The Dynasty: Roc La Familia | ||||
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Studio album by Jay Z | ||||
Released | October 31, 2000 | |||
Recorded | 2000 | |||
Genre | Hip hop | |||
Length | 66:35 | |||
Label | Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam | |||
Producer | Just Blaze, Rick Rock, Bink!, The Neptunes, Kanye West, Rockwilder, Memphis Bleek, B-High, T.T. | |||
Jay Z chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Dynasty: Roc La Familia | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | |
Entertainment Weekly | B+ |
Los Angeles Times | |
NME | 8/10 |
Q | |
Rolling Stone | |
The Source | 4.5/5 |
The Village Voice | B |
The Dynasty: Roc La Familia is the fifth studio album by American hip-hop artist Jay Z. It was released on October 31, 2000. It's lead single, "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)", produced by The Neptunes, was one of Jay Z's most successful singles peaking at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 with 557,789 copies sold in its first week and more than 2.3 million copies sold to date. The album generally received positive reviews from music critics and the album ended up becoming the 20th highest selling R&B/Hip-Hop Album of the 2000–2010 decade according to Billboard.
Originally a Roc-A-Fella Records compilation album, a showcase for Roc-A-Fella artists such as Memphis Bleek, Beanie Sigel, Amil and Freeway, which eventually became another Jay Z solo album (or at least marketed as one to increase sales), although the Roc-A-Fella artists are abundant on this album. Big name guest appearances have been limited to three – Snoop Dogg, R. Kelly, and Scarface – to make room for the Roc-A-Fella family. Rather than using big-name producers such as Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, who had featured prominently on Vol. 2 and Vol. 3, Jay Z had decided to feature more up-and-coming producers at the time of this album, such as Just Blaze, Kanye West, Bink! and The Neptunes. Partially as a result of this exposure, these producers would achieve notable success in the future. This was also the first album of Jay Z's not to feature work by longtime producer DJ Premier. Given Just Blaze and Kanye West's penchant for utilizing soul samples in their beats, the album features a smoother sound than Jay Z's previous efforts, though Bay Area-based producer Rick Rock includes a more minimalist sound in his four productions.