wit they doe for shit You enterprisin though, And i like it But fuck with the big dogs though, i gotta bite ya, Look, it's out of my hands And you gettin money round here, it's not in the plans So hop yo ass out of that van, head back to kansas I'm sendin niggas back up in campuses Chance is slimmer than that chick in calvin klien pantses Let me guess, they said it was money round here And the rest is me stoppin you from gettin it, correct? Sorry to hear that, my guess is you got work at the hotel I'll take care of that , you'll see, now please give me the room key You're twitchin, don't do that, you makin me nervous My crew, well, they do pack, them niggas is murderous So would ya, please put your hand back in sight They don't like to see me nervous you can understand that, right? You draw, better be picasso, y'know the best Cause if this is not so, ah, god bless You leave me no choice, i leave you no voice Believe me son i hate to do it just as bad as you hate to see it done Now calm your boys, Cause i'm findin it a little hard to concentrate with all the noise Get the point, i'll let ya go, Before ya leave,i guess i aughta let you know, i need those keys And promise you never, no matter the weather Evaevaevaevaevaevaevaevaeva come around here no mo'
  6. Ain´t No Nigga
  7. Can I Live

    Letra

    Yeah, hah, yeah Roc-A-Fella We invite you to, somethin epic y'all know? Well we hustle out of a sense of, hopelessness Sort of a desperation Through that desperation, we 'come addicted Sorta like the fiends we accustomed to servin But we feel we have nothin to lose So we offer you, well, we offer our lives, right What do you bring to the table? While I'm watchin every nigga watchin me closely My shit is butter for the bread they wanna toast me I keep my head, both of them where they supposed to be Hoes'll get you sidetracked then clap from closed feet I don't sleep, I'm tired, I feel wired like codeine, these days A brother gotta admire from four fiends away My pain wish it was quick to see, from sellin 'caine Til brains was fried to a fricaisse, can't lie At the time it never bothered me, at the bar Gettin my thug on properly, my squad and me Lack of respect for authority, laughin hard Happy to be escapin poverty, however brief I know this game got valleys and peaks, expectation For dips, four percent pertation we stack chips, hardly The youth I used to be, soon to see a mill'in No more, Big Willie my game has grown prefer you call me William Illin for revenues, Rayful Edmonds like Channel 7 news, round seven jewels, hand gettin the mic Forgettin all I ever knew, convenient amnesia I suggest you call my lawyer, I know the procedure Lock my body can't trap my mind, easily Explain why we adapt to crime I'd rather die enormous than live dormant that's how we on it Live at the main event, I bet a trip to Maui on it Presidential suites my resedential for the weekend Confidentially speakin in codes since I sense you peekin The nsx rental, don't be fooled my game is mental We both out of town dog, what you tryin to get into? Viva, Las Vegas, see ya, later at the crap tables Meet me by the one that starts a G up This way no fraud Willie's present gambling they re-up And we can have a pleasant time, sippin margaritas Ge-ge-geyeahhh, can I live? Can I live? My mind is infested, with sick thoughts that circle Like a Lexus, if driven wrong it's sure to hurt you Dual level like duplexes, in unity, my crew and me Commit atrocities like we got immunity You guessed it, manifest it in tangible goods Platinum Rolexed it, we don't lease We buy the whole care, as you should My confederation, dead a nation, explode On detonation, overload the mind of a said patient When it balls to steam, it comes to it We all fiends gotta do it, even righteous minds go through this True this, history school us to spend our money foolish Bond with jewellers and, watch for intruders I stepped it up another level, meditated like a buddhist Recruited lieutenants with ludicrous, dreams of Gettin cream let's do this, it gets tedious So I keep one eye open like, C-B-S, ya see me Stressed right? Can I live? Can I live? Can I live? Can I live? Ha-hah, Roc-A-Fella y'all
  8. 22 Two´s
  9. D´Evils
  10. Feelin´ It
  11. Dead Presidents II

    Letra

    [Chorus:] "Presidents to represent me" --> Nas "Get money!" "I'm out for presidents to represent me""Get money!" "I'm out for presidents to represent me""Get money!" "I'm out for dead *fuckin* presidents to represent me (Whose...)" Rock... On, Roc-A-Fella y'all The saga continues Ahh, who wanna bet us that we don't touch leathers Stack cheddars forever, live treacherous all the et ceteras To the death of us, me and my confidants, we shine You feel the ambiance, y'all niggaz just rhyme By the ounce dough accumulates like snow We don't just shine, we illuminate the whole show; you feel me? Factions from the other side would love to kill me Spill three quarts of my blood into the street, let alone the heat Fuck em, we hate a nigga lovin this life In all possible ways, know the Feds is buggin my life Hospital days, reflectin when my man laid up On the Uptown high block he got his side sprayed up I saw his life slippin, this is a minor set back Yo, still in all we livin, just dream about the get back That made him smile though his eyes said, "Pray for me" I'll do you one better and slay these niggaz faithfully Murder is a tough thing to digest, it's a slow process And I ain't got nothin but time I had near brushes, not to mention three shots Close range, never touched me, divine intervention Can't stop I, from drinkin Mai-Tai's, with Ta Ta Down in Nevada, ha ha, Poppa, word life I dabbled in crazy weight without rap, I was crazy straight Potnah, I'm still spendin money from eighty-eight... What? [Chorus:] Geyeah, know what? I'll make.. You and your wack mans fold like bad hands Roll like Monopoly, ad-vance you copy me Like white crystals, I gross the most At the end of the fiscal year than these niggaz can wish to The dead presidential, canidate With the sprinkles and the presidental, ice that'll offend you In due time when crime fleas my mind All sneak thieves and playa haters can shine But until then I keep the trillion cut diamonds shinin brilliant I'll tell you half the story, the rest you fill it in Long as the villian win I spend Japan yen, attend major events Catch me in the joints, convinced my iguanas is bitin J-A-Y hyphen, controllin, manipulatin I got a good life man, pounds and pence Nuff dollars make sense, while you ride the bench Catch me swinging for the fence Dead Presidents, ya know [Chorus:] Uh-huh, yeah, uh-huh, so be it The Soviet, The Unified Steady Flow You already know, you light I'm heavy roll, heavy dough Mic macheted your flow, your paper falls slow Like confetti, mines a steady grow, bet he glow Pay five dead it from blow, better believe I have Eleven sixty to show, my doe flip like Tae-Kwon Jay-Z The Icon, baby, you like Dom, maybe this Cristal's To change your life huh, roll with the winners Heavy spenders like hit records: Roc-A-Fella Don't get it corrected this shit is perfected From chips to chicks just drivin a Lexus Make it without your gun, we takin everything you brung We cake and you niggaz is fake and we gettin it done Crime Family, well connected Jay-Z And you fake thugs is Unplugged like mtv I empty three, take your treasure, my pleasure Dead presidentials, politics as usual Bla-ouw! "Dead *fuckin* presidents to represent me (Whose...)" "Dead *fuckin* presidents to represent me (Whose...)" "Dead *fuckin* presidents to represent me (Whose...)" "Dead *fuckin* presidents to represent me (Whose...)" [Chorus 2X]
  12. Brooklyn´s Finest
  13. Politics As Usual

    Letra

    You know how we do, Roc-a-Fella... forever... You can catch me Skatin through your town puttin it down y'all relatin No waitin I'll make your block infrared hot I'm like Satan Y'all feel a nigga's struggle, y'all think a nigga love to Hustle behind the wheel, tryin to escape my trouble Kids stop they greetin me, I'm talkin sweet to keys Cursin the very God, that bought this wreath to be My life is, based on sacrifices, jewels like ices And fools that think I slip, you fuck around You get your guys hit, they built me to be filthy On some I-do-or-die shit, for real The price of leather's got me, deeper than ever and Just think, with this here, I'm tryin to feel made nig-ga Politics as us-ual... I took my Frito to Tito in the district, blessed me with some VS somethins I can live with, stop frontin And for the dough I raise, gotta get shit appraised No disrespect to you, make sure you word is true I'm takin wages down in Vegas just in case Tyson Have a major night off, that's clean money, the tax write-off You ain't seen money in your life, when it Comes to this cheese y'all like Three Blind Mice A smokin bro, who pump Willie Ike spokes The furthest you Chiles been is the Pocanos My portfolio reads: leads to Don Corleone, nigga please Ten year feleon, heavy on the wrist, our face used With the diamond blooded Jesus and blind your face Youse for life... sharight, Jigga, I keep it tight nig-ga Politics as us-ual... You feel my triumph never, feel my pain I'm lyin Low in the leather Zion, the best that's ever came The game changes like, my mind just ain't right We 'gwan get this dough, I guess it ain't your night Suckin me in like a vacumn, I remember Tellin my family I'll be back soon, that was December Eighty-five and, Jay-Z rise ten years later Got me wise still can't break my underworld ties I wear black a lot, in the Ac', act a lot Got matchin VCR's, a huge Magnavox To nitch, green like spinach pop wines that's vintage It's a lot of big money in my sentence Hittin towards a mil', lip a, written I kill like that Chick faked me one-two cat, yeah, I do dat Ain't no stoppin the champagne from poppin The drawers from droppin, the law from watchin, I hate em Politics as us-ual
  14. Can´t Knock The Hustle