Customer Ratings & Reviews

Been loving this cd for years now this is what hip hop is about

Bought the cd for one son and ended up liking the whole cd

This is a classic Jay Z CD. A lot of classic songs. Blast from the past.

One of the best CD that Jay-Z ever put out!!!!!!!!

Great CD for the price and earning points is a plus too

A few good songs but for the price there is no room to complain

My husband bought this cd he is a Big Jay Z fan...

I certainly made a mistake here since im more country music

This came from an era still long before Jay-Z became the unquestionable kingpin of the hip hop world he is today, his contribution to an extremely important year in hip hop that further expounded on his style and themes. The music portion of the first track Hand It Down is a catchy start of the 14 track album. Of course the timeless tracks include Hard Knock Life and Jigga What, Jigga Who. Hard Knock Life may be the greatest hip hop instrumental of all time. Other notable tracks include A Week Ago, Reservoir Dogs, and Its Alright.

So much has been said about this album, that Jay-Z was "completely in a zone, focused and creative" during the making of this album. After getting a few years of perspective on this album, how can ANYONE say that this album is EXCELLENT or BORDERLINE CLASSIC? How? This album might have sold many units, but top notch records sales DO NOT equal a classic album. Vol.2 Hard Knock Life was hailed by critics and fans alike as some of Jay-Z's best material. I "respectfully" disagree. Here's the COMPLETE review: Album Highlights: Hard Knock Life, A Week Ago, Money,Cash,Hoes(w/DMX), and N**** What N**** Who. Every other song on this album is ABSOLUTE filler and it's not worth your time in listening to it. Production: Thumbs in the middle, leaning towards down. Not the best production in the world. Timbaland and Swizz made the best tracks, Everything else is either poorly composed or mediocre at best(check Kid Capri's track). Lyrics and Subject Matter: Thumbs in the middle, leaning towards down. Jigga represents on the tracks mentioned in the album highlights section. On everything else, lyrically, is not material to gloat about. Originality: Thumbs WAY down. If Jay-Z would have done this album in a way like The Blueprint, it would have been better, but since NEARLY every song features another artist, this album loses SERIOUS points with me. The Last Word: Not too much to say here that I haven't said already. Is this album worth buying for the four best songs? Certainly not. Jay-Z didn't slip up with In My Lifetime Vol.1. He slipped up here, and it shows. Overall, I can't seriously recommend this album. But if you consider this a must have of any type, be prepared to be disappointed. Otherwise, don't even bother.

this cd rocks from begining to end i love every album jay z has made this cd rocks from begining to end!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THIS ALBUM SHOWED JAY Z AT THE TOP OF HIS GAME...BROOKLYN!!EVERY TRACK ON HERE ROCKS..I FEEL AND UNDERSTAND WHERE HE'S COMING FROM..HE BRINGS IT IN SO SKILLFULLY AND WITH CLASS..HOV!!

Man I used to have this album a long time ago, but lost it. Great CD from top to bottom. Definitely happy with my purchase.

Has a few awesome songs but not all of them are great like his cd's are usually like.

awesome from the very begining to the very end!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!