Jay-Z Moment of Clarity

[musictrax2011]

When I listen to this song, I imagine Jay Z alone walking down the road of life, how heavy each step must have been; imagine the things he must have seen, the trials he must have gone through, the hurt that he must be carrying. All you young guns thinking you can be like him, think again. This kind of wisdom can only be attained by going through literal hell, there just is no shortcut.

[dish94]

Eminem produced this dope beat...Jay killed the rhymes

[AlexMatt992]

@catdogcirca1990s Pacs lyrics were dumbed down? Obvious troll.

[magicaidsjohnson]

Common> Drake

[DCSTUBZ]

I like the part where he claims that he's a bad rapper by choice and could be as good as Talib Kweli or Common simply if he felt like it. Get over yourself, Jay-Z.

[ExperimentingFlow]

@DCSTUBZ Its a youtube scavenge but he has some pre-96 videos.where if you listen he has a godly lyrical flow. Sounds just like big l with the lyrics so match

[LowKey4real]

CHECC OUT MY REMIX TO THIS!!! GOES HARD!

[chefawkes]

his best song

[JigSaW279]

For real, Eminem needs to get his ass back into producing!!

[j04370859]

@JigSaW279 He is on the new Slaughterhouse album, I thought you knew.

[BuffaloSouljaGurl]

Hold on....someone spelled Album wrong....

[davidrivas55]

Does he worship the devil?

[JosephHuntington]

Blacks are targets. Dr Joseph Huntington just made a new magnet.

[bloodyhaloman]

i luv this

[bloodyhaloman]

put it down

[SoiLX]

my gift and the curse I gave you volume after volume of my word

[PaulVanGr]

definetly song for unlimited pumps!

[QBDogKiller]

"I dumb down for my audience and double my dollars"

Keeping it real. No need to bullshit and pretend money doesn't matter in the music industry.

[takeover08]

@QBDogKiller How in any way is that helping us though? Music is part of the soul of black people, and this guy is talking about "I dumb down for my audience" ? So Jay-Z, you're leading us astray because YOU want money? It's disgusting man. But the best part is he is telling us what he's doing and we continue to listen and buy into it. Wow. Hypnotic spell indeed.

[QBDogKiller]

@takeover08

You're telling you're so self-righteous that you would walk away from tens of millions of dollars???

Like I said earlier, no need to bullshit.

I like to keep shit real, some people don't.

[takeover08]

@QBDogKiller If I'm doing something which I KNOW is affecting my people in the wrong way, you bet your bottom dollar I'll walk away from it. You can't take this money with you fam. You ever heard of "selling your soul" .. you give up something meaningful for MONEY and knowingly do wrong. What happens when your money isn't worth shit and you gotta answer to a higher power? Dudes like Lupe, Jay Elec, Mos Def, Common etc get more respect from me than Jay-Z ever will.

[QBDogKiller]

@takeover08

I prefer to take care of my family before "my people".

Stay poor if that's what you like.

[takeover08]

@QBDogKiller Every man must take care of his immediate home before taking care of "his people" (funny you'd put that in quotation marks though.. you a white boy?) .. How Jay-Z goes about it is all I'm questioning.. But if Jay can turn us into idiots, then I guess it's okay for Nicki minaj to teach our young sisters to dress like whores too.. W/e though. nice chatting with you.

[QBDogKiller]

@takeover08

Maybe he can turn you into an idiot.

I don't let music influence my life. It's just music.

Learn to prioritize.

[chefawkes]

@takeover08

you're a hundred percent right. i love Jay's songs, especially the honesty in this one, but i have way more respect for the artists you mentioned who didn't dumb down from their audience

[inverzking]

"so next time you see the hommie and his rims spin know my mind is working just like his........

the rims tht is"

[k1rv0lak]

"I'm strong enough to carry Biggie Small on my back" best line in this song . thumbs up if you agree 

[cypherg]

@k1rv0lak

biggie would have squashed the camels hump... jay is dope, but biggie that crack...

[drewwill2000]

while ur all wasting ya time arguing over irrelivent shit, the world is falling apart around you. this guy is payed no matter what u think so go vote n change the world here ya views change nothing

[SinceretheGhost]

@drewwill2000 Salute.

[daxterreid]

Jay-Z Illuminati message at 2:55, "till we all got triangles on the wall" and the man making a triangle..

[555BIGSHANE]

@daxterreid illuminati has been dead for over 200 years

[WilleamFowler]

@555BIGSHANE false

[catdogcirca1990s]

@daxterreid thats not what it means...it means the platinum plaques on the wall

Billboard sign for platinum is a triangle

[TheRuner24]

This song alone gives Jay-Z the right to be called one of the top 5 rappers humanity has ever seen.

He's literally explaining the reason behind dumbing down his lyrics and seemingly losing his talent--mainstream audiences care more for beats and catchy hooks as opposed to good quality content.

He talks about how he'd be better if "skills sold" and criticizes those who criticize him but praise his meaningless content.

One of the truest songs I have ever had the good fortune to hear.

[doriand123]

@TheRuner24 this was produced by eminem :)

[TheSneakyPelican]

anyone else think em produced this?

[killerdemon502]

jay z is dope as fuck, defo top 5 of all time.

eminem was supposed to feature on this song but then jay said: "not after the shit u did on Renegade". hehe, just a joke. s

[Itekimas]

@killerdemon502 It can be possible :)

[2mkramer]

@killerdemon502 Jay-z isnt even in the top 20 or 30 rappers of all time. You also dont seem to realize that this entire song is about him making his lyrics dumb and shitty for fans like you. The real reason Eminem was not featured was because of how much better he spit on renegade than Jay-z.

[killerdemon502]

@2mkramer hold on, im pullin my pants down. oh they down now, come kiss my ass fag ass.

[2mkramer]

@killerdemon502 Can't even say anything to back Jay-z or yourself because you just realized how bad he is.

[2mkramer]

@killerdemon502 You can't even say anything to back Jay-z or yourself because you just realized how bad of a rapper he is.

[QBDogKiller]

Sick beat, badass lyrics.

This is when rap still had some life.

[Westcoastmexican]

the black album was a fuckin classic

[Brownpride61904]

which is this eminems song ?

[BVBnirvanaROCK]

@hiphopMainAttraction 2pac all the way man!!!!

[BVBnirvanaROCK]

@underestimated07 leave out eminem and u got yoself a DEAL

[CheeseMan240]

@BVBnirvanaROCK Yeah leave out the one man keeping this shit alive LOL. Nice1

[underestimated07]

1. Nas

2. Biggie

3. Outkast

4. Big Pun

5. Tupac

6. Big L

7. A Tribe Called Quest

8. Jay-Z

9. Eminem

10. Mobb Deep

[wjk2109]

@underestimated07 worst fucking list ever

[underestimated07]

@wjk2109 Shows how much you know about the quality of these individuals back in their prime. The list IS based on a matter of opinion, but based on your response your just ignorant. Go listen to your Drake man, for you just don't understand.

[hockeynahal]

Haha. Jay-Z learned that he shouldn't let Shady spit on his record. Eminem produced this beat for Jay and i'm sure he would have ripped it!

[matiaskaze]

People argue about the most stupid shit. Jay Z is dope as fuck. 

[KryptonDaVillain]

American Gangster was one of the best hip-hop albums of the past decade, and that wouldn't have been released had he not come out of retirement.

[ErrorProduction2012]

This is the shit. Fuck M&m

[RexORackZ]

jayz is no damn illuminati cut the shit

haterz for real x)

[danielleverttv]

Where the Blueprint 4 at?

[Itekimas]

Em production. What else?

[sazay1986]

fuck him for saying that shit about pac

[pjmakina]

@sazay1986 He says: "Pop died". Listen to the rest of the verse lol.

[8milesnake]

eminem produced this, thats his beat you can bet yo ass on it

[emmanuel94e]

Moment of Clarity<3

[MartyG12321]

I definitely hear Eminem in this song! *he produced this song(made the beat)*

[Avinash22736]

dude illuminati is everywhere in this song

[hiphopMainAttraction]

@Avinash22736 Shut the fuck up with that illuminati shit



[RexORackZ]

@hiphopMainAttraction i feel you man f*** that hype its all bs leave hova alone nuff said.

[Avinash22736]

@hiphopMainAttraction You mad bro?

[hiphopMainAttraction]

@Avinash22736 Nah, I'm just not stupid enough to believe he's in the illuminati. What, you can't fathom a young black male coming up and building an empire of riches in an honest and legal way?

[Mizzarrk]

@hiphopMainAttraction yeah but his record label is called rocafella wich is the name of a illuminati bloodline family FACT always throwin up the triangle fact is a piece of shit FACT JAy Z Is funded by illuminati and is a freemason FACT So go fuck urself

[prophecy505]

@Mizzarrk Fact..Illuminati hasnt been around since the 17 century..fact when the illuminati existed they werent satanic, that was a rumor founded by the roman catholic church because the illuminati exposed them of their corruptivity. Fact actually Illuminati means enlightened 1. Fact illuminati members were once burned at the stake because they revealed that the earth was round. Stay off of youtube and actually pick up a book

[Mizzarrk]

@prophecy505 deserves them right Fact The Earth is not round.

[prophecy505]

@Mizzarrk Fact anything with an angle that can be factored using logarithms is round. And fact, while the earths actual surface is not a sphere, its container called the atmosphere is indeed wrong proving my fallacy to be correct...I cant stand internet politicians,and internet conspiracy theorist..Peace to the 5 percenters

[hiphopMainAttraction]

@Mizzarrk First of all, saying "FACT" in all caps before each point you make, does not make them fact. Secondly, let's pretend for a second, that Jay Z really is in the illuminati....Who cares? What affect does it have on you? It has no affect on me. All I know is he's a dope ass MC who makes dope ass music and signed my favorite MC (J Cole). If he really is in the illuminati, that's his business....But he's not.

[Mizzarrk]

@hiphopMainAttraction first of all if you dont know what affect illuminati has on and your life then you are clinicly retarded jay z a dope as MC? LOL nice 1 and j cole ??? Is he another one of these pop stars thats cool bro!!!!!

[norcofoxxx]

@Mizzarrk

You're a fucking moron, how about you take that black dick out of your ass and look around for once. The earth is round and FACT you're a prick.

[1977azteca]

repeful man or eslese you no respect

[hiphopMainAttraction]

@Mizzarrk I never said that being in the illuminati wouldn't have an affect on someone's life. I said, "What affect on YOUR life would it have if JAY Z were in the illuminati? If you let his personal life affect your personal life in that way, you oughta check yourself. And yes Jay Z is a dope MC. He's regarded by real hip hop heads as a top10 all time MC. And J Cole is extremely dope. Wayyyyy better than 95% of what's out there.

[Mizzarrk]

@hiphopMainAttraction lmao ok this is not even about illuminati anymore because i know whats up and you think you know whats up aight real hip hop heads jay z is top ten ???????? Maybe top ten mainstream rappers but NEVER top ten rappers ever you must be on some serious crack cocaine. J cole ?? Dont even know what the fuck a j cole is

[hiphopMainAttraction]

@Mizzarrk You don't know what a J Cole is??? Well he uses an abbreviation of his real name (Jermaine Cole) rather than use "Lil" _____ like a buncha wack rappers. And just for shits and giggles, here's my top 10 all time: 1. Tupac 2. Nas 3. Biggie 4. Rakim 5. Big L 6. Eminem 7. Jay Z 8. Guru 9. Kool G Rap 10. Lupe/Ghostface

[Mizzarrk]

@hiphopMainAttraction ok thats nice jay is stil shit and j cole is whack

[2mkramer]

@hiphopMainAttraction You have to have Yasin Bey and Talib Kweli in that list or you have no idea what your talking about.

[Avinash22736]

@hiphopMainAttraction well we all have opinions, its up to you to agree or disagree, but you shouldnt be judging. its my opinion if i believe in Illuminati dude, its fine if you dont am not gonna bitch abt it, nor shall you.

[SizzlesManG]

@Avinash22736 Shut the fuck up you Indian faggot before I cut your cock off, fuck your mother in her loose anus and smack the red dot off her forehead.

[Avinash22736]

@SizzlesManG my parents are french you dumbass and your obviously an idiot to be juding over the internet, get educated kid, this is not an argument, just to show you how stupid you look right now

[Killacam2424]

@Avinash22736 i agree with you. Most people do not read between the lines. If there are psychic people that can predict the future than why cant the illuminati exist.

[Flyers8228836]

jay aint that strong to carry biggy. lol that was a fat ass nigga. rest in peace to biggy

[tech009nasoldier]

i missed this album.. only jay album I like. wonder what happened to Hova?

[j04370859]

@tech009nasoldier You don't like Reasonable Doubt and Blueprint?

[tech009nasoldier]

@j04370859 not a huge fan... no. This album blew my fuckin mind tho... This my favorite song on the album tho.... Shit made me fall in love way back in '07 & still makes me feel the same way in 2011.

[hiphopMainAttraction]

@tech009nasoldier I think Reasonable Doubt is his best album, although everyone's entitled to their opinion. Production handled by legendary producers. Top notch flow and lyricism by Jay back when he was still raw as fuck and could go bar for bar with anybody (except Big L.....7 minute freestyle was owned by Big L).

[tpzoso]

Black Abulm

[Hectorrskates]

tom asta

[Iceg1993]

ef otis this is real hip hop

[nymutt107]

BROKE DA REPLAY



[tipology]

one of the very few songs i like by him

[kLoveMiniSoda]

Okkkkkkkk Jay Z might be the BEST to ever do it. Top 3 in any real hip hop list... I mean are you mother fuckers listening to what he sayin, DAMN !!

[xRideTheBus36xx]

That 2nd verse is legendary HOV!!!

[iKnowHipHop2]

Jayz + Eminem = CLassics

[kLoveMiniSoda]

@iKnowHipHop2 ... 4 sho .. Em and J are the two best rappers alive

[MrSevan19]

This songs about the Illuminati MOTHERFUCKERS

[Noreck900801]

one of the best Eminem's beats

[ptaker91]

how can you not feel like a gangster when listening to this?

[hiphoponeworld]

@ptaker91 because its a track where a man commits he hasnt been true to the game in order to make money, how is that gangsta?

[GiftedLyrikz]

check out my verse to this track. it's in the video response.

[brooklyndoitbig]

So like what happened to this Jay-z ?

[420sumthing]

i think this was his last real song before he decided to dumb things down to double his bank

[AlexMatt992]

Jay should of retired after this album.

[JAMEVINUN]

@AlexMatt992 ALREADY HOME BLUEPRINT 3 

[doubledutch6rudder]

@AlexMatt992 true fan...

[2ndAkhenaton]

@AlexMatt992

He did.

[AlexMatt992]

@2ndAkhenaton Then he came back he should of stayed retired.

[RVBeEtZ]

@AlexMatt992 dude. american gangster was good.

[jcantstop24]

@AlexMatt992 WHAT??? MAN THE BLUEPRINT 3, AND WATCH THE THRONE ARE SEALED AS CLASSICS. THEY STILL CANT FUCK WITH JAY.

[CommanderBlue50]

@jcantstop24 calm down

[jcantstop24]

@CommanderBlue50 And you need to mind your business :-)

[8teen0rolder]

@AlexMatt992 wtf no.....

[RexXxo1]

@AlexMatt992 reitred and not made Kindgom Come and American Gangster and Blueprint 3? Sorry I disagree

[hamKanYeezy]

@RexXxo1 and the most antipacted album of the year Watch The Throne ??? @alexmatt992 really?? cmon now

[SeymoreTrees]

@AlexMatt992 correction: Jay COULD have retired after this album. But would you say 'no' to the money he's made since?

[teo4533]

thumb up osoi irthan edo apo ton tus powersound..

[marzzileo]

cant get much better than this

[mcmiky12]

this beats is of Eminem Bitch

[chrisc5794]

@mcmiky12 no its not dumb fuck it jus sounds like it

[mcmiky12]

@chrisc5794 Eminem make thisbeat for Jay Z idiot

[chrisc5794]

@mcmiky12 bitch hahahah gtfo deez nutz hahhaha

[mysideboob]

who cares who is better. this is dope. just vibe like the description says.

[zatrossb]

mnzmxz,xzmz,z

[paulinhalihalinha]

eminem is better

[j04370859]

@paulinhalihalinha Go ride his dick somewhere else then.

[uwishyobfwazme]

gotta love Eminem's Beats

[EddyG713]

Jay-Z is too raw

[mylegacy7]

Kweli and Jay-Z are both amazing Kweli is a better lyricist Jay-Z has sick beats

[MrBehavior]

I love the typo on "Album" whats an "ablum?"

[xaultimateax]

Common > Kweli > Jay Z

[getrapedpmfl69]

@xaultimateax ya...right. i used to listen to common and kweli because they weren't commercialized, then i realized how good jay was and how un commercialized osme of his songs were, he is better than both of them, he raps on better beats, he has better flowing abilities and can say alot more in fewer words

[silent7music]

the rims that is...

[NinoBrown117]

My lil brother was like... they used to play music on MTV.

[JustBlaze234]

This song speaks the truth.. How he says " I dumbed down for my audience, doubled my dollas they criticize me for it yet they still yell holla!" "If skills sold truth be told I probably be lyrically talib kweli" Crazy how now a days in hiphop u can see more of this happening progressively, shit is sad.

[QBDogKiller]

I miss when rappers made shit like this back in the day.

At least I got to live through the 90s and witness hip-hop at it's best, thank God.

[roc575]

"pop died, didnt cry, didn't know know 'em that well, between 'em doin heroin and me doin crack sales, with that in an eggshell..." hardest jay intro

[SonOfBoromir]

Eminem productions ...... nuff' said ...

[IWatchedTheThrone]

ONE of the best song ever! HOV >

[jonremache]

Classic Jigga.

[2paczfan]

1:42 "I dumb down for my audience"

DON'T FUCK WITH ME YOU MOTHAFUCKA, WHO YOU CALLIN' DUMB YOU UGLY BITCH

[JRoss911]

If he was rapping like talib kweli and Common I prolly would consider him one of the best.....But he sold his soul for D' Evils smh

[901flaminskull]

Slim Shady went ham on this fuckin beat mane and Jay murdered the lyrics as usual.

[headshots001]

damn!i dumb down for my audience. true true. get your money. i still dig your shit. not all of it thoo

[pwilsonlf3]

I can tell its an eminem beat

[Oddjob82]

Clean video.

[kidstupiid1]

i can def relate to this sumner pjs u heard

[blackplaque617]

Second verse explains it all. He has a point, when he dumb down his shit his record sales sky rocketed. Niggas who bought his wack shit are the sellouts. I only bought reasonable doubt and stop there.

[j04370859]

@blackplaque617 How is the Black Album and Blueprint wack?

[blackplaque617]

@j04370859 Okay you got that, what I should have said that after he came back from that fake ass retirement that's when he started to go down hill, but dudes continued to buy his shit. But at the same time he never spit the way he did on reasonable doubt on his future albums.

[j04370859]

@blackplaque617 So they weren't good then?

[ThatIncredibleJordan]

@blackplaque617 excluding vol 2, blueprint 2 and blueprint 3... all of jay z's albums are great.

And Blueprint > Reasonable Doubt

[KillinTracks]

and he said "we all have triangles on our wall" ILLUMINATI

[TheFlygerian]

@KillinTracks shut up