Jay-Z & Beyonc

What a Sunday afternoon. Hov and Beyonce capped off the summer with a surprise appearance at La Marina restaurant/lounge in Manhattan’s Washington Heights section. With DJ Camillo on the 1s and 2s, guests included Memphis Bleek, Swizz Beatz, Steve Stoute, Ebro, and yours truly. (That’s me on the text dawg).

Over a couple Cubans and endless

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  1. UCLA4LIFE says:

    first off congrats to jay and B on their new pregnacy. yo jay make a couple more million and sign this kid that did this show last night at the campus. http://soundcloud.com/love_at_first_sound/wednesdayaugust222012

  2. ZoomZoomDad-Otis says:

    Blueprint & The Black Album and The Dynasty: Roc La Familia album is nice too.

  3. Sam says:

    Me and Jay believe the same thing on that holy trinity line. Those 3 albums are far and above the rest of his masterpieces.

  4. 3rdRail says:

    I have to disagree with Hov. To me it’s 1. Reasonable Doubt 2. Hard Knock Life 3. American Gangster (What will go down as the last “classic” album of his career; I just don’t think he has it in him anymore; not to knock him at all).

  5. 7thEmerson says:

    They finally got Bleek looking mature in these pics.

  6. B.Dot says:

    for some reason a lot of people champion American Gangster. Great album, but i don’t think it’s “up there”

  7. Ivy blue Hov says:

    I think a lot of people sleep on kingdom come B.dot….. my personal favourite is the blueprint, edges it slightly from the seminal classic that is reasonable doubt

  8. The_Dynasty says:

    American Gangster may have lost it’s appeal to a lot of people because it was associated and heavily influenced by the American Gangster movie which may have made the album not feel as personal as his other albums. But if your looking for supreme beats, lyrics, concepts, and everything else that labels a rap album a classic you can’t skip that album. American Gangster will get it’s just due further down the line.

  9. B.Dot says:

    Kingdom Come was weak! I think its worst album

  10. Ivy blue Hov says:

    i liked it personally, opinions eh? By the way are you the real b dot?

  11. Harden says:

    American Gangster is in the top 5 with those 3 Jay said plus Hard Knock Life, in my opinion. AG is a personal favorite of mine, still bump that on the regular.

  12. 1 says:

    i wish em and mariah stuck together, they wudda been bigger than hov n be

  13. Harden says:

    The album would be a damn near classic if Jay replaced “Hello Brooklyn” with a “When The Money Goes” that ended on Fab’s album. It fit the album concept and was a way better track.

  14. RJ3000_ says:

    Bdot u need a tshirt: “Fuck i’m doin at parties with Hova & Steve Stoute?”

    top 3:
    volume 1
    bp2
    K C

  15. Capricorn Religion says:

    “Kingdom Come” had its Moments…. I still keep it in the iPod shuffle from time to time. If only he would of cut out certain songs, Add a Dope beat an some one liners to it for a replacement a couple times, came stronger on “Show Me what you Got”, and, keep the Concept from the First record going, it could of been a Solid album….

    Its just Alright/Eh…..

  16. 7thEmerson says:

    American Gangster was amazing for what it was.

  17. B.Dot says:

    LOL @ RJ good one.

  18. IamRealTalk ( "I WANT MY CREDITS N I WANT IT NOW !!!" - Roscoe Dash Voice ) - CRUEL SUMMER will NOT outsell SELF MADE VOL. II - GFID Officially Platinum says:

    DAMN CAN MY NIGGA BLEEK GET A SEAT…SMH STORY OF HIS LIFE

  19. The_Dynasty says:

    People who put Kingdom Come anywhere in the top of Jay-z catalog must not be pass the age of 16. The Unplugged album is better than Kingdom Come. You know Kingdom Come is bad when Jay-Z and Just Blaze are on record saying the album was rushed, unfocused, and wasn’t that good. Too many bad songs that overshadowed the good ones. The first thing that pops in my head when I think of Kingdom Album is the chorus to the “Hollywood” song which is not good.

  20. RJ3000_ says:

    ^
    The Prelude
    Oh My God
    Kingdom Come
    Lost ones
    Do you wana ride?
    Trouble
    I made it
    Dig a Hole
    30 something

    he addressed everything that had happened in the 3 years he was outa the game. thats what jay-z albums are all about. and im 27.

  21. Dashing says:

    Here’s my definitive ranking of Hov’s albums.

    1.Blueprint
    2. Reasonable Doubt
    3. The Black Album
    4. Vol 2: Hard Knock Life
    5. In My Lifetime Vol 1
    6. American Gangster
    7. Blueprint 3
    8. Dynasty Roc La Familia
    9. Blueprint 2
    10. Volume 3: Life and Times of S. Carter
    11. Kingdom Come

  22. Dashing says:

    @RJ3000 but “Anything”(feat Usher) was the worst Jay-z song of all time.

    And Hollywood sucked.

    And Do you Wanna Ride, Dig A Hole and Trouble were not tight either.

    And Beach Chair just didn’t work.

    That album was ambitious, but ultimately failed at what it tried to do. That’s why he’ll only perform “Show Me What You Got” off this album.

  23. The_Dynasty says:

    @RJ3000 You listed 9 tracks off the album and 4 of them were iffy to me and a lot of people so that automatically take them as good and classic tracks. So you got 5 good tracks out of 14. What’s your argument?

  24. The_Dynasty says:

    @RJ3000 I got “Dig a Hole” in my list of all-time worst diss track.
    “I made It” was done over and remix, re-done by Jay-z at least on every one of his albums prior and after.
    “Kingdome Come” and “Trouble” were overall lackluster tracks.
    If Jay-z didn’t come out with “Show me what ya got” the album would have had no lead single.

  25. mac DIESEL says:

    BLUEPRINT 2 WAS JAY’S WORST ALBUM!!!! DOUBLE ALUMS ARE HARD TO PULL OFF!!!! EVEN THOU IT WENT 2X PLATINUM, IT WAS HIS WEAKEST ALBUM BY FAR!!!! THAT ALBUM WAS FILLED WIT ALBUM FILLERS!!!! GOTTA AGREE WIT JAY ABOUT THE HOLY TRINITY!!!! THEY ARE DEFINITELY HIS BEST ALBUMS!!!!

    @ B.Dot

    NOW I KNOW WHY U DON’T GIVE MEMPH BLEEK BAD REVIEWS!!!! DAMN, U RAPRADAR NIGGAS STAY IN NIGGAS POCKETS!!!! HA!!!!

    DON’T HATE ON MY OPINION!!!!

  26. RJ3000_ says:

    ^
    lol just cuz they’re “iffy” to you means they are whack?
    Anything and Hollywood sucked. Beach Chair doesnt, especially if you listen to it now.
    Its grown folk music.

    listen to the first verse off do u wana ride and tell me it isnt one of his best.
    dig a hole was classic jay-z vs haters. killed em without saying names.
    IMO, trouble was dope.

    “That album was ambitious, but ultimately failed at what it tried to do. That

  27. IIG says:

    Kingdom Come was the shit. One of the best sounding albums ever due to being mixed 100% by Dr. Dre.

    Great post. I’d love to know more on what Jigga had to say. And by the way, Vol. 2 being better than Reasonable Doubt is pretty ridiculous, but props anyway.

  28. mac DIESEL says:

    @ Dashing

    YOU PUT BLUEPRINT 2 OVER KINGDOME COME AND VOLUME 3??? BP 2 IS HIS WEAKEST!!!! NOTHN’ BUT ALBUM FILLERS ON THAT ALBUM!!!!

    DON’T HATE ON MY OPINION!!!!

  29. The_Dynasty says:

    @RJ3000 I said iffy cuz on the 1st listen to of those track I liked them and then immediately after those songs made me abused the skip button. So I can see how some people would like that song the same way I see how some fat people think it’s a good idea to wear tight jeans and an extra small T-shirt. But when Jay-Z himself says that the album wasn’t his best work makes me look at you and say hmm? How can you like the food the Chef said he fucked up on?
    Leads me to think your musical taste is not that high.
    It is what it is….

  30. Capricorn Religion says:

    Hold up….

    “Blupeprint 2” had some joints on it. If you take some songs from the Disc 1, an did the same for Disc 2, place them in one CD, it would of been a Dope album…

    Fillers beyond belief yes but, still. It had some joints on there….

  31. Capricorn Religion says:

    Typo “Blueprint”…

  32. RJ3000_ says:

    “But when Jay-Z himself says that the album wasn

  33. mac DIESEL says:

    @ Capricorn Reliogion

    If you take some songs from the Disc 1, an did the same for Disc 2, place them in one CD, it would of been a Dope album

  34. Capricorn Religion says:

    @mac DIESEL

    True. He doesn’t perform any from that album which is bad because, as I said it had some joints on it. There was no need for some of the songs on there…

    But still, it had reply Value to me…

    Some people hate
    Blueprint 2
    A Dream
    Meet the Parents
    Some how, some way
    Diamond is Forever
    2 Many Hoes
    I did it my way
    Bitches & Sisters
    The Watcher 2
    03 Bonnie & Clyde
    Excuse me miss
    All around the World
    Show you how to do this

    That right there would be a Good ONE album together. Instead of that Double CD he came out with.

    This would of been a Dope CD. I wish he would play some joints off it

  35. mac DIESEL says:

    @ The_Dynasty

    ARTIST ARE THEY’RE OWN WORST CRITIC!!!! IF JAY SAID AMERICAN GANGSTER WAS HIS WEAKEST WORK, WOULD U LIKE THE ALBUM LESS??? PROBABLY NOT!!!! HIS OPINION ON HIS OWN WORK IS JUST THAT!!!! HIS OPINION!!!! IT SHOULDN’T MAKE U CHANGE YOUR MIND ABOUT YOUR OPINION ABOUT THE ALBUM!!!! JAY SAID KINGDOME COME WAS HIS WEAKEST!!!! I BEG TO DIFFER!!!! I THINK BP2 WAS HIS WEAKEST!!!!

    DON’T HATE ON MY OPINION!!!!

  36. The_Dynasty says:

    Ask and you shall receive fam….

    JAY-Z: Well, what I was trying to do with this album

  37. The_Dynasty says:

    Just Blaze thoughts came from one of Combat Jack shows and I don’t remember which one it was.
    Also an artist doesn’t have to say an album was good or bad for me to form my opinion but in this particular case the artist views match my views. If I needed an artist to tell me what is hot I been running around saying last Rick Ross album was his best.

  38. mac DIESEL says:

    @ Capricorn Religion

    ALL AROUND THE WORLD
    EXCUSE ME MISS
    U DON’T KNOW W/ M.O.P
    POPPIN’ TAGS
    SHOW YOU HOW TO DO THIS

    ^

    ONLY SONGS I LISTEN TOO OFF THAT ALBUM!!!!

    DON’T HATE ON MY OPINION!!!!

  39. The_Dynasty says:

    Also there are other interviews where Jay-z goes more in depth about his dislike for Kingdom Come and how he was force to drop that album because it was the 4th quarter and Def Jam had no major release that was guaranteed a big sell and L.A Reid practically beg him to do that album. But y’all niggas got google too…

  40. RJ3000_ says:

    ^
    Jay-Z is also on record saying Brooklyn’s Finest is better than I love the Dough but that doesnt mean everyone should think that. His opinion of an album is obviously going to be different than a fan’s opinion.

  41. Realshyt says:

    Hov is right those are his best album. To me black album and reasonable doubt are damn near neck2neck but reasonable doubt got it by a nich…dynasty album was superior “soon you’ll understand” and the one with beanie about there pops was classic. Looking back at his career, he is without a doubt a well rounded legend one of the kings of NY fursurr

  42. Realshyt says:

    Oh and kingdom come was soo sophiscated it went over people’s head don’t sleep on it

  43. Tim Lee VA Stand Up says:

    Its fair to say im incredibly jealous you got to shoot the shit with Jay-Z, its a life long dream of mine, and i wouldnt waste it dick riding either…..there would be some serious cirtiquing from a serious fan.

  44. The_Dynasty says:

    @RJ3000
    Wait are you saying “I love the dough” is better than “Brooklyn Finest”?

  45. bigHUNT says:

    ‘Hardknock life vol 2’ changed Hovs career, set him on the road to success. But ‘Reasonable doubt’ ‘Blueprint’,& ‘Black Album’ changed the game so its a toss up

  46. B.Dot says:

    HKL Vol.2 had like 5 singles! Hov is wylin’ in my opinion

  47. Lulu says:

    Jay -z I believe is like the materialization of what MLK Malcon x and all those guys fought for.His story to Success is dope and he makes the finest art to express that. All the Riches are perks Mother Nature . He’s a force 2 reckon with and he’s one of our Legendary ones.

  48. dareason24 says:

    I guess Hov knows who you are now huh? no need to “get a pic of this guy” lol

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  51. mac DIESEL says:

    I guess Hov knows who you are now huh? no need to

  52. @gtfomike says:

    I always thought it was common knowledge that those were his “Holy Trinity”
    Just like Nas’ Illmatic, IWW and Stillmatic, Ems sslp,mmlp&tes, Commons Res., LWFC and One Day, Outkasts spcm,atliens,aquemini,…. u know

  53. bigHUNT says:

    OH and Kingdom Come was dope, it just wasn’t cohesive production-wise, but lyrically that nigga said some sh*t, that song where he dissed Cam & lil wayne was child abuse. all facts.the song about hurricane Katrina. dope. just alot of the production on that album was weak, same goes for Blueprint 2, production on most of the songs was MEH! but Jay himself lyrically/ flow was impeccable. To me jays worst album was ‘Vol 1 In my lifetime’. the rest were hard.

  54. @gtfomike says:

    Wasnt feeling Vol 1 either. But all of his albums were filled with fillers expect for RD, TBA, TBP, AG and Dynasty

  55. Dashing says:

    Mac Diesel, how often do you play Volume 3?

    Think about it.

    Great songs: Big Pimpin, So Ghetto, Come and Get Me
    Ok songs: Snoopy Track, It’s Hot, Dope Man

    Forgettable songs:Do It Again (Put Ya Hands Up), There’s been a Murder, NYMP,
    Wack Songs: S. Carter, Things that You Do,Pop 4 Roc

    BP2 was bloated and has a good number of wack joints on it, but it’s got a lot of great songs on there:

    Hovi Baby, The Watcher pt 2, Some How Some Way, U Don’t Know (pt2), Excuse Me Miss, Meet the Parents, Some People Hate, All Around the World

    Shit, even joints like Poppin Tags, Guns N Roses, and Show you How were dope.

    It’s close though. Neither was among Jay’s best work, but Kingdom Come was def his worst, especially when you factor in that the production includes DJ Khalil, Just Blaze, Kanye West, Dr. Dre, The Neptunes and Swizz Beats. Unfortunately (with the exception of Just Blaze and Khalil) they provide some of the worst production of their careers.

    A post-confessions Usher and the God of rap over Neptunes production. That’d destined to be a hit, right?

    No, worst song in Jay-z’s catalog.

    “Dig a Hole” We’ve all chosen to forget that he was taking veiled shots at people like Jim Jones. This all but guaranteed his new default position of “being above” rappers that take shots at him.

    Even, the well-intentioned deep tracks like “Minority Report” and “Do You Wanna Ride” didn’t work.

    The Coldplay song didn’t work. Literally, every other time that they collaborated it sounded better than this time. Think about Kanye West and Chris Martin on “Homecoming”. THAT’S how you collaborate with Chris Martin.

    And when you factor in that it was his “coming out of retirement” album, it stings even more.

    Either way you slice it though, those are Jay’s 3 worst albums by far.

  56. mac DIESEL says:

    @ Dashing

    THERE WAS MORE COHESION ON KINGDOME COME THAN BP 2!!!! BP 2 WAS ALL OVER THE PLACE!!!!I THINK HE WAS JUST RIDIN’ THE MOMENTUM OF BP 1!!!! LOOKS LIKE HE DIDN’T PUT ANY EFFORT IN ALOT OF THOSE SONGS!!!! MAJORITY OF TRACKS ARE FORGETTABLE OPPOSED TO A FEW ON VOLUME 3 OR KINGDOME COME!!!! AND DO IT AGAIN WAS FORGETTABLE??? WOW!!!!

    THE DYNASTY
    BLUEPRINT 2
    BLUEPRINT 3

    ^

    JAY’S WEAKEST ALBUMS!!!!

    DON’T HATE ON MY OPINION!!!!

  57. nativenotes says:

    Yo B. Dot did you holla at Hov about doing that album cuts concert. All the official old joints you never hear him do.

  58. M.T says:

    definitely agree with Jay on this one. Favorite Jay-z album would have to be The Black Album, followed by The Blueprint and Reasonable Doubt. Blueprint 2 had wayyyy too much fillers, production could have been better in some tracks and it was just hard to listen all the way through. Kingdom Come was alright…there was alot of standout tracks but alot of the other tracks were weak and the album didnt just measure up to the Black Album or The Blueprint as a whole. American Gangster is probably his most slept on album. Its not up there with Reasonable Doubt, The Black Album, or The Blueprint but definitely a great album and his last recent great body of work as of late. I have mixed reactions toward Blueprint 3.

  59. M.T says:

    @ Dashing

    THERE WAS MORE COHESION ON KINGDOME COME THAN BP 2!!!! BP 2 WAS ALL OVER THE PLACE!!!!I THINK HE WAS JUST RIDIN

  60. Nahhbrah says:

    Laughing at all y’all debating like there was anything good after the black album.

  61. damn thats it says:

    these niggas livin the life, good to see bleek still with jay-z

  62. 7thEmerson says:

    That’s how you know you are a great artist. So many in here having intelligent debates over this man’s discography and even the weak picks are better than a lot of cats tracklistings. I respect Jay a lot for his body of work and hustle.

  63. Beanie Segal's Hype Man says:

    RD is sooo overhyped. It’s a good album, but didnt become great until Jay kept saying it was.

    His best albums in no particular order: Blueprint, American Gangster, and Black Album (thought that one is not aging well). To me, any of those song for song beat RD.

  64. daFUCKouttahere says:

    Laughing at you acting like there WASN’T anything good after the black album.

  65. Carlito T says:

    Wow I would of never thought even hardcore Jay Z fans would of put Kingdom Come up in there in the top 3 or even in the top 5. Maybe I need to listen to it again. I thought that was his weakest album to date. I’m a big Jay fan too but damn I remember being extremely upset for Jay coming out of retirement with such a weak album. I felt like a got robbed! That’s when I really thought Jay was finished. Thank God he came back with Blueprint 3.

  66. Nardwuar's goon says:

    I don’t like american gangsta at all.

  67. jonny business says:

    I agree with Mac diesel Bp2 was all over the place remember this was after the Jay/Nas beef and blueprint 1 which for me is up there with Life After Death and Illmatic as the greatest Rap albums ever.There was no cohesion on there at all that Sean paul joint was worse than the Usher off KC never mind the Remix.Overall Jay’s worst album but still better than 90% of rappers best work.

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  70. Nickey Negrito says:

    is Jay gonna sign Loaded Lux?

    Would have been my exclusive question with an exclusive answer

  71. brian says:

    i gots to ssay i slept on kingdome come… but that shit crack…. it was somethin different…. i listen to it almost lik it came out yesterday….. but my top 3 jay z albums are 1. blueprint 2. hard knock life 3. dynasty

  72. Frontrunner says:

    You are right BDot…volume 2 >>> the black album and reasonable doubt…..now lyrically is another thing as far as doubt….i mean songs

  73. Pimp says:

    Bout to swerve on Thursday

  74. buzz says:

    Jay z most authentic album to date is Reasonable doubt.- vintage jay z lyricism. before the fame, etc,. but creatively its not his best, that would be: hardknock life. dynasty. blueprint. Black album. American Gangster (was kinda like the sequel to Reasonabe doubt), i also liked Blueprint 3 (What we talking bout, DOA. run this town, Already home, reminder)

  75. nyhilly says:

    volume 1 (you have to be over 35 to understand this)
    reasonable
    blueprint
    dynasty
    volume 3
    blueprint 3
    black (just barely made the list. yup. that just happened. come and get me)

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