Famous Firsts: Jay-Z

Michael Jordan started out as the best player in the universe, didn't he? No? Well...Bill Gates always had more money than god...he didn't? Sean Carter wasn't always Jigga, S. Dot, Hov or even JAY-Z for that matter. Back in 1990 he was JZ and he was Jaz-O's (The Jaz back in '90) sidekick. Yes, Young Hov was someone's Robin or Tonto if you will. Hey, you gotta start somewhere.


Following the success of Hawaiin Sophie off the Word To The Jaz LP, Jaz-O released his follow up album:To Your Soul. The album was full of Afro-centric, positive rhymes as well as clever word play. Again, he let his boy rhyme on two tracks called The Originators and It's That Simple and the kid showed promise. "The miggity more that comes the miggity merrier right? Right." JZ ripped his verse on that song. Their deliveries intertwined perfectly to make one memorable single that I was so happy to get on VHS that I played it ad nauseum after school until I got the single. After this song, I didn't hear from Jaz until A Groove (This Is What U Rap 2) (which had a superior remix that was kinda Soul II Soul-ish) but there was no Jay on it. He moved on and the rest as they say is history.


Suprisingly, alot of people don't remember this single and tend to believe that Jay burst upon the scene with Can I Get Open by his cousins group Original Flavor. Nas said on H to tha O.M.O. (A Jigga diss track) : "Back in the days you used to rhyme like Fu-Schnickens..." Nah Esco, he was diggity-in and biggity-in before Das and Chip-Fu. Jay had talent and eventually his talent rose above all the others around him.

Really Young Hov

This is an example of a display of raw talent that would evolve and eventually dominate the rap game. Enjoy this song and if you can find To Your Soul, give it a listen. Not just for Jay but for Jaz, an overlooked MC who never got his due in my opinion.

The Originators-The Jaz (feat. JZ)

http://www.zshare.net/audio/jaz-the-originators-feat-jz-mp3.html