Since Reasonable Doubt was released in 1996, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter evolved into much more than just a rapper, he’s a brand in itself. He’s founded several success businesses across multiple industries, creating general wealth for himself and the people around him. While his other endeavors have helped him achieve the feat of being hip-hop’s first billionaire, it’s his musical creativity that makes him truly special.
Throughout his career, Carter has become one of the world’s best-selling music artists with 140 million records sold, won 24 Grammy Awards, and was the first rapper to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, along with being the first solo living rapper inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. With albums such as The Blueprint, American Gangster, and 4:44, Jay-Z has created timeless records that will forever be an integral part of hip-hop’s history.
In celebration of his 54th birthday, we’ve evaluated Jay-Z’s entire discography, and created a list of all his releases from top to bottom. Collaborative efforts such as Everything Is Love, Watch The Throne, Collision Course and others have been omitted so as to feature Hov’s solo releases only. With that being written, let’s take a look at the Brooklyn native’s studio projects, ranked.
By 2013, Hov reached a point in his career where he could get whomever he wanted on his album. With Magna Carta Holy Grail audiences saw production from Pharrell Williams, Hit-Boy, Bo-1da and The-Dream, and features from Beyoncé, Rick Ross, Frank Ocean and Justin Timberlake this album had amazing potential, but too many of the songs failed to resonate with some of Jay-Z’s core fanbase.
Since The Black Album was supposed to be his final solo effort, news of Kingdom Come came as a pleasant surprise. Jay-Z had already solidified himself as one of the greatest rappers of all time, but even the greats can develop ring rust. The singles “Lost One” and “Show Me What You Got” are both beautiful songs, but the album itself was a bit misguided, and showed that Jay-Z needed a bit more time to revert back to form.
The sequel to The Blueprint had some good records, but similar to the third installment, it just wasn’t quite the original. It was a double album, and was criticized for its lengthy time frame. What’s most unfortunate is that If a few of the tracks were taken out, and the song structure altered a bit, The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse had the potential to be at the top of Hov’s discography.
Billed as a solo album, The Dynasty: Roc La Familia was originally slated as a compilation record—which it definitely sounded like. Jay-Z appeared on 14 of its 16 tracks, with other Roc-A-Fella signees having verses on 11 songs, this album overwhelmed fans a bit to the the list of other artists involved. Although it produced great crew tracks like “You, Me, Him and Her” and the hit single “I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me),” the album didn’t have enough of Jay-Z on it to satisfy listeners.
The final installment of The Blueprint series was a great project, but didn’t quite hit the mark due to its expectation. It included music from frequent collaborators Kanye West, Timbaland and The Neptunes, along with features from Rihanna, Young Jeezy, Alicia Keys, Drake, J. Cole and more, this album was primed to become another classic. However, the songs just didn’t have the same feeling as did the original, but with The Blueprint 3, Jay-Z still recorded an album that was better the most.
By this fourth album, he had finally figured it out. Maintaining the balance of staying true to one’s artistry and achieving commercial success is something that many musicians struggle with. For Jay-Z however, he was able to keep the same, high-level lyrical content on his albums, while recording hit singles, such as “Big Pimpin’” and “Do It Again (Put Ya Hands Up).” Turning 30 just a few weeks prior to the release of Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter, Jay-Z had established himself as a superstar both in and outside of rap.
As the follow-up to his iconic debut, expectations were high on multiple levels for In My Lifetime, Vol. 1. For one, listeners were anticipating an album that was equal, if not better, than his previous release. On the other hand, Roc-A-Fella Records had just inked a partnership deal with Def Jam, so there was also an expectation to produce more commercial hits so as to boost album sales. While there are songs that were a clear aim to mainstream success, tracks such as “Where I’m From,” “Imaginary Players,” and “Streets Is Watching,” are among some of the top in his career. While it may not have hit the same mark as his debut, the world could see that this up-and-coming rapper was here to stay.
Going up against Reasonable Doubt as perhaps the most important album of his career, Vol 2… Hard Knock Life exposed Jay-Z to a larger audience. Prior to its release, he was a respected artist in industry circles, but still hadn’t quite broken through. With singles such as “Can I Get A…” and “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem),” Hov garnered commercial success while still maintaining his hip-hop roots—and hasn’t looked back since.
Inspired by the Denzel Washington-led film of the same name, Jay-Z brought listeners back to his mafioso-style braggadocio of old with American Gangster. It exuded the soulful sound of the 70s, and it was also a testament to Hov’s skill as a musician, as well as a comeback from the less-than-stellar release of Kingdom Come a year earlier. It featured Nas, Beanie Sigel, and Lil Wayne, and served as the perfect soundtrack to 2007’s holiday season.
4:44 is perhaps Hov’s most vulnerable album. Coming in at only 10-tracks, Jay-Z speaks about family, love, and the importance of building wealth. What stands out the most however, is the blueprint (no pun intended) that he creates, showing that rap isn’t always a young man’s game, and that growth and progression is something that we all should aspire to. Produced entirely by No I.D., Jay’s 13th studio release tells the story of a man who has learned from the past, and forging a path to be better in the future.
Originally slated to be 12 tracks produced by 12 different producers, The Black Album was Jay-Z’s swan song. Feeling as though he’d done everything that he could as a rapper, Hov decided to hang it up, but not without the proper farewell. The Black Album hit shelves on November 14, 2003, and was met with critical acclaim. From its first track—“December 4th”—to the final notes on “My 1st Song,” this project was a fitting, final note to legendary career… until it wasn’t.
For many artists, their first album is their most important. It’s supposed to tell the story of their life from the moment they were born until the recording of the project’s first song. For Jay-Z, it was a moment of triumph. After not being able to get a record deal, he, along with Dame Dash and Kareem “Biggs” Burke, founded Roc-A-Fella Records in 1994. Two years later, he would release Reasonable Doubt.
The album featured Mary J. Blige, The Notorious B.I.G., Foxy Brown, and Memphis Bleek, among others, and was heralded for its mafioso themes, and introspective lyrics about the ills of leading a life of crime. It marked the beginning of a promising career, and a much-needed introduction of Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter to the world.
Released on September 11, 2001, Jay-Z’s magnum opus came during a time for immense tragedy for this country. It was also during a transitional time in hip-hop–the culture was still reeling from the passing of The Notorious B.I.G., and the world was waiting for someone to step up and claim the throne as the new king of New York City. Hov dealt with legal issues, and was also in the middle of a war with several rappers; most notably, Nas. With The Blueprint, this Brooklyn native reached the heights of his creativity, crafting an instant classic. Throughout its 13 tracks, he staked his claim as one of the best in the business, and ultimately, one of the greatest ever.
The album included production from Just Blaze, Bink, Timbaland, and a young producer by the name of Kanye West, and contained a lone feature from Eninem on the iconic record, “Renegade.” The Blueprint was truly a significant moment in hip-hop, and amidst all of the chaos, Jay-Z found a sense of solace that allowed him to create his most acclaimed work to date.
