Jay-Z was already a premiere name in the rap underground when he released his first album. And despite heavy competition by other high profile rappers, Reasonable Doubt made him the hottest new rap star on the scene. Since that time, he has become one of the world's most successful rappers, and his music reflected that. Looking back, part of what made Reasonable Doubt so noteworthy was you could feel Jay-Z's palpable hunger. He was hustling on the streets and he wanted to change that.

It's kind of a strange dichotomy, seeing Jay-Z, having realized his dream of fame and fortune, looking back on the album where he had none of it. One of his defining lyrical traits is his extreme confidence, often bordering on (and at times spilling into) sheer arrogance. He's surprisingly earnest in this documentary, clearly taking his time to really pull out the sources for his lyrics. It's clear the album still has an effect on him after all these years.

The rest of the commentators aren't as introspective. Almost every contributor to the album is on hand, but they're as likely to talk about how cool Jay-Z was at the time as they are about the music. The writer of New Jack City even pops up to sing Jay-Z's praises. Now, I know these Classic Album discs have a tendency to paint the artist in question as the greatest thing since sliced bread, but it's strange when the subject himself is so subdued. However, backing up their claims is some excellent period concert footage.

I'll admit, Jay-Z isn't normally my cup of tea. But it's a testament to the generally high standards of this series that even though my tastes run to different areas, I still found this to be quite an engaging piece.

The DVD:

The Video:
Eagle Rock presents this Classic Albums entry in 1.77:1 16x9 enhanced widescreen. The documentary shifts between period concert/video footage and new interviews. Generally, the new interviews are clean and crisp. The period footage looks far worse, but there's more new than old.

The Audio:
You'd think that for a series of discs about music, that Eagle Rock would invest in a surround sound mix. But no, it's only Dolby Digital 2.0. Everything sounds clear, but a great surround mix really could have made a great impression.

The Supplements:
The disc is loaded with footage that didn't make it into the original broadcast. There's interviews with cover photographer Jonathan Mannion, Pain In Da Ass, Barry Michael Cooper, Lyor Cohen, Kanye West, Mary J. Blige, Peter Panic, Irv Gotti, Ski, DJ Premiere, Sean and Knobody, Clark Kent, and several new and extended sequences of Jay-Z. There's footage inside the studio as well as the interviews. Topping things off are the promo videos for "Ain't No N***a" and "Can't Knock The Hustle."