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Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life

Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life
Jay-z-vol-2-hard-knock-life.jpg
Studio album by Jay Z
Released September 29, 1998
Recorded 1997–1998
Genre Hip hop
Length 61:43
Label Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam
Producer Jay Z (Executive) , Kareem "Biggs" Burke (Executive) , Damon Dash (Executive) , Swizz Beatz, DJ Premier, The 45 King, Timbaland, Stevie J, Irv Gotti, Erick Sermon, Kid Capri, Damon Dash, Jermaine Dupri, J-Runnah, Lil' Rob, Darold Trotter, Mahogany Music
Jay Z chronology
In My Lifetime, Vol. 1
(1997)
Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life
(1998)
Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter
(1999)
Singles from Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life
  1. "Can I Get A..."
    Released: August 22, 1998
  2. "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)"
    Released: October 17, 1998
  3. "Money, Cash, Hoes"
    Released: May 1999
  4. "Nigga What, Nigga Who (Originator 99)"
    Released: April 24, 1999
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 3.5/5 stars
Christgau's Consumer Guide (3-star Honorable Mention)
Encyclopedia of Popular Music 3/5 stars
IGN 8.3/10
Los Angeles Times 3.5/4 stars
NME 6/10
Q 3/5 stars
The Rolling Stone Album Guide 3.5/5 stars
The Source 4.5/5

Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life is the third studio album by American rapper Jay Z. It was released on September 29, 1998, by Roc-A-Fella Records.

In the liner notes of the album, Jay-Z gives his thoughts on various tracks. The lyrics to the fast paced "Nigga What, Nigga Who (Originator 99)" are also included.

Speaking in December 1998 to noted UK urban writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning Blues & Soul, Jay described the background to the album's lyrical themes: "Primarily I see myself as so much more than a rapper. I really believe I'm the voice for a lot of people who don't have that microphone or who can't rap. So I wanted to represent and tell the story of everybody who's been through what I've been through, or knows somebody that has. I also wanted to speak about our lifestyle to people who - though they may live, say, in the suburbs and not be part of that world - still want to know about it and understand it."

Several tracks in this feature a rougher sound than the glossier Bad Boy production on In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, most notably the three tracks produced by Ruff Ryders beatmaker Swizz Beatz. With the exception of Stevie J on "Ride or Die," Bad Boy producers play no role in Vol. 2, though Jay-Z enlisted Timbaland, Jermaine Dupri, and Irv Gotti for a more pop-oriented sound on three of the albums' singles. This would also be Jay-Z's last album to feature his mentor Big Jaz.

In a contemporary review for Playboy, Robert Christgau deemed Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life a progression from its predecessor, featuring more noticeable beats that would appeal to listeners other than just hip hop aesthetes. He highlighted the title track's "audacious Annie sample" and the production of Swizz Beats, whom he believed took influence from postminimalist composers such Steve Reich and Philip Glass. "And whatever Jay-Z's moral values", Christgau wrote, "the man knows how to put words together and say them real fast." He later gave it a three-star honorable mention in his Consumer Guide book, indicating "an enjoyable effort that consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well treasure". In The A.V. Club, Nathan Rabin said the record was "an uneven if worthwhile" album whose best songs "strip gangsta rap of its superthug bravado and replace it with a more nuanced understanding of the human emotions behind the gangsta facade".Q called it "the epitome of mainstream hip hop" at the time.


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Wikipedia

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