This is the timeframe when the foundation for one of the greatest rap albums of all time was laid, where what occurred in and around Jay Z’s stash house at 560 State Street was born anew, given another life, this time in album form. And even prior to his debut it was already evident that he had a gift from above as he and his prodigious flow were already on display on tracks with his mentor Jaz-O, with Big Daddy Kane, and with Big L and Mic Geronimo. Prior even to his debut album, Jay Z was living that life, a style of living that armed him with a stories to tell. DJ Premier, who produced three tracks on Reasonable Doubt (“D’Evils,” “Friend or Foe,” and “Bring It On”), recounts tales of Jay thanking him for his involvement on the album with a bottle of Cristal that Primo “didn’t even know what that was” and a Cuban cigar. It is told that Jay didn’t truly need the rap game, as his pockets were lined already. There was a time where Jay Z moved product on the streets of Brooklyn and he moved it well. Jay Z has done it all, and is still making waves in the game 1. Rap’s entrepreneur, went “from Marcy To Madison Square,” “from bricks to Billboards, from grams to Grammys,” and his rise to prominence is the American Dream at its most pure and remarkable. Parlaying this cultural prestige into a colossal business empire, Jay has rubbed elbows with the likes of Warren Buffett and Bill Gates and his business endeavors dabble in the worlds of sports, spirits, nightclubs, streaming services, and beyond. And yet, Jay Z’s significance, and a contributing factor to this title I lay upon him, lies well beyond words spit over a beat, as it is safe to say that Jay Z is one of the most influential artists in popular culture today. This proclamation isn’t about lyrical dexterity, and technique alone, but rather about a man who has – in his lifetime – released a box set worth of greatest hits across a bevy of albums that are flat out classic and stand the test of time. What I am alluding to when I verbally crown Jay Z the King of Hip-Hop is the touting of what I see clearly as the most illustrious career of any rapper to have done it. Because art is subjective, and when it comes to rap, there is no scientific method to calculating who has the best flow. I never leave this bold claim on an island however, as without proper justification of this claim it is simply unsubstantiated hyperbole. I have never been shy in my proclamation that I believe Jay Z is the greatest rapper of all time. Jay Z’s debut album, which dropped twenty years ago today, isn’t simply one of the best rap albums of all time, but represents the dawning of an empire…