They inked a distribution deal with Priority Records shortly after and released Reasonable Doubt on June 25, 1996.ĭuring a year that saw huge rap releases from 2Pac, Nas, Snoop Dogg and the Fugees, Reasonable Doubt was a modest commercial success, peaking at number 23 on the Billboard 200 and selling just 43,000 units in its first week. But while other New York artists like Nas and Big were getting signed and starting to blow up, Hov had trouble convincing label heads that he was the next big thing.Īfter countless meetings and rejections, Jay decided to go the independent route, linking up with Damon Dash and Kareem “Biggs” Burke, to form their own independent label, Roc-A-Fella Records.

Outta every rag drop, and the West had it lockedĮverybody doing them, I'm still stretching on the blockĭuring the late ’80s to the mid 90s, Jay was grinding his way through life, one foot in the drug game and the other foot trying to work its way into the music industry. That Big and Mack dropped and Illmatic rocked That’s right, Jay-Z, who is now a hip hop billionaire and the culture’s symbol for wealth, started out hustling tapes out of the trunk of his car. “I’m not a businessman I’m a business, man”.īut what a lot of rap fans don’t know is that Jay started off as an unsigned artist, and his debut album, Reasonable Doubt, was released independently by Roc-A-Fella Records via a distribution deal with Priority Records. When you think of Jay-Z, there are a few things that come to mind.

Reasonable doubt jay z album