This week we’re taking it back to 1998, a year when Jay-Z was better known for his drug dealing exploits than his business deals and Ja Rule was one of the hottest rappers in the game (I swear it’s true!). The track is ‘Gangsta Shit’ and subject matter is fitting to the title. It’s track 7 of Dj Clue’s The Professional album which if you haven’t heard, you need to.
Jay-Z exudes his swagger from the opening bars “Understand why y’all niggas mad at me/ Sitting around like damn, that could be me/ All the cars and bitches livin’ lavishly/ But there’s only one problem you ain’t as bad as me.” Jay proceeds to educate listeners on how rose from drug dealer to super-stardom. The second verse shows Hov getting more sinister, painting a vivid picture of a drug robbery. In classic Jay-Z fashion he adds a level of dark humour to tale, “You so soft no mask no rope one clip and I/ Let this nigga run around untie/ I swear to god, you know the type that talk wild/ but nigga’s white cloud, soft as a baby’s bottom/ You know Jay Z’s spot him/I haven’t heard him in a while/ And you know how come? This little faggot in the corner dialing 911/ Snatched the phone get a grip thug you supposed to be tough/What you telling the cop huh? I’m taking your money and drugs?” Those last two bars still make me crack a smile. Ja Rule closes the track out with a solid final verse. Enjoy!
