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Classic Album Review: Jay-Z | Vol. 3 … Life and Times of S. Carter

Art imiitates life on the rapper's third set of tales about drugs, thugs & clubs.

This came out in 2000 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):

 


Talk about art imitating life.

Midway through his third disc, Shawn (Jay-Z) Carter raps about being under arrest, on trial and facing a lengthy prison term — pretty much the very spot the Brooklyn rapper now finds himself in after being charged with a stabbing at a New York nightclub late last year.

OK, so maybe it doesn’t take Kreskin to predict that a gangsta rapper would end up on the wrong side of holding cell bars. But even so, Jay-Z’s legal travails can’t help but colour the way you listen to the new Life and Times of S. Carter. After all, it’s one thing for spoiled millionaire rappers to pretend to live the thug life — Puff Daddy, come on down! — but somehow Carter’s rhymes seem to carry more weight now that he stands accused of the real thing. As he says himself on D’Evils, “I was thought to be a pleasant guy all my f–ing life — and now I’m down for whatever ain’t nice.” No kidding.

Photo by Mikamote

But while the 72-minute Life And Times might not be admissible as a confession, it could serve as a deposition of his state of mind. Tracks like the sardonically named Lucky Me (“I’m trapped / The whole world’s against me”) and Dead Presidents (“Things I’m involved with got me on pins and needles”) find Carter displaying plenty of paranoia and anxiety along with the usual rap-star boom and bluster. Meanwhile, Come and Get Me, There’s Been a Murder, and Where I’m From — “Thugs are at odds and at each other’s throats … But most times find themselves locked up behind bars, that’s all” — pretty much speak for themselves. Then, of course, there’s the aforementioned accusation of Dope Man, with Jay-Z taking the stand in his own defence: “Right hand on the Bible / Left hand in the air … I’m a prisoner of circumstance.”

To steal a line from his own Annie-sampling hit single of ’99, it’s a hard-knock life, indeed. And, if the sad truth be known, it’s also probably a pretty decent marketing tool for Life and Times. Mostly because it’s a gimmick Carter doesn’t need. Like its predecessors, Vol. 3 is more than strong enough to hold its own in the marketplace. Carter’s conversational, low-key flow stands out among the bellowing braggadocio of most thug rappers out there. Equally distinctive are his quirky, theatrical jams, which are as likely to feature operetta samples and oddball arrangements as the usual bumptious beats and Jeep-rocking bass, all serving to give a unique spin Carter’s tough tales of thug life, drug life and club life, in which Jay-Z faces down all adversaries and emerges victorious — even in court.

When it comes to real, judicial life and times of one S. Carter, Jay-Z should hope life imitates art.