Ow many times did jay z the black album go platinum

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Instead of making cerebral, less accessible music that would never have gone platinum, Jay decided to go platinum by any means necessary and make the money he needed to give back. When it became lucrative in the 1980s, rap also became an avenue of survival that didnвЂ™t have to do with drugs or basketball. Sometimes we forget that hip-hop isnвЂ™t just about expressing yourself and keeping it artistically real.

Ow many times did jay z the black album go platinum crack#

LetвЂ™s not get it twisted Biggie Smalls wasnвЂ™t just rhyming words when he said вЂњLiving in the ghetto is a sure shot/youвЂ™re either slanginвЂ™ crack rock or you got a wicked jump shot.вЂќ Nope, he finishes the previous rap with: вЂњWe as rappers must decide whatвЂ™s most important/and I canвЂ™t help the poor if IвЂ™m one of them so I got rich and gave back/to me thatвЂ™s the win-win.вЂќ And if that meant making songs that didnвЂ™t contain the type of pensive lyrics that an MC such as Talib Kweli or Common encompassed, thatвЂ™s what Jay was just gonna have to do.Д«ut Jay contends he wasnвЂ™t staying the course just to buy more diamonds. 2 Г– Hard Knock LifeвЂќ indeed solidified, for Jay, what the listener wanted to hear. The five million copies he sold of 1999вЂ™s вЂњVol. On the aptly titled вЂњMoment of Clarity,вЂќ he laments: вЂњI dumb down for my audience, double my dollars/they criticize me for it, yet they all yell вЂholla!вЂ™/if skill sold, truth be told/IвЂ™d probably be lyrically Talib Kweli/Truthfully, I really wanna rhyme like Common Sense/but I did five mil, I ainвЂ™t been rhyming like Common since.вЂќ He flushes this explanation out on вЂњThe Black AlbumвЂќ and does so in a much more revealing way. He tried defending this decision on the last album: вЂњThey only know what the single is and singled that out to be the meaning of what heвЂ™s about/But no dummy, thatвЂ™s the shit IвЂ™m sprinklinвЂ™ the album with to keep the registers ringin.вЂ™ вЂњ But success meant consciously forgoing artistic integrity. He slowed his delivery down, foregrounding the beats, and with each subsequent album he would include at least two or three songs written specifically for the radio. After the poor sales of вЂњReasonable Doubt,вЂќ his grim, intricately written debut classic, he made a few changes in his approach. It appears heвЂ™s been coming to terms with that one criticism that has plagued his entire career. And for the albumвЂ™s closer, Jay returns to the machine gun delivery he messed with in the mid-вЂ™90s вЂ“ having now mastered it.Д«ut beyond these brief flirtations with nostalgia, Jay seems most adamant about using вЂњThe Black AlbumвЂќ to clear up any misconceptions people might have of him. The legendary producer, an expatriate residing in the world of rock, has been producing for Johnny Cash and System of a Down for the last couple years. He brings Rick Rubin вЂ“ the architect behind Run-DMC, the Beastie Boys and LL Cool JвЂ™s first albums, вЂ“ back to hip-hop. We finally meet the mother he sold crack to (sheвЂ™s on one song вЂ“ the albumвЂ™s only guest spot). вЂњThe Black AlbumвЂќ is elegiac, reflective and like a handwritten, cursive letter. But if this isnвЂ™t his last, it sure sounds like it.

But many people speculate that this early retirement is just a ploy to sell more records. вЂњThe Black AlbumвЂќ is supposedly his last, his final contribution to hip-hop. He teamed up with his wife BeyoncГ© in 2018, dropping a surprise album EVERYTHING IS LOVE.Jay-Z has released eight solo albums in eight years. Last year, ForbesВ estimated his net worth at $810 million, making him the second-richest hip-hop artist and it's clear from his catalog he'll go down as one of the greatest rappers-and businessmen-of all time. Hard Knock Life,В 2x Platinum selling The Blueprint, and 3x Platinum selling The Blueprint II: The Gift And The Curse.В After 'retiring' in 2003 with The Black Album, JAY returned and has since released five albums including 2017's 4:44,В which debuted at No. Over the years, he's sold 55 million solo albums worldwide, including the 5x Platinum selling Vol.

In 2004, JAY became president of Def Jam records, where he helped cultivate the careers of RihannaВ and Kanye West, among other notable artists. In his own words, he's more than a businessman, he's a 'business, man.'В With multiple ventures under his beltВ and accolades across the recording industry,В JAY-Z personifies the вЂњAmerican Dream.вЂќ A student of the game, JAY came up under the tutelage of The Notorious B.I.G.В and took his top-tier lyricism and undeniable swagger to the mainstream, forming Roc-A-Fella Records with Dame Dash and Kareem 'Biggs' Burke. Since 1996, Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee and 21-time GRAMMY award-winner, Shawn вЂњJAY-ZвЂќ Carter has been a dominant force in popular culture.