Jay-Z: Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life (2LP) [DEF JAM/ROC-A-FELLA]

Why you'll love it

This 2LP set is pressed on 180g vinyl. Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life topped the Billboard 200, won the Grammy for Best Rap Album and became Jay-Z's best-selling record, with more than 6 million copies sold in the US.

This edition

• 2LP set
• 180g vinyl

About the album

Jay-Z told MTV News that Vol. 2 would be his last album. He later walked that back, and instead it became the record that made him a pop superstar, mixing the Marcy Projects grit of his first two albums with beats built for radio. He said he wanted to tell the story of everyone who'd been through what he had, and to let listeners in the suburbs understand that world.

The title track flips the big song from the musical Annie into a street anthem, and "Can I Get A..." with Amil and Ja Rule became a club staple. Swizz Beatz brings a rougher, harder sound on three tracks, while Timbaland, Jermaine Dupri and Irv Gotti cook up the hits. "Reservoir Dogs" gathers The LOX, Beanie Sigel and Sauce Money for a posse cut, and "Money Ain't a Thang" brings back Jermaine Dupri for a victory lap.

Robert Christgau called it a step up from Vol. 1, praising its audacious Annie sample. As farewells go, it turned out to be much more of a hello.

Also at Kops: more Jay-Z on vinyl · browse Hip Hop / R&B

Tracklist

Listen

On Roc-A-Fella / Def Jam (cat# 314 558 902-1), a reissue of the 1998 album.