The greatest sporting spectacle in the world. The U.S. drops everything for one Sunday of the year. We gather around the TV's with beer, pizza, wings, and chips and scream and shout. Most of the time, the game doesn't live up to the hype, but every so often we get a great game. The last GREAT game was Super Bowl XXXV (Pats 20 Rams 17) back in 2002, although four out of the last five games has been within 11 points, with only really one blow out (Bucs V. Raiders, which was fine with me). It's more of a event than anything else anymore. It's a reason for people to get together and have fun. Hell, there are some Super Bowls I can't even remember after halftime, both because the games were bad and I was smashed by then.
This year, I kind of have a Super Bowl hangover. If you read this blog often, you know I'm a HUGE Steelers fan. Last year it was all about the Steelers and the Super Bowl. This year, although I like the Bears, just doesn't get me excited. It might be one of those games I either fall asleep ala the Chargers V. 49er's or start drinking too much. It's hard to give much of a rip after your team has been in it the year before. Hell, I haven't really given much of a rip since the Steelers didn't even make the playoffs this year. Anyhow, I hope everyone has a good time today and enjoy yourselves.
Jay-Z Pre-"Reasonable Doubt".
It seems like it's the cool thing to not like Jay lately. I can understand some of it, although personally, I don't really have anything against Jay or his place in Hip Hop. Yes, he makes some shitty songs, and some shitty albums (The Blueprint 2 has to be one of the worse albums EVER), but when Jay is on point, he is one of the better MC's in the game. His comeback attempt got lukewarm reviews. I personally didn't mind it all that much. It could have been better, but there was really only one true "garbage song' ("Anything", although "Hollywood" is pretty close to garbage as well). Before all the glammer and the glitz, Jay was a hungry MC. His debut album "Reasonable Doubt", is a true classic. He had hunger, passion, and the beats to back it all up.
Jay has been around for awhile. First appearing on some tracks with Jaz as group, which the name escapes me, that Noz on Cocaine Blunts posted a couple years ago. He also did the infamous "Hawaiian Sophie" on The Jaz's debut album "Word To The Jaz". From then, he'd pop up on certain efforts, from Big Daddy Kane to Original Flavor.
Sometime around '94 Jay decided to get into the Rap game full time. He first signed a deal with PayDay records. He would drop his first single in '95 "In My Lifetime" b/w "Can't Get With That". Produced by Ski, who in my opinion is probably THE most underrated producer in the game. Jaz contributes a remix version and Clark Kent does the B-side.
http://sharebee.com/61d361a3
| A1 | In My Lifetime (Original Ski Radio Version) (4:10) | |
| Producer - Ski | ||
| A2 | In My Lifetime (Original Ski Street Version) (4:28) | |
| Producer - Ski | ||
| A3 | In My Lifetime (Skistrumental) (4:28) | |
| Producer - Ski | ||
| B1 | In My Lifetime (Big Jaz Radio Remix) (4:48) | |
| Producer - Big Jaz Remix - Big Jaz | ||
| B2 | In My Lifetime (Big Jazmental Remix) (4:05) | |
| Producer - Big Jaz Remix - Big Jaz | ||
| B3 | Can't Get Wit That (DJ Clark Kent Version) (4:10) | |
| Producer - Clark Kent | ||
Jay would go on to be dropped from PayDay, after they dropped the ball. The rest is pretty much history as he would go on to start Roc-A-Fella and become an icon, not only in Hip Hop, but in the mainstream culture.
Before "Reasonable Doubt" was dropped, he dropped "Dead Presidents" b/w "Ain't No N---a", which the Dead Presidents version being the original. Same beats, but different lyrics from the version that appears on "Reasonable Doubt.
http://sharebee.com/8c7092f2
| A1 | Dead Presidents (Album Version) | |
| Producer - Ski | ||
| A2 | Dead Presidents (Clean Version) | |
| Producer - Ski | ||
| A3 | Dead Presidents (Instrumental) | |
| Producer - Ski | ||
| B1 | Ain't No Nigga (Album Version) | |
| Featuring - Foxy Brown Producer - Big Jaz | ||
| B2 | Ain't No Nigga (Instrumental Version) | |
| Producer - Big Jaz | ||
Enjoy!
Travis
9 comments:
I kinda think that the deal with Payday was just for that single. Not an album deal or anything of that sort. And I also think there was a small self-released white-label run of "In My Lifetime" or "I Can't Get With That" 12''s before Payday picked it up for distribution. But I might be wrong. What I do know is that between the two singles you're talking about here he dropped the original self-released white label Roc A Fella 12'' version of "Dead Presidents." That's the "original" version of "Dead Presidents." It came in a plain white sleeve with a black and white label bearing the hand-drawn Roc-A-Fella logo. It had clean, dirty and instrumental mixes of "Dead Presidents" and snippets of tracks from the then forthcoming 'Reasonable Doubt' on it. The success of that 12'' was what led to Freeze picking up distribution and releasing the "Dead Presidents" b/w "Ain't No Nigga" 12'' and the 'Reasonable Doubt' LP.
Thanks Travis! I had a couple of these tracks but not the full VLS's. Classics!
Thanks bro. Brings me back to buying cassette singles at the wiz and waiting on the latest bootleg doowop tape down by metro center (d.c.). Big up.
Cheers, mate. I got the Dead Presidents CD single recently (which I was looking for ever since seeing that the Reasonable Doubt version was called Dead Presidents II. Still on the hunt for In My Lifetime but this'll do 'til that day.
Jay-Z could be one of 'the greatest of all-time' if only he'd be a little more consistent and really think about his subject matter more carefully. It's also cool that he possesses two completely different flows; mostly it's his laidback, 'talking to the listener' approach but he's got that rapid-fire flow he started out with in his locker too.
Huge amount of props and respect for this post...
I have been looking for the original version of 'dead presidents' for YEARS and up till now have only had an old copy taped off the radio from way back whenever.....
So yeah - much appreciated dude. Its so much better than the album version.
Peace
El Keter, I was thinking about that deal after I wrote that. I think you a right about it only being a 12inch deal. As far as "Original" Dead Presidents, I'm not aware of any other versions other than the one that appears on this single or DP 2. Is the vinyl single you speaking of different than the one appears on this one?
Ross & JVF, if I remember right I bought that maxi single "Dead Presidents" before "Reasonable Doubt" dropped, but I bought it for "Ain't No N---a" which was buzzing at the time.
The "In My Lifetime" single was sitting there at a music store i went to all the time, after falling in love with "Reasonable Doubt", so I grabbed. I'm probably lucky to have them
I was dissappointed that the original version was not on Reasonable Doubt. I always liked it better. And, if I recall correctly, the video was the original version. Thanks.
Yo dogg, thanks for posting these singles.. they're much better than this year's Super Bowl. Basically it was a game to be won by whoever sucked less, talk about the Super Bowl Chumps.. Bears were awful and the Colts were mediocre. And personally, way too much god talk by the Colts.. I hope God didn't bet the over!!
Thanks for this joint
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