because generally speaking very few good top-to-bottom albums...
a ton of wasted production (don't get me started)...
not even many great songs to be quite honest...

but you hear people talk about them now like they were motown or death row records or some shit.

go compare paid in full ost to above the rim... i dare you.

paid in full probably doesn't even compare well to gridlock'd.

and people interviewing young guru in 2016?

young guru was such a shitty engineer people shouldn't even know who he is -- people only do because shawn knowles said his name on a few records.

and same goes for everything roc-a-fella being lauded in retrospect... association with somebody ultra rich who eclipsed his initial role 100x thus raising the profile of everything he was associated with before the new status.

it's like when a lead singer goes solo and people started talking about the band they recorded a few albums with 5 years earlier that nobody fucked with... billy idol for example.

anyway, please stop talking about 99-04 roc-a-fella in hushed tones.

it was really a lot of hot air and very very few great moments.

You love for that album always seemed strange to me taking your general views on hip-hop into consideration.

What specifically do you like about the album.

Seems like you would find it cool but still gimmicky.

that album is 1.25/3 wack.

...and it's Jay at his very best lyrically

Jay was lyrically better on at least 3 or 4 other albums in my opinion.

And sometimes I wish artists didn't disclose certain information because I'm pretty sure if Ye and Just never said they were making beats for Ghost people would make the connection.

It doesn't sound anything like SC sonically in my opinion. It may use the same approach but definitely doesn't sound like it sonically.

>Jay was lyrically better on at least 3 or 4 other albums in
>my opinion.

i don't even like 3 or 4 other Jay albums.. shits are unlistenable to me.. RD is good, but not even top 10 for that year...

>And sometimes I wish artists didn't disclose certain
>information because I'm pretty sure if Ye and Just never said
>they were making beats for Ghost people would make the
>connection.
>It doesn't sound anything like SC sonically in my opinion. It
>may use the same approach but definitely doesn't sound like it
>sonically.

look... not every song does, much of it contains some beautiful soulful banging type shit that Ghost would fit perfect on.. I don't remember any interviews from those guys, I probably barely knew their names at the time..

>Jay was lyrically better on at least 3 or 4 other albums in
>my opinion.

I *love* the Blueprint but I agree that it's close to middle of his discog as far as quality of lyricism, outside of a couple tracks. Not saying he came weak, at all, just think that he's got a few albums (probly at least 3 like you said) that are clearly superior. I love that album mostly for the sonic cohesiveness and the vision.


>And sometimes I wish artists didn't disclose certain
>information because I'm pretty sure if Ye and Just never said
>they were making beats for Ghost people would make the
>connection.
>
>It doesn't sound anything like SC sonically in my opinion. It
>may use the same approach but definitely doesn't sound like it
>sonically.

Yep. I never even read/saw Ye or Blaze talk about that until I read it here a few years back, and neither before nor after seeing those quotes did I ever think it sounded at all like Supreme.

at his best lyrically? The lyrics are the part of the album that brings it down a bit in my opinion.

but with all that said I don't know a single person who actually acts like they *were* that good. In other words you're preaching to the choir, methinks. Maybe not, I've just never heard anyone laud them like they were Death Row.

I just love Roc the mic, Flipside, Alright, What we do, PSA, U don't know, Line em up, and.............I might as well just say I love Just Blaze beats, huh?

it's easy to say what you were first exposed to is "best"

I'm pretty sure if one is into this period of roc-a-fella, dipset would be a significant contributing factor.

Dipset is likely why someone may look upon that era so favorably.

But I still don't think anyone's crazy enough to compare that "run" to, say, Death Row, like the OP surmised.

Besides I think Aftermath/Shady had that timeframe on lock more than RocAFella did.

Freeway's first album was dope.

Beans was dope and had a couple of solid/dope albums.

Cam'Ron also had a couple of big hits during that era and started the whole Dipset movement with the first Diplomats album. (I don't know if people count them since they didn't get along with Hov and didn't rep the label like that even though technically, they were signed to the Ric @ that time).

Didn't "College Dropout" come out in 04? The hype for that album was huge and spawned a few hits. Not to mention Kanye was riding hard for the Roc.

The only weak links were the rest of the State Property Cats (Owen sparks, Peedi crack, young gunz) and Memphis Bleek who were pretty average/forgettable But even they did solid numbers and had videos on rotation.

Who is Owen Sparks? LOL.

>Who is Owen Sparks? LOL

"Meant to say Omillio Sparks lol.

Oschinno and Sparks.

>Owen sparks

C'mon man....nobody is giving ROC no lifetime achievement awards or putting them in the Rock N Roll HOF. But you can't front on their run.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1swlUtEkXZ0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCvxC8rofjs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl5yCSYufeg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNeHoRSlvrI (which is hilarious knowing that Just whipped this up just to shut Freeway up)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNeHoRSlvrI

...I think what Roc did well during their run was mixing street shit without diluting it with reaching for music that didn't sound like them. Plus they were the most consistent at the time.

He said that Just was busy with Hov and Freeway (this is before his solo mind you) was constantly begging for Just to make him a beat....so Just rushed and made something to shut Free up. Then Free took a basic (for Just) beat and cooked it the same night (it was originally Free and Oschino, then Beans heard it and beasted O off the song (I guess leaders can do that).

but everything else isn't too far off

dude sucked.

comparable to how Soul was mixed in the 70's, all clear and clean but no sharp highs or heavy lows. What issues did you have with him though?

you hear how clear mixes of today are now vs his shit.

there's a reason nobody is using him now.

man all anyone needs to do is go to the kingdom come album and listen to young guru's mixes and compare em to dre's

listen to kingdom come and then flip to lost ones

listen to show me what you got and then listen to 30 something

the difference is STARK. honestly though samples dont have the dynamic range that live instruments/keyboards have but....

it shouldnt be THAT much of a difference

as first debuted on eve - satisfaction.

not feeling hot mixes being released.

>man all anyone needs to do is go to the kingdom come album
>and listen to young guru's mixes and compare em to dre's
>
>listen to kingdom come and then flip to lost ones
>
>listen to show me what you got and then listen to 30
>something
>
>the difference is STARK. honestly though samples dont have
>the dynamic range that live instruments/keyboards have
>but....
>
>it shouldnt be THAT much of a difference

I've never been a big fan of "Flipside's" mix, feels kinda thin, but the energy still works amazing.

As far as the Kingdom ccome songs...it feels like sampled songs just have a different requirement for mixes, so maybe I never thought they were "BAD" like that. Yeah, Dre's are mixed a lot better, but I feel that some of his recent songs (well, since 2005-2006) are dependent on the mix since the melodies/instrumentation aren't anything amazing.

I'm not at all making excuses for Guru, I just started hearing this criticism of him on OKP and never understood it.

at least the stuff for Jay.

like his mixes better than the mixes on American Gangster and MCHG where I feel like he didn't have a hand in those mixes but I could be wrong. Maybe he did the Just Blaze mix on AG or maybe Just did that one himself.


LB's album was mixed poor as fuck though. everything felt so compressed - felt like everything was flat, squished the life
out the album imo.

You've made much better posts than this

how the fuck you gonna big them up for sucking a little less than chingy or lil zane?

Are you saying that Hov, Beans, Kanye, and Freeway are only a little better than Chingy or Lil Zane?

Or are you referring to Dipset and the State Property "D" listers?

The ROC had a pretty big roster.

even jay-z's output after 2001 wasn't all that.

stop making these cats a deity in retrospect when the highs they achieved weren't that much higher than all of the other shit out at the time.

it's major ny bias.

imo, the roc 99-04 low-key sucked.
their clothes were garbage too.

let's try to keep things that happened a long time ago in their proper perspective...

To each his own. I just feel like you're downplaying the relevancy of them at the time. (BTW, no NY bias here. I'm from Cali and outside of Hov, Bleek, and Dipset, the other artists aren't even from NY).

Love him or hate him. Kanye west is a bonafide superstar and his debut album pushed him into that stratosphere. He is a product of that crew/era. Like I said, apples and oranges but it's not hard to see why people were riding for them then and still like their music today.

problem is, you don't like our perspective.

Because I still listen to them in 2016 unlike those guys?

I've never even listened to the Paid in Full OST but looking at the tracklist I know some of the songs from elsewhere. I mean, there were definitely some duds in there but Jay, Beans, Freeway and Cam were all in their prime, the Dipset album was entertaining as hell, and even on the second-tier albums you were guaranteed some really good production.

These things are always generational, so of course people of a certain age (I'm 27 & from NY) will look back on them more fondly than others. I'm sure some of the production hasn't aged well. But I'm not sure how you can hear What We Do or I Really Mean It or It's On or Heart of the City or Two Words and not understand why people were excited about the energetic production and charismatic rapping.

in terms of quality and quantity of output?

something like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d17iIHdmVk

has aged considerably better than crap like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwEqKBoAThA

What's your point?

above murder inc or ruff ryders.

y'all motherfuckas forget about shit like this, i haven't:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6NEgBNhFh4

The Ruff Ryders made some good music, but largely had worse rapping and worse production than the Roc

Murder Inc is a dumb comparison

Cash Money is actually a great comparison since there are people who love their early output with the enthusiasm of Rocafella

It's not a banger but a cool little joint to dance to since the production is nice. And that was a soundtrack song, never made it on an album.

nm

His shit was corny & still is

he made a lot of good beats despite whoever's style they were copying.

but thanks for trying.

<=========================================
https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/PYzh4v9cSf4FDnq3yMQyqNqh79o=/800x0/filters:no_upscale%28%29/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/4079674/jlio.0.gif

never seen someone say that about him, but to each his own

If we talking about overrated crews, Almost every hip-hop crews greatnesss in a product of our nostalgia. We loved the package, the brand of these crews just as much as the music, which made us see the music through rose colored glasses. But musically:


Pac carried Death Row. No other acts were substantial

Jay carried the Roc

X Carried Rough Riders

The South carried Cash Money/No Limit/Suave House/Swisher House


Wu Tang probably the only group whose discography matches its legend...


The process is immaculate----->https://twitter.com/SolidusShaz?lang=en

Get all the way outta here. I just knew you were trolling early on.

He dropped AFTER Dogg Food, which was after they had already made like three huge albums! He dropped in 96, which is when EVERYONE sees Death Row as falling apart. 92-95, no Pac. How the hell did he carry them?

but it wasn't substantial.

Death Row was popping way before Pac signed. And he needs to GTHOH with that south carried suave house shit. Eightball & MJG carried suave house. Cats gotta stop disrespecting us.

....wasnt he murdered right after signing?

He only dropped one album while alive with the label. Everything else was posthumous.



Since 1976

Dogg Pound sold 2 milliom before Pac. Then there's this little album called '"The Chronic." I'd say that's pretty substantial, sales wise and impact wise...but what do i know...hahah

>Pac carried Death Row. No other acts were substantial

... but you deserve every ounce of it plus more. That is possibly that dumbest statement I've ever read in my entire life. I feel like you have to be kidding. Otherwise you're nothing short of a moron.

Death Row's run was relatively short lived if Pac isn't included.

1992 - Chronic
1993 - Doggystyle
Edit: I'll add in the MWTC soundtrack for 94 but *shrugs*

And honestly, Dogg Food was not that big of an album back in 95. It was not on the level of the two above. So that's a pretty short reign for Death Row if we're being honest.

Pac at least extended them through 96.

but then again, would they have pushed someone else without Tupac...we'll never know. and while Dogg Food wasn't as huge as those two, double platinum in any era is substantial.

And even though it wasn't as "big" or sell as many albums as The Chronic and Doggyatyle, it still managed to go 3x platinum and is a classic album. I personally prefer it over "The Chronic".

I wouldn't say Death Row jumped ship in terms of quality in 95. It was moreso due to all the drama and internal stuff going on. The quality of the music dropped once Pac died.

>Death Row's run was relatively short lived if Pac isn't
>included.

All we were doing was denouncing the statement that Pac *carried* Death Row. Why would we exclude him ? He's part of the legacy. Futhermore let's not act like Pac was a rogue artist who just so happened to drop an album on Death Row. He very much bought into the sound, attitude and style of DR on All Eyez. DR's crew was producing and featuring all over that joint.


>1992 - Chronic
>1993 - Doggystyle
>Edit: I'll add in the MWTC soundtrack for 94 but *shrugs*
>
>And honestly, Dogg Food was not that big of an album back in
>95. It was not on the level of the two above. So that's a
>pretty short reign for Death Row if we're being honest.
>
>Pac at least extended them through 96.

Right. And 1992-1996 is kind of a long time. Name a label/crew that reigned over hip-hop longer than that ?

And while Dogg Food wasn't on the level of the others, it still went platinum and produced "Let's Play House" which was a big single. Not huge, but big. Carried the torch for 1995.

And in between albums there were countless other soundtrack songs and features, not to mention the fact that most of the rest of the industry at the time was biting their sound. So not only did they have massive records and dominance of their very own, but they actually influenced every single song you heard on radio during a huge part of the 92-96 timeframe. That can't be overstated or underappreciated.

Anyway I'm not telling you anything you don't know, of course. Just don't want it to be forgotten just how dominant they were in that timeframe.

The response to the original comment made it seem like Pac was an afterthought or some shit.

>>Death Row's run was relatively short lived if Pac isn't
>>included.
>
>All we were doing was denouncing the statement that Pac
>*carried* Death Row. Why would we exclude him ? He's part of
>the legacy. Futhermore let's not act like Pac was a rogue
>artist who just so happened to drop an album on Death Row. He
>very much bought into the sound, attitude and style of DR on
>All Eyez. DR's crew was producing and featuring all over that
>joint.
>
>
>>1992 - Chronic
>>1993 - Doggystyle
>>Edit: I'll add in the MWTC soundtrack for 94 but *shrugs*
>>
>>And honestly, Dogg Food was not that big of an album back in
>>95. It was not on the level of the two above. So that's a
>>pretty short reign for Death Row if we're being honest.
>>
>>Pac at least extended them through 96.
>
>Right. And 1992-1996 is kind of a long time. Name a label/crew
>that reigned over hip-hop longer than that ?
>

I guess it's a long time...*shrugs* but it's not like they were dropping albums left and right. Dre and Snoop each released one album in that time period on DR.

>And while Dogg Food wasn't on the level of the others, it
>still went platinum and produced "Let's Play House" which was
>a big single. Not huge, but big. Carried the torch for 1995.
>

I'm sure the album was big in the West but I recall it being a disappointment.

>And in between albums there were countless other soundtrack
>songs and features, not to mention the fact that most of the
>rest of the industry at the time was biting their sound. So
>not only did they have massive records and dominance of their
>very own, but they actually influenced every single song you
>heard on radio during a huge part of the 92-96 timeframe. That
>can't be overstated or underappreciated.
>

The rest of the industry was biting their sound? NYC sounded nothing like DR and we ALWAYS point to that as one of these reasons that time frame was so much better. Because each region had their own sound. So I'm not sure what the fuck you're talking about there...and then you even added it couldn't be overstated. Really?

>Anyway I'm not telling you anything you don't know, of course.
>Just don't want it to be forgotten just how dominant they were
>in that timeframe.

Actually you are...because you seem to be making shit up. But hey, that's what we do to give Dre the credit he needs.

If they were so dominant then why did Wu, Nas, and Big instantly take back the shine after Doggystyle? 94-96 was east coast dominance and that's why I'm saying Dogg Food was whatever and probably why he said Pac carried DR because Pac was the only one competing at that time. Dre and Snoop both left.

>The response to the original comment made it seem like Pac
>was an afterthought or some shit.

Word. I definitely didn't mean to come off that way if I did. Pac was and is a major part of their legacy.


>I guess it's a long time...*shrugs* but it's not like they
>were dropping albums left and right. Dre and Snoop each
>released one album in that time period on DR.

Snoop had 2 during that time. But still, point taken. They weren't flooding the market. But some (me) would say that's why they are looked upon as fondly as they are. They weren't just No Limit'ing/Cash Money'ing the market to maximize profit at the expense of quality. Their product was 100% quality, all the time. I say their relative lack of output is a mark in the plus column rather than a minus.


>I'm sure the album was big in the West but I recall it being a
>disappointment.


>The rest of the industry was biting their sound? NYC sounded
>nothing like DR and we ALWAYS point to that as one of these
>reasons that time frame was so much better. Because each
>region had their own sound. So I'm not sure what the fuck
>you're talking about there...and then you even added it
>couldn't be overstated. Really?

Ahahahaha BRO RELAX. No one gets insanely angry about NOTHING quite like you.

Anyway - so Bad Boy didn't bite Death Row's sound ? That wasn't the main source of their entire beef ? Death Row's sound wasn't dominant on the radio, via music from Atlanta, New York, Texas, etc. during that time ? Please.


>Actually you are...because you seem to be making shit up. But
>hey, that's what we do to give Dre the credit he needs.
>
>If they were so dominant then why did Wu, Nas, and Big
>instantly take back the shine after Doggystyle? 94-96 was
>east coast dominance and that's why I'm saying Dogg Food was
>whatever and probably why he said Pac carried DR because Pac
>was the only one competing at that time. Dre and Snoop both
>left.

I didn't make a single thing up. I never said there weren't other groups making noise or doing their own thing at the time. For the record I said "MOST of the rest of the industry," ... you quoted me as saying "the rest of the industry." You're like a bad journalist, taking shit out of context. Anyway - like it or not, it can't be denied that a TON of what we were hearing on the radio in the mid-90s were attempts at mimicking the Death Row signature sound.

I know your response will be something to the effect of "I don't give a fuck what was on the radio..." but whether you like it or not, it's part of the story.

>>The response to the original comment made it seem like Pac
>>was an afterthought or some shit.
>
>Word. I definitely didn't mean to come off that way if I did.
>Pac was and is a major part of their legacy.
>
>
>>I guess it's a long time...*shrugs* but it's not like they
>>were dropping albums left and right. Dre and Snoop each
>>released one album in that time period on DR.
>
>Snoop had 2 during that time. But still, point taken. They
>weren't flooding the market. But some (me) would say that's
>why they are looked upon as fondly as they are. They weren't
>just No Limit'ing/Cash Money'ing the market to maximize profit
>at the expense of quality. Their product was 100% quality, all
>the time. I say their relative lack of output is a mark in the
>plus column rather than a minus.
>
>
>>I'm sure the album was big in the West but I recall it being
>a
>>disappointment.
>
>
>>The rest of the industry was biting their sound? NYC
>sounded
>>nothing like DR and we ALWAYS point to that as one of these
>>reasons that time frame was so much better. Because each
>>region had their own sound. So I'm not sure what the fuck
>>you're talking about there...and then you even added it
>>couldn't be overstated. Really?
>
>Ahahahaha BRO RELAX. No one gets insanely angry about NOTHING
>quite like you.
>

Why do you always assume that I'm angry? Because I used the word fuck? I use that shit for comedy my man.

>Anyway - so Bad Boy didn't bite Death Row's sound ? That
>wasn't the main source of their entire beef ? Death Row's
>sound wasn't dominant on the radio, via music from Atlanta,
>New York, Texas, etc. during that time ? Please.
>
>

It really wasn't. ONP claim they were influenced by Dre but it really is its own sound. And that's the closest thing to DR. Bad Boy? What songs?

>>Actually you are...because you seem to be making shit up.
>But
>>hey, that's what we do to give Dre the credit he needs.
>>
>>If they were so dominant then why did Wu, Nas, and Big
>>instantly take back the shine after Doggystyle? 94-96 was
>>east coast dominance and that's why I'm saying Dogg Food was
>>whatever and probably why he said Pac carried DR because Pac
>>was the only one competing at that time. Dre and Snoop both
>>left.
>
>I didn't make a single thing up. I never said there weren't
>other groups making noise or doing their own thing at the
>time. For the record I said "MOST of the rest of the
>industry," ... you quoted me as saying "the rest of the
>industry." You're like a bad journalist, taking shit out of
>context. Anyway - like it or not, it can't be denied that a
>TON of what we were hearing on the radio in the mid-90s were
>attempts at mimicking the Death Row signature sound.
>

I'm the bad journalist? You sound like you're repeating something you read on the Internet. Name all of these songs that are so heavily influenced by DR whether on the radio or not...

>I know your response will be something to the effect of "I
>don't give a fuck what was on the radio..." but whether you
>like it or not, it's part of the story.

Your story?

There was a "Lil Ghetto Boy" sample on Ready to Die too.

And I swear I remember interviews where both Biggie and Puff spoke on how The Chronic influenced them.

and just about all urban music on radio from that time period. Not even worth discussing further if someone's going to straight up try and rewrite history.

Songs like Adina Howard "Freak Like Me", Aaliyah "Back and Forth" are clearly influenced in sound by Death Row.

And if the sound wasn't influenced by Death Row, there's a good chance the content was in much of the rap music of that time.

>Songs like Adina Howard "Freak Like Me", Aaliyah "Back and
>Forth" are clearly influenced in sound by Death Row.

And in fact I thought of her specifically as I was responding to you last nite.

I know the east didn't fuck with it for obvious reasons.

And of course the East Coast wasn't gonna fuck with it. Some of them claimed Doggystyle didn't live up to the expectations, such as the Source giving it 4.5 mics.

they were already winning.

>
>Pac carried Death Row. No other acts were substantial
>

you are a silly goose.

new name. same posts.

but since you went there:

diplomats album still holds up
cam's albums still hold up
college dropout still holds up
blueprint still holds up

i could go on.

you seem like a salty muhfucka tho. get some joy in ya life, b.

.

and have honestly never liked Dipset...but

College Droput? Blueprint? Those records though, my god. Nostalgia overload. Love them to this day.

The revisionism surrounding this album is baffling,
while it never delivered on (or surpassed) the promise of the intro.
The Rick Rock production didn't mesh with Jay & Beans at all and lyrically it was a step down from Vol 3.

Dynasty intro tho!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

>Dynasty intro tho!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

wasted beat, imo.

imagine what m.o.p. would have done with a beat like that.

jay's 'vision' for that beat sucked.

Since 1976

Seemed like something changed, something went missing once Jay started throwing up that diamond (which we first started witnessing on "The Dynasty" album). He was flames on that intro but the rest of the album kind of left me feeling cold. I've always felt some kind of void from Jay ever since that particular album until now. Sure he's had some gems within that timeframe but still, something changed.



Since 1976

RR had seen some success with their album, and I think there were a couple other "crew" albums. Jay was super hot at the time coming off Vol. 2 & 3 and this was something meant to leverage that stardom to elevate other members of the squad (Beans, Bleek, Amil) and intro State Prop. Somewhere along the line, I guess they thought they'd get more mileage out of reworking it and packaging it as a formal Jay album, instead of the compilation and it came out the odd way that it did.

Co sign this thread fully. Only the first Freeway album was truly enjoyable to me. Blurprint has moments but is the snooziest, ballroom rap album with weak bars Jay made up to that point. Kanye West is an insufferable faggot. Dipset was cool fast food rap briefly. Love Cam but his ROC album was a severe let down. Beans stayed with marginal production. Both State Prop albums were mostly trash. Bleek was trash. Just Blaze super overrated.

he wasn't that far above average as a rapper.

"yo, you feel the same way as i do" "of course i do, we're the same person."

come on.
He not so quietly made Jay step his game up whenever he was around.
All of their songs together
Beans is at Jay's neck with his verses.
Some of Jay's best content is on songs
where Sig was rapping like his life depended on that 16.

I don't know the age range of people in this post, but I was in Philly in the late 90s and Sig was on fire. Before his debut, streets were going crazy over his Cosmic Kev tape and he was *the* rapper to snag for a guest spot before The Truth even dropped. The hype for The Truth was off the charts - although it didn't quite meet expectations. But during his rise, Beans lowkey inspired a lot of styles.

Like I said, beats were mostly marginal. The Truth got that 4 1/2 mics and we were all ready to feast...the shit was weak as fuck.

but third one that came out right after the Public Enemy #1 mixtape
with purple rain, feel it in the air, etc..

that one is FLAMES.

which is why his career quickly devolved after he stepped away from the ROC...

Not one player other than Jay was an obvious star, but with a roster of mostly supporting players and great production they nonetheless had an especially effective formula for hit-making. Slickly produced, big, loud, street anthems. No click has ever done it better.

"What We Do"
"Roc the Mic"
"Hey Ma"
"Oh Boy"
"Is That Your Bitch"
"Can't Stop Won't Stop"

to name a few. I'll give you Cam and maybe Freeway, but everyone else on that roster basically sucked. And it didn't matter, they all made bangers.

And then there's Jay, an anthem king during that time:

"Big Pimpin"
"Snoopy Track"
"So Ghetto"
"Dynasty Intro"
"1-900-Hustler" (best Roc click song. Yes better than What We Do)
"I Just Wanna Luv You"
"Izzo"
"U Don't Know"
"Heart of the City"
"Hovi Baby"
"Encore"
"Lucifer"
"99 Problems"
"PSA"

Come on.

You're wrong. It's not even a subjective thing dogg, it's a fact. The only way you could possibly deny their dominance is if you never went outside during their run, because if you had you would've heard all of these jams playing out of car windows at different time periods.

Ja Rule had a few hits that included a couple of duets with Ashanti. But by no means are they considered "Anthems".

I can't even named anyone else that was signed to Murder Inc. other than Ja Rule and Ashanti.

Even Memphis Bleek had a gold album during that time period.

those Murder Inc "anthems" that you're speaking of lol.

"Livin it up"
"Clap Back"
"Thug Lovin"
"Mesmerize"
"I'm Real"
"Always On Time"
"Down ass chick"

I forgot about some of these tracks and with the exception of "I'm real" with J. Lo, I haven't heard any of these tracks since the early 2000s lol.

Meanwhile,

"H to the Izzo"
"Girls, Girls, Girls"
"Big Pimpin"
"PSA"
"99 Problems"
"Oh Boy"
"Hey Ma"
"Rock the Mic"
"What We Do"

Is still heard in clubs/mixes til this day and this isn't even including all the street anthems during that time period from the Roc.

And yeah, you still hear those Roc songs alllll the time

from back in the day? them jawnts are hard to find

http://www.datpiff.com/Jay-z-S-Carter-Collection-mixtape.12400.html

Thanks dude

any era ... any label...

its an opinion dawg... whatever...

nostalgia always make things seem better than they actually were.