Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter by Jay-Z
Vol. 3¦ Life and Times of S. Carter is the fourth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released December 28, 1999 on Roc-A-Fella Records. It exhibits a return to the street-oriented sound of his debut album, Reasonable Doubt (1996). Production for the album was handled by several hip hop producers, including Swizz Beatz, Timbaland, K-Rob, DJ Premier, Rockwilder, DJ Clue, and Irv Gotti. The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 462,000 copies in its first week. It was a significant commercial success, shipping two million copies within its first month of release. Upon its release, Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter received positive reviews from most music critics. On February 14, 2001, the album was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, for shipments of three million copies in the United States.
When Roc-A-Fella Records set up its first office in Manhattan, the company didn’t land in midtown Manhattan, but in the financial district—an area far from the music, but close to the money. It was a testament to just to just how much creative and commercial ground JAY-Z had managed to cover in his first few years. During that time, he became a transformative figure not only in the craft of rap, but also in the business of bringing it to the mainstream. That may explain why 2000’s <i>The Dynasty: Roc La Familia</i>, which had originally been planned as a showcase for Jay’s thriving label, wound up instead being marketed as a proper JAY-Z record. By then, he’d become more than an artist—he was a brand, one whose name and image would surely help <i>Roc La Familia</i> move a lot more copies. But this guest-heavy, 16-track collection is no mere cash-grab: “I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)” is one of Jay’s catchiest tracks, and “Soon You’ll Understand” one of his most candid—proof he could make club pop while still finding new avenues for self-expression. And <i>Roc La Familia</i> also gives Jay’s protégés plenty of time to shine, most notably Freeway (“1-900-Hustler”) and Beanie Sigel (“This Can’t Be Life”, which finds Sigel holding his own next to Scarface, no less). There’s new talent on the production side, as well, including The Neptunes (“I Just Wanna Love U”), Just Blaze (“Streets is Talking”) and a then-unknown Kanye West (“This Can’t Be Life”). Still, this is a Jay album through and through. He opens <i>Roc La Familia</i> with a breathtaking boast: “Watch it, my n****s/I’m tryin’ to be calm but I’m gon’ get richer/Through any means, with that thing that Malcolm palmed in the picture.” It’s a reference to the author Frantz Fanon’s justification of violence in the name of civil rights, a philosophy later adopted by Malcom X. It wasn’t meant as a slight to a bigger struggle, Jay wrote later—he just felt like they had more pressing concerns on hand. And in a capitalist system, what gets taken more seriously than money?
