Jay-Z: In My Lifetime, Vol. 1: The Upstart Stakes Claim as Heir to the Throne

<p>B. Cox looks back at <strong>Jay-Z</strong>&#39;s second studio album <em>In My Lifetime, Vol. 1</em> as it turns 25. After a critical, yet not lucratively commercially, success of his classic debut <em>Reasonable Doubt</em> the previous year, the Brooklyn emcee looked to elevate his game and take the spot as the &#34;King of New York&#34; after the death of his fellow Brooklyn emcee and friend the Notorious B.I.G. that March.</p><p>While sticking with previous collaborators producers <strong>DJ Premier</strong> and <strong>Ski</strong>, the sophomore album also featured production from a litany of new collaborators including <strong>Nashiem Myrick, Amen-Ra,Stevie J, Teddy Riley, D-Dot</strong> and others. The album features his signature flow over about tales off lavish life, hustling, street life and ills of ghetto life mix all together seamlessly. </p><p>The album features many singles that many fans point to as Jay-Z favorites such as &#34;A Million and One Questions&#34;, &#34;Street Is Watching&#34;, &#34;Imaginary Players&#34; and &#34;Where I&#39;m From&#34;. The album also features tracks with more of a commercial feel such as &#34;Sunshine&#34; featuring <strong>Foxy Brown</strong> and <strong>Babyface </strong>and &#34;The City Is Mine&#34; featuring <strong>BlackSTREET</strong>. Some say that it was an effect of the &#34;Jiggy&#34; era coming into success earlier in the year as a means for Jay to achieve better commercial success than his debut. Some fans lamented that those and others like it on the album made the album inconsistent.</p><p>The album was certified platinum began a run in which Jay-Z would become the biggest rapper in the game by the beginning of the new millennium.</p><p><strong><u>Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Online</u></strong></p><p><a href="http://www.vaultclassicpod.com/" rel="nofollow">www.vaultclassicpod.com</a></p><p><strong><u>Support The Vault Classic Music Review on Buy Me A Coffee</u></strong></p><p><a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/vaultclassicpod" rel="no