Hot 97 Summer Jam 2001: Jay Z & The ROC

As we all know Jay made history on this day. Not only did he bring out MiJac, but humilated Prodigy and sent a warning shot to Nas (didnt like it at the time cause i always though they should work together as a team). This day will always be remembered in Hip-Hop history. I remember when i 1st heard it on one of KaySlay's mixtapes from 2001. I forgot which one it was but that tape was heard 'round world. Those were good times for me, i was livin in VA at time and it was on and poppin during that moment. Great memories with me and my friends. So check out the vid and see how focused Jay & The ROC was at this time. This was when the Roc & Jay were on top of the game!

A 'Pac Thought For Ur Mind

Pac is one of my fav. artists of all-time. Now we all know he wasnt super lyrical or anything like that, but he was so passionate in his rappin. Also the way he way he rapped gets u amped if u feelin that kinda way at that time. Its hard to explain, but Pac brings out that inner rage in u like a release of tension or somethin like that nature. He's the only artist i know that can do that.

But also i think Pac did somethin that no other artist in my 5 top dead or alive did. Let me break it down. Most of the time dope artists are blessed with the opportunity to work with talented producers. And that marriage can go long ways into makin just a dope song or a classic track. Either way u cant go wrong, its all about what two creative minds can come up with. Jay had the chance to work wit Primo, Timbaland, Dre, Kanye, Just Blaze and etc. Nas had the chance to work wit Primo, Large Professor, Pete Rock, LES and etc. Biggie had the chance to work wit Puffy & The Hitmen, Primo, Easy Mo Bee and etc. I mean those combinations i just mentioned are legendary into what those people made.

Now lets focus on 'Pac, who did he had the chance to work with other than Dre? Ill give u time to think................. cant think of any right? 'Pac didnt work with any other big name producers at all, well....Daz if u wanna throw his name in there. But neither than that, no one else. Go and check 'Pac album producer credits for each track he made when he was alive, this man worked with some producers u aint never even heard of. We all know 'Pac work habits are legendary, this man stayed in the studio crankin out tracks after tracks. But that right there says alot, 'Pac was a true artist and by that i mean that he didnt let the beat define him. He truly tried to immerse himself in any track that was made for him. Listen, when u heard certain 'Pac tracks u dont say... damn who produced that? I know u dont, u say damn that track was hard u listen to what 'Pac said? 'Pac had the ability to make u listen to what he was sayin 1st then the actual beat 2nd. It just so happened that the beat just fell right in place for him on the track.

Look at that photo above, u can see 'Pac in the studio with Dre & some member of the Outlaws. But check out that dude in the red. U know who that is? That man is responsible for producing damn near all the songs for 'Pac's All Eyes On Me LP, his name is Johnny J. I know u scratching ur head like who in the hell is this person? But this man played a huge part in crafting a LP that went diamond (10 million sold)!!! So he makin money now as we speak. To me that says alot about 'Pac , this man took a random producer and created classic songs right off the bat in just a few short months ( remember Pac finished All Eyes in like 2 months). Thats incredible!! This accomplishment sometimes goes unnoticed by 'Pac but i had to speak on it. Pretty much every song 'Pac made was done a producer no one ever heard of.

Like i read that while 'Pac was workin on Makaveli, he took some producers that Death Row wasnt workin with and took them under his wing. The word around Death Row was that those producers was wack and didnt meet their standards in what they wanted. 'Pac heard about it and talked to them and asked them to work with him, remember 'Pac was tryin to make this LP very fast cause was workin on leavin Death Row. So he was tryin to pump out his final LPs so he leave and move on, and we know 'Pac was a beast in the studio. And we know how Makaveli turned out, so 'Pac basically trusted some ousted producers from Death Row and created another classic LP.

I hope u people really sit down and think about what 'Pac did, its somethin i think u wont see any artist do again. Even tho Jay did a little of it with Just Blaze & Kanye bringin them out back then and bringin out other producers on The Black Album. Like i said every MC in my top 5 list brought something in the game, and 'Pac did somethin thats astonishing by creating music with producers nobody even heard of and makin classics out of them. Just sit down and think about that, i know their might be others who attempted the same thing but multiple LP's and workin wit Dre 1nce? Crazy!

Biggie Loses His Patience!!

All im gonna say is this, u gotta know where u at and what u are doing and who u doing it for. If u are in the presence of greatness, u got to rise to the occasion.
Talk amongst urselves.