The Dynasty: Roc La Familia 2000

11/21/2000 4:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Soren Baker

With a number of solid but unspectacular songs serving as the best moments of Jay-Z's fifth album, the Brooklyn rapper has tarnished the luster on his nearly flawless recording resume. His lyrics remain top-tier, but Jay's Roc-A-Fella proteges and much of the production backing him can't keep pace with his immense skill. Although he's painted a nearly heartless picture of himself in his music, Jay flips the script on "Soon You'll Understand," where he says he's unworthy of a suitor's affection, and on "Where Have You Been," a duet with Beanie Sigel where the two rap about the heartache of absentee fathers. But the collection sags because of the surprisingly mediocre production provided by Just Blaze, Rick Rock, Kanye West, Bink, and others. On his last two albums, Jigga rapped over beats from DJ Premier, Swizz Beatz, Timbaland, Erick Sermon and others. The third time would have been a charm.