Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter's new album The Dynasty Roc La Familia (2000- ) is no Reasonable Doubt, his 1996 debut which still stands as his best album to date. But Jay-Z's latest is no Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life either. So be warned y'all Jigga fans and haters -- it is apparent from the get-go that Jigga's onto some different stuff this time.
Jay-Z
The Dynasty Roc La Familia
Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
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Lyrically, Jigga's keeping the flossing talk to the minimum. After being blasted by critics for talking too much about wealth in his last three albums, Jay-Z is back with some of his most fierce rhymes in recent years.
A number of tracks here are absolute masterpieces. "Where Have You Been" is a haunting track where Jigga addresses his father and confronts him about how all of his wrongdoing has affected his family and childhood. The track is so spellbinding that it rivals the intensity of Eminem's new single "Stan."
"This Can't Be Life" features Scarface, Beanie Sigel and Jay-Z telling some heartbreaking street tales. In "Soon You'll Understand," Jigga earnestly apologizes to those he hurt in the past. This is Jay-Z at his finest, and the closest he has come back to his indie-label days.
Production wise, Timbaland, Irv Gotti and Swizz Beats are nowhere to be found on the new joint. The only blatantly commercial track on the album is the Neptunes (Mystikal's "Shake Ya Ass") production, "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)." Instead, Jigga enlists the relatively unknown Just Blaze, Rick Rock and Bink to produce much of the album to give it a harder, unpolished feel. On the flip side, some of the productions do come off as cheap and lazy.
Originally a compilation for the entire Roc-A-Fella camp, The Dynasty Roc La Familia (2000- ) feels a little thrown-together. The album is far from a classic, but it should silence those critics that have taken Jay-Z to task.
