Jay-Z his second album In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 November 4, 1997

In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 is the second studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released on November 4, 1997, by Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart and was certified Platinum by the RIAA, selling over 138,000 copies in its first week of release. In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 also served as Jay-Z’s first album release following the sudden death of fellow Brooklyn rapper and collaborator The Notorious B.I.G. in March 1997.

The album features guest contributions by Lil’ Kim, Foxy Brown, Babyface, Blackstreet, Teddy Riley, Too $hort, Sauce Money, and Puff Daddy. Producers for Reasonable Doubt such as DJ Premier and Ski contribute to a limited number of beats on this album, though the majority of the production is handled by Puff Daddy’s production team The Hitmen from the Bad Boy label, giving the album a generally glossier sound than its predecessor. It displayed a shift from the mafioso rap themes of Reasonable Doubt to the so-called “jiggy” era of late 90s hip-hop, often credited to videos and albums from Puff Daddy and his Bad Boy record label’s roster of artists including Notorious B.I.G. (the first two singles from his second album were both huge pop hits) and Mase.

“Reasonable Doubt was like an introduction,” Jay-Z told MTV News. “Like, you know, meeting somebody out on the street… Everything, your whole conversation is very general, not too much detail and things like that. It’s just that ‘In My Lifetime’ is more detailed, more in-depth. Much more personal”.
… [source: Wikipedia]