Today in Hip Hop History: Jay-Z Released ‘In My Lifetime, Vol. 1’ LP 27 Years Ago

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tumblr 3ada02a4840b536a056147af590168f7 89748562 2048

On this day in Hip Hop history, Brooklyn’s own living legend Jay-Z released his sophomore album In My Lifetime, Vol. 1. Debuting at #3 on the Billboard 200 and selling over a million copies within a year of it’s release, this album marked the beginning of the Roc La Familia Dynasty.

With this album, Jay-Z began to move away from the popular theme of mafioso rap that had taken New York by storm. He and his Roc-a-Fella cohorts brought in a new trend altogether, ushering in the Jiggy Era. With Jay-Z’s artistic maturity came a more seasoned swagger. Musically, Jay-Z operated with the demeanor of a kingpin. His deliver had an air of authority behind it and every bar laid down was extravagant yet rarely exaggerated. If Reasonable Doubt was a taste of his ability, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 is a true introduction to the MC the world would come to know and love.

Commercially, the album was quite a success. It boasts an extensive lineup of guest features including Lil’ Kim, Foxy Brown, Babyface, Blackstreet, Teddy Riley, Too $hort, and Puff Daddy to name a few. The production of the project was also a step up from his debut. Instead of sticking to the traditional New York one-rapper-one-DJ model, Hov outsourced the bulk of the production to Bad Boy‘s Hitmen, with DJ Premier and Ski still getting a few placements. By incorporating Puffy’s beat-making dream team, Jay was able to stay true to New York with his sound and take advantage of the Bad Boy hype without actually joining the team.

With the recent passing of both 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G., the battle for the top spot became a free-for-all with no clear leader. This project, however, made Jay-Z the front runner for the Hip Hop crown. It could be said that before this album their had yet to be a release on par with (or even close to)  Life After Death and All Eyez on Me. This album game the rap game hope in a new messiah, Je-HOVA.

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Jay-Z Reveals The Last Song He Played For The Notorious B.I.G.

During a recent interview with CBS Mornings‘ Gayle King, Jay-Z recalled some of his final moments with The Notorious B.I.G. ahead of his death in 1997. According to the hitmaker, he played Biggie his In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 track “Streets Is Watching,” and he was a big fan. He reflected on the late icon’s reaction, which indicated that he knew how much of a success it would be.

As the duo made their way around Jay-Z’s NYC Book Of HOV exhibit, he gave King some insight to the significance of a few of his records. “This album was the streets’ favorite,” he said pointing to In My Lifetime, Vol. 1. “This album, I was trying to go into, like, the music business.”

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Jay-Z Recalls Biggie’s Reaction To “Streets Is Watching”

“The first song I made for this album was ‘Streets Is Watching.’ That was the last song I played for Biggie. He kept saying, ‘Play it again, play it again.’ I gave him the cassette,” he continued. “I’ll never forget — he looked back like, ‘The whole album gonna sound like this?’ It was almost like playful, but it was also almost like, ‘Man, he’s coming.’” Unfortunately, Biggie was no longer around when Jay-Z dropped the full album in November of 1997.

The following year, he spoke with MTV about how Biggie’s passing impacted his process of creating the LP. “I don’t have anyone to bounce off of, you understand? We bounced off each other like, ‘Oh that was cr*zy; I gotta make something crazier,’” he told the outlet. “When you don’t have that, you don’t have that gauge […] It’s just hard to adjust; you have to find other ways to motivate yourself.” What do you think of Jay-Z revealing the last song he ever played for Biggie before his passing? How do you feel about the late icon’s reaction to the track? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below, and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.

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