10 Rap Albums That Every Rock Fan Should Listen To
6. The Black Album - Jay-Z
At the start of the '00s, Jay Z was starting to get bigger than hip hop altogether. After stomping into the next generation on the Blueprint, Hova was looking to get a lot more in tune with the harder side of music, going so far as to collab with Linkin Park a few years down the line. And there's a good reason why Mike Shinoda picked the songs off the Black Album to remix on that EP.
From top to bottom, this is the most in your face production that Jay has ever had, courtesy of Rick Rubin behind the boards for songs like 99 Problems. On top of the actual lyrics about Jay's struggle getting to the top of the hip hop food chain, the samples used on here feel a lot closer to the hard rock of old, like Led Zeppelin if they had an 808 instead of John Bonham behind the kit.
This is still a rap album at the end of the day though, and Jay pulls out the stops working with people like the Neptunes to create something that feels almost futuristic from the minute that you turn it on. Sure, there are some rock fans that will stick up their nose at an album like this for not really being rock and roll. Both of these genres know a fair bit about darkness though, and this is pitch black from skin to core.