SwineLord - The Black Album by Jay Z

Opening Statement:
Jay-Z’s “The Black Album” solidified his place in rap history. It was his eighth studio album, and was promoted as his last. He certainly rapped like it was his last album, songs like “My 1st Song” and “99 Problems” were magnificent. I don’t think I have ever met a person who hasn’t heard “99 Problems” before, it was the biggest song off of this album and one of the biggest in Jay-Z’s career, and it’s still a recurring meme/phrase in pop culture. It was #349 in Rolling Stones list of 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time, and it was nominated for a Grammy. It went more than 3x Platinum as of 2013, and is considered a classic by many. It received generally great reviews from critics, and is normally ranked as one of Jay-Z’s best albums. Being a “goodbye” album, Jay-Z gets real personal, like on “December 4th”, where he talks about his mother, and “Moment of Clarity”, where he remembers his father. Jay-Z blesses us with innovative flows throughout the album, in which he’s not afraid to tell us that he’s the best; and with this offering, who can deny it?

Rebuttal:
There is no reason to bother with arguing for donuts, because The Black Album has a clear advantage: it has words! Donuts may be a “classic” also, but at least The Black Album has lyrics. The Black Album is one of Jay-Z’s finest albums, with great stories and lyricism, and the production was handled well. Donuts only has production. The Black Album has singles that are catchy and fun, while Donuts has no singles, and no catchy lyrics, because there are none. Instrumentals are meant to be rapped over, otherwise there is no point listening to them. Having an instrumental album is like having half of a real album. Donuts seems like it’s missing the raps, there are only like three words in the entire album! This album would be nice to slow dance to, or play in the background of a wedding, but if you want real rap, then go listen to The Black Album. When I tried listening to Donuts, I went to sleep faster than Michael Jackson did! The instrumentals would make a nice lullaby (because they’re boring as fuck). The only reason why people like these instrumentals is because other real rappers have rapped over them. This whole album seems like Dilla died before he had the chance to put verses on it (that was a low blow..) The Black Album debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200, but Donuts debuted at number 21 on “U.S. Independent Albums”, and didn’t even make the Billboard. Both albums received an 84/100 on Metacritic, but Donuts wasn’t nominated for a Grammy. Jay-Z brought on great lyricism, great stories and wonderful flows throughout his album, and J. Dilla brought on none of that. Donuts is outdated and dusty, while The Black Album never stays on the shelves. There is no compare between these two, but The Black Album is clearly the winner


Closing:
There is honestly no comparison between The Black Album and Donuts, they are very different albums, with different motives and intentions. But please, The Black Album has Words. The Black Album is made by one of the greatest rappers of all time, and it is still very relevant. Donuts just can’t compare. Bill Cosby

*Mic Drops*



Smallsie_bigs - Donuts by J. Dilla

Opening Statement:
Over nine years ago, on February 7, 2006, “Donuts” an instrumental album by J Dilla (Jay Dee) released on Dilla’s birthday while struggling in the hospital. Three days later, he died. Since then, the world of rap producing, and the genre of hip hop in general has changed. Donuts still stands as one of, if not the, most influential album in the history of rap. This album displays and exceeds every part of a “classic” album. The album is a great listen from start to finish, with a good number of standout tracks as well. The quality of the album was about as close to perfection as a hip hop album can get. On Rhapsody’s “Hip-Hop’s Best Albums of the Decade,” Donuts was third in a decade full of phenomenal music for the genre. The fact that Dilla released the album while dying in a hospital is inspiring to everyone and the unfortunate death just makes the legacy that much more great. There is no type of person that would not like this music. The influence of this album is enormous, as it practically changed the views of every hip hop producer since, and inspired MF Doom and Busta Rhymes to make songs to the beat of some of Dilla’s work many years after. Even though released almost a decade ago, it doesn’t in any way sound at all outdated. Songs like “Lightworks” and “Time: The Donut of the Heart” are songs that still are considered some of hip hops best produced songs. The album can be played as a loop, and would never get old. The name donuts is said to be just because Dilla enjoyed Donuts, but to me the deeper message is that life goes around and around, just like you eat a donut, and you have to savor it before its all gone. Of course, there is an enormously high chance this is not at all close to what Jay Dee was going for, but one of the finer things about hip hop is how it is up for interpretation. The completeness of this album, along with many standouts make this album a contender for greatest of all time, something that can not be said about most albums

Rebuttal:


Closing: