Good Times Vol.1 (Norman and Joey Jay's Good Times) - Norman Jay

Advantages: Jay-Z at his best, fantastic prodcution throughout
Disadvantages: None for me, suppose some people may be offended by the language used at times

...again over his career. This album earned him the rare 5 mic award from the source and XXL magazines, came 5th in Rolling Stones Albums of 2001, and 4th in NME's albums of 2001. The Album (Sample information taken from wikipedia) Track 1 - The Ruler's Back A laid back track to start the album with. Jay-Z sounds ultra relaxed on this track, rapping effortlessly but still with rhythm and style. Good track. Samples 'If' by Jackie Moore 'The Ruler's Back' by Slick Rick 8/10 Track 2 - Takeover An mix of two of my favourite artists of all time - Jay-Z and Jim Morrison/The Doors., as the beats are mainly taken from '5 to 1' by the Doors. Kanye West produced this one (way before he was a platinum selling artist in his own right), I've always liked Kanye's production, he takes chances with his beats and I applaud him... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Missing You - Aaliyah tribute fantastic song
Disadvantages: seems like a rip off changing a couple of tracks

...As I said when I reviewed the original BP2 it is not one of Jiggers better albums and this updated version did nothing to change my opinion except with the tribute to Aaliyah who tragically died in a plane crash and was also engaged to Jay's business partner Dame Dash. The track sampled Aaliyah's track Miss You and is the pefect melody behind Jay's excellent lyrics and flow on the song, he is for once not boasting about his wealth but shows he is more than capable of empathy and reflection. I think Jay will change a lot of peoples opinions with this song and it is great but I still feel the album was quite badly put together. His early offerings such as Reasonable Doubt and Vol 1 were lyrical journeys that gave the listener value for money and an insight into hip hop along with good lyrics. I found this a very frustrating album... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: That Typical Jay Z rythm we love, with those meaningful lyrics.
Disadvantages: Maybe A few more tracks would have been nice, but normal amount given.

...This albumn i think is a good albumn for Jay Z, he often has quite a selective audiance within the hip hop community, Some people love it some hate it, I was one of those haters, but this albumn has turned it round for me. Jay Z suprised me with some detailed lyrics which can tell us about experiences he himself or those he is close to has been involved in. All in all its a good albumn with a few tracks which i particularly like, One in particular is when he got together with Eninem in a song called "renegade". In Conclusion i would recommend this albumn to someone who is looking for originalty, a new style and some meaningful lyrics. 1. Ruler's Back 2. Takeover 3. IZZO (HOVA) 4. Girls Girls Girls 5. Jigga That Nigga 6. U Don't Know 7. Hola' Hovita 8. Heart Of The City (Ain't No Love) 9. Never Change 10... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful