In Defense of Jay-Z’s ‘American Gangster’

After ‘Kingdom Come,’ it looked as if Jay-Z were washed up for good. He responded with one of the strongest — and most underrated — projects of his historic career

It’s the 20th anniversary of Reasonable Doubt — the best album from an all-time great year in hip-hop — and since everyone else is weighing in with their Jay-Z takes, I thought I’d join the fun.

The following is an excerpt from Christopher Pierznik’s book, In Defense Of…

When an artist has more number one albums than Elvis, it’s easy for some of them — even the top-notch ones — to slip through the cracks. Such is the case with American Gangster, Jay-Z’s 2007 concept album that is often overlooked.

American Gangster is impressive, particularly when considering what came before it. On his comeback album released the year prior, Kingdom Come, Jay came across as content with what he had accomplished, yet bitter that he hadn’t received enough credit for it. Worst of all, he sounded out of touch, referencing brands most listeners had never heard of and rapping about things and experiences to which even fewer could relate. It appeared as if age and success had caught up to him and he had finally fallen off.