Aside from owning his own streaming service, Jay-ZвЂ™s control over his artistic output extends back to the very beginning of his career. Jay-Z however, is in a very different position to most artists. This is despite 2017 presentingВ two substantial windowing opportunities with Ed SheeranвЂ™s new album and Harry StylesвЂ™ self-titled debut вЂ“ however neither were windowed on any service. Whilst numerous personal revelations (as well as receiving Jay-ZвЂ™s best critical response since 2003вЂ™s The Black Album) have meant blanket press coverage across social and traditional media, it is also notable that 4:44 is the first major windowing project to arrive this year. Arriving on the coat-tails of a windowing gold-rush that had seen releases by Beyonce, Kanye West and Chance the Rapper all utilising the strategy, OceanвЂ™s move effectively put the brakes on the practice, leaving Universal CEO Lucian Grainge allegedly so infuriated that he ordered a company-wide halt to any further windowing projects.ДЇast forward to 2017 and Jay-ZвЂ™s 4:44 has brought windowing back to the fore. Yet, as MIDiA addressed last year, Frank OceanвЂ™s bait-and-switch manoeuvre with Universal in August 2016 sent shockwaves through an industry still acclimatising to streaming economics. Already common practice in the film-industry, the strategy was being touted as a way of utilising artist fan engagement to drive registrations (both freemium and paid) to streaming services, thus engendering the payment behaviours that would ultimately grow the industry. While some moments on the album screamed that prime Jay was about to return (вЂDig a HoleвЂ™ being the pick of the bunch), they were drowned out by a huge bout of cheesy pop singles.For a brief moment last year, windowing seemed like the future of music streaming.

Perhaps because of this, the record falls short, especially in comparison to the rest of his canon. It meant expectations for his return were high. While he hadnвЂ™t stepped up to a mic in those years, his fame and notoriety had grown ginormously. Kingdom Come (2006)Д®veryone gets a bit rusty, donвЂ™t they? That was certainly the case for Kingdom Come, a record that landed in 2006 after Hova had been on a hip-hop hiatus for three years. Equally, if youвЂ™re a fan already, let us know in the comments your own ranking. We take a look at the rapperвЂ™s LPs and rank them from worst to best, so you have a good idea of where to start when introducing yourself to Jay-Z. With a career that reaches back across three decades, it can be hard to know exactly where JayвЂ™s career crescendoes, perhaps it hasnвЂ™t quite reached that point? But, below, weвЂ™re trying to lend a helping hand by providing you with a definitive ranking of his most precious asset-his albums.

In his albums, he gets to showcase both with a rare simplicity that few can match. It showed that while easily considered one of the greatest rappers of his generation, above all else, Jay was a businessman as well as an artist.

The rapper founded his label Roc-A-Fella in 1995 before he later released his debut LP a year later. Never afraid to take a creative leap, thereвЂ™s no doubt that Jay-Z will be a legendary name in the rap game forevermore.Д«orn Shawn Corey Carter in 1969, the writing was on the wall for Jay at an early stage in his career. His rhymes are silky, visually engaging and underpinned by HovaвЂ™s natural flow, they are as happy to discuss the usual tropes of hip-hop (making money, getting girls and being a gangster on your block) but heвЂ™s also, especially in his later years, used his position to try and open the minds of his audience. Unlike any other hip-hop artists before him, the rapper made sure that his albums werenвЂ™t hit singles with a few fillers, they were bodies of work, pieces of art set to be discussed for decades.ДЄnnouncing himself in 1996 with Reasonable Doubt, Jay-Z has become the foreword in class. Hova has rightly established himself as one of the legends of hip-hop and while he certainly made his name away from the mic, being BeyonceвЂ™s husband can have that effect on your career, it is in the studio that Jay really put his own spin on the rap game. There are very few artists who can match the potency of Jay-Z, the premiere music mogul, undoubted king, and undeniable rhyme master.

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