
"I knew Jay Z, initially, from his connection to Jaz," says Braxton, referring to Jay’s Marcy Projects mentor. In 1996, Jay Z was a New York indie artist worth critical attention, but without the national buzz of 1994’s famed rookie class of Nas and Biggie. But though Braxton grew up in the Deep South (and never left), he considered himself an expert on East Coast hip-hop. "Fresh ears" presumably meant those belonging to someone from outside the echo chamber of NYC. "I think Selwyn wanted someone with fresh ears," Braxton says now. So when Source editor-in-chief Selwyn Seyfu Hinds asked Braxton to write about Reasonable Doubt, it was both an opportunity and a challenge. In ’96, the magazine was the undisputed rap bible - its reviews section, the gospel. He had already been published in hip-hop publications like Rap Pages and 4080 in his other life, he wrote and performed poetry. Braxton’s review of the record would be his first byline in The Source.Īt 34, Braxton was hardly a writing novice. For its recipient, Charlie Braxton, Jay Z’s 1996 debut would also represent a personal milestone. "Reasonable Doubt" was carefully handwritten on the label. The dubbed cassette arrived at his Mississippi home via FedEx from New York. To commemorate, we’re celebrating with Jay Z Day. Updated artwork designed by Jason WheelerJune 25 marks the 20th anniversary of Reasonable Doubt, Jay Z’s first album. Produced by Sumit Sharma and Chris Mitchell Ski Beatz on starting the production process for Reasonable Doubt without knowing at first (30:34) Jaz-O on producing the In My Lifetime Remix (26:06)Ībdul Malik Abbott on the storytelling elements in Jay-Z's videos (28:21) Ski Beatz on producing the In My Lifetime single and helping to tailor a certain sound for Jay-Z (25:24) Jaz-O on the disbandment of The Hard Pack and Dame Dash asking DJ Clark Kent to produce more music for Jay-Z (21:44)ĭJ Clark Kent on the two versions of Jay-Z's 95 South and the prophetic nature of Got To Reach The Top (22:46)ĭJ Clark Kent on gifting all the unreleased music from the early days to Jay-Z for Christmas (24:35) Ski Beatz on meeting Jay-Z for the first time (13:27)Ībdul Malik Abbott on working with Original Flavor and meeting Jay-Z (14:30)Ībdul Malik Abbott on reconnecting with Dame Dash and directing the video for Jay-Z's I Can't Get With That track (15:49)ĭart Adams on how DJ Clark Kent featured Jay-Z on various songs and remixes (17:10)ĭart Adams on the fan support Jay-Z had through his early collaborations (17:57)ĭJ Clark Kent on building his own studio to record Jay-Z (19:42)ĭJ Clark Kent and Jaz-O on forming a supergroup with Jay-Z and Sauce Money called The Hard Pack (20:36) Ski Beatz on getting his demo to DJ Clark Kent and meeting Dame and Darien Dash (12:19) Jaz-O on Jost Productions and his early management deal (8:28)ĭJ Clark Kent on meeting Jay-Z for the first time and trying to sign him to Atlantic Records along with Jaz-O and Sauce Money (9:20)ĭJ Clark Kent on introducing Jay-Z to Dame Dash (11:36) Jaz-O on recording Hawaiian Sophie featuring Jay-Z (8:08) Jaz-O on travelling to London and bringing Jay-Z with him (7:05) Jaz-O on his friendship with Jay-Z and building a fan base (5:45) Jaz-O on first hearing about Jay-Z and agreeing to a battle (3:35) Jaz-O on his first group, High Potent, along with Jay-Z (2:06) Sumit and Chris on the exceptional quality of Hip Hop music in 1996 (1:23) We’ll also find out when and how Jay-Z met his future business partners, Damon “Dame” Dash and Kareem “Biggs” Burke and eventually starting Roc-A-Fella Records.įeaturing in order of appearance: Jaz-O, DJ Clark Kent, Ski Beatz, Abdul Malik Abbott and Dart Adams.
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We’ll also learn about how he came to a fork in the road and had to choose between the rap game and the crack game - even with all their similarities and pitfalls. In this first episode, we travel back in time to a pre-gentrified Brooklyn, New York and explore Jay-Z’s early musical roots.
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From Breaking Atoms comes a new original podcast series celebrating the 25th anniversary of Jay-Z’s debut album, Reasonable Doubt.
