Tribute to Jay-Z

Jay-z, a legend, an all-time great and one of the best living rappers today. There is no arguing, it's fact. His idiosyncratic flow and velvet smooth way around words is the golden age of hip-hop meets business savvy with a true 90's gangsta rapper thrown in, while always remaining contemporary. I was in the car today, on the way home from 7-11, and as we were cruising through the neighborhood, Can I Get One by Original Flavor came on. It spurred a sudden desire in me to spend the night listening to old school Jay-Z, not Reasonable Doubt though -- which I do consider to be one of the top 5 greatest rap albums of all time -- but older. I also decided to write this post as a tribute, so here it is, a Christmas Eve tribute to one of the greatest rappers to ever step on the scene, Shawn Carter.

Six years before Reasonable Doubt, Jay-Z and his mentor -- as well as one of the rappers Jay-Z would become in a long standing feud with -- Jaz-O, who claims to be the creator of the name Jay-Z, released Originators. 

Three years after, Jay-Z was prominently featured in Original Flavor's most successful song, Can I Get Open, off Beyond Flavor , released shortly before the group disbanded.

One year later, in 1994, Jay-Z released his first single, Can't Get Wit That. Here is the rare music video he released along with the song.

And here is one more fore you, a tribute to Jay-Z's recent decision to sign Jay Electronica to Roc-a-Fella last month. Hopefully Jay Electronica lives up to the potential which has shone through all his past releases. So here is the latest from him, featuring Jay-Z and the Dream, Shiny Suit Theory. Definitely not Jay Electronica's best -- click here for 10x the aural reward for your musical pleasure -- but worth a listen for sure.