Mics and Jays — Vol. 2
After a successful debut album, and a new partnership with the premier Hip-hop record label, Def Jam, Jay-Z was poised for a great follow up effort. In 1997 his second album, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 was released to some mixed reviews. Following up his freshman classic, Reasonable Doubt proved to not be as easy as expected. Trying a new direction proved to be detrimental to the brand.
Co-CEO Dame Dash’s own words when explaining the negative reception:
“Money…Just trying to do what Puff was doing. We did that Sunshine video, with them shiny fucking suits, dancing around. Everybody was laughing at us. I hated it. It wasn’t us.”
A misstep immediately after a triumph?
Sounds eerily similar to what MJ was dealing with in his sophomore season.
Mike got right back to work for his sophomore season after missing the playoffs his rookie year. Unfortunately, Jordan would only play 18 games for his sophomore season due to broken foot. This among turmoils with the dumpster fire Chicago Bulls and their management, *coughs*(Jerry Krause)*coughs* made for a forgettable second season.
Despite setbacks and growing pains early on in their second year, both Hov and Mike wouldn’t stay down long.
Mike was a stubborn mf who would find his way back to the court right before the playoffs of the same season. Limited playing time was killing him and after squeezing into the playoffs he took it out on the soon to be NBA Champion Celtics. After cooking the Celtics for 63 points and making a name for himself in the playoffs, it was apparent to the rest of the league and the fans that Michael Jordan was and will be a problem nobody could solve for the foreseeable future. His performance took his status to the stratosphere as he was on display against the best of the best. One opponent, some frilly haired white dude people may be familiar with had this to say about Jordan’s performance:
“It’s just God disguised as Michael Jordan.”
Larry Bird was no bum so it was a co-sign that carried weight.
Hov would also bounce back. After his lackluster outing with his solid but underwhelming In My Lifetime, Volume 1, Jay dropped a record that solidified the hype he previously garnered.
Vol. 2 Hard Knock Life was filled with hits as well as all of the things we know and love from Jay. He talked his shit, gave you the ills and the triumphs of being a hustler, and made it all radio friendly without compromising himself. The album was a number 1 album on billboard with multiple songs in the top 100. Jigga had cracked the code and he made a shit ton of money doing it. It placed him firmly at the top of the rap food chain.
MJ would in the next few years do the same for himself. Over the next 5 years he would go on a scoring binge that made him feared league-wide. In 1986 alone he would average 37 points per game. He easily showed he was single best individual player in the game. An All-Star in each year and eventually an MVP in 88’. Michael was nearing the very top of the food chain. All he needed to do was prove he could win. By 1990 he was the top athlete in basketball and was primed to win if he could just get past those BadBoy Pistons.
(Spoiler alert 🚨 : he did.)
Jordan finally broke through as a Champion against the Magic Johnson-led Los Angeles Lakers. He would solely claim the title of best player in the game and his reign would officially begin at the top the same way Jay-Z had done in 1998.
Getting to the top is hard, but staying there is the true struggle…
Keep on the lookout for the next installment.
