From jump, a (still) young Hov demanded his just due. He'd been killing it for two summers, and his flame was bright blue (Jay-Z blue??..its a real color now...I swear) at the dawn of the new millennium. He was just beginning to take-over the rap game. An industry which was still feeling the effects in the wake of the deaths of Biggie & 2pac. The emotions were still fresh, and would prove to run deep. But SOMEONE needed to grab that hip-hop baton and lead us in a new direction. And Jay-Z was that person. And Roc-A-Fella was Jay-Z's personal label, so it was THAT label. To be fair, it succeeded as a movement and as a music label due mostly to the immense popularity of Jigga. But he wanted his friends to shine too - mostly for financial reasons. Beanie Siegel definitely had potential. Freeway was starting to shined the rest of State Property, as a unit, was entertaining for sure on their share of the ROC mixtape catalog. Memphis Bleek will always be known as the most-successful career weed-carrier of all-time, but he had some hot sixteens in his prime for sure. Dame Dash was the loud-mouthed asshole drunk on his own arrogance. And Armadale Vodka. It was a hurricane for sure. But it was beautiful. And it all came together perfectly on 'The Dynasty: Roc-La-Familia'.
Beans, Hov, Bleek, and Freeway get equal billing, with a cameo from Scarface on the album-stealing track 'This Can't Be Life' (best Jay-Z song ever??). Producers (and then-rap-game rookies) Kanye Wet & Just Blaze are almost featured artists off beats alone. There THAT good. Just look at the list. 'Intro'. 'Flip The Script'. 'I Just Wanna Love You'. Which is one of Hov's best pop tracks, btw. The aforementioned 'This Can't Be Life'. 'Mama Get Your Mind Right' (which is super chauvinistic and features Snoop Dogg because, of course). 'Stick To The Script'. Memphis Bleek showcase, 'Holla'. The MONSTER that is '1-900-Hustler' (those horns...swoon). The sad-but-sweet-sounding 'Soon You'll Understand'. The similarity sad, but also eerily haunting absent-dad track, 'Where Have You Been'.
'Where....' deserves extra attention. Not just because it's the final track of the album. Which, of course, was intentional. It hits you straight in the heart - regardless of wether you had a father growing-up or not. I mean, if the piano and that Star Trek theremin-like sound wasn't enough, then they had to go and have some kids sing the hook. But not some happy-go-lucky AF-type kids. They sound tired. Weak. Beaten-down by life. Just like, fuck it. And then Beans and Hov go in and it's over. TKO. I mean goddamn their pops' really fucked them up. It's the sonic and lyrical punch-in-the-stomach to end this mixtape-as-a-studio-album. But for all those stellar tracks and shining moments, there's some dirt on this ROC diamond too. I suggest you skip the R.Kelly-before-Jigga-and-Kels-was-a-thing track known as 'Guilty But Proven Innocent'. It's basically Jay-Z doing a laughable job at attempting to convince the public he was innocent of that "little Un-Rivera stabbing thing" where Un was the "they" of "they keep bootlegging my shit" lyric fame and the "shit" being this very album. So yeah, shit got violent. Both for poor Un, and the viewer's ears. Luckily, they can skip on to some of the best tracks in Jay-Z and the ROC's already-stellar discography. Indeed, 'The Dynasty....' deserves some of the ROC Diamond's shine.
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