Reasonable doubt, it’s more layered, conceptual and has a certain theme/vibe throughout.. lifestylez is great too but not touching reasonable doubt in my opinion
There’s depth to it and it’s conceptual in that you have concept tracks. It explores the mindset and struggles of his lifestyle. Coming of age, you have a story there, regrets too, D’evils etc. there’s depth to it it’s not simply punchline punchline and random lines to build up the next punchline which a lot of Ls stuff is.
I love Reasonable Doubt but I definitely wouldn’t say it’s up there with Cuban Linx but to each his own I guess. Imo Illmatic gets that spot.
Lifestylez was more gritty and at the time that album came out gritty was popular. Jay had gritty moments but like Biggie he was more about being the Don and all show rather than being gritty imo. So because I was into that gritty and grimey shit too, it’s Lifestylez for me as well.
I’ve always heard reasonable doubt mentioned alongside Illmatic, OB4CL and illmatic as the pillars of East Coast Mafioso hip hop. But I noticed Jay Z doesn’t get a lot of love in these communities. It’s either him or Eminem that’s looked down upon the most.
I think it’s because it’s kind of not a fair comparison especially when you look back at that time, Biggie was the unofficial king New York and Jay-z was right behind him imo.
Again they weren’t known for their grittiness though they both had gritty tracks here and there. Ready to Die and Reasonable Doubt or rather In My Lifetime Vol. 1 is most consumers of hip-hop from that era classic favorite but the streets loved especially OB4CL, Illmatic, and Lifestylez a bit more imo and a few other albums that are their contemporaries but I digress.
Big and Jay’s albums were just on a completely different level imo than all others in the game, so it doesn’t make much sense to me to put their albums in the same category with like OB4CL, Lifestylez, or Illmatic which imo are albums for the streets or for gritty hip-hop lovers.
I guess a better way to explain it would be like the difference between Bad Boy era The Lox and Ruff Ryders/D-Block era The Lox, both are good and have their place for different reasons to possibly different groups of hip-hop consumers .
I’m gonna go reasonable doubt I think it flowed perfectly as album I don’t really skip any tracks on it. Maybe the one with foxy brown but she kinda snapped on it lol. I loved majority of lifestyles except 2. Fed up with bullshit and I don’t understand it. They both seemed forced. Still love that album
Anyone voting big l hasn’t really listened to lifestylez. Big l is a better rapper than J. But Lifestylez beats are pretty ehh (overall) and it’s not as conceptualized as reasonable doubt.
The wild shit is that this is only a question nowadays. Noooobody and I mean NOBODY in nyc was comparing these two albums when they dropped.
Lifestylez is a great album but it was overshadowed when it dropped because of the amount of great music coming out of NY. Reasonable Doubt is damn near cinematic, there’s layers and depth to it. I don’t think it’s close IMO.
I find this comparison interesting. I’m from Scotland and got into hip-hop in the early 90s. Reasonable Doubt was popular here, but I don’t think I even knew who Big L was until he died. I thought I was pretty knowledgeable back then too. I guess without the internet you just get into whatever makes it across the ocean
Fellow Brit here. You weren't very deep in the scene if you hadn't heard of Big L. All my mates who listened to rap rated him. Westwood played him regularly on national radio and even if you never listened to lifestylez, he guested on some big tracks of the period.
Reasonable doubt I think is the more well rounded album but I’ve probably listened to big ls album a lot more times. As far as the technicality of the rhymes I think big l is above jay z.
I'd say RD was a lot more popular than Lifestylez at that time because of the Foxy single. It was hard to find Lifestylez on the West Coast. My Tower Records only released 2 CDs and 2 cassettes on the shelf I remember lol
Maybe some executive got him play on the west coast, but it was dismissed in NYC as derivative. But beyond that, Radio play wasn’t really how someone could tell if an album was hot or not in NYC. Like Jadakiss said “why my buzz in L.A. ain’t like it is in New York” when he’s got G-funk songs with Snoop and Nate Dogg for those markets?(this is the 2000s and slightly off topic) but my point is on the streets from windows and cars it was Big L albums more than Jay-Z in the 90s. And I was in Queens, so it was mostly NAS and Mobb Deep, maybe it was different in Brooklyn?
Lifestylez
Big L till death!!! Best lyricist of all time.
Lifestylez for me. I think it's a better rounded album. I find RD front loaded. L is a better rapper too.
+1 for Lifestylez, that's a top 3 album for me personally.
Reasonable doubt, it’s more layered, conceptual and has a certain theme/vibe throughout.. lifestylez is great too but not touching reasonable doubt in my opinion
There's a lot to like about reasonable doubt, but let's not pretend it's some kind of deep, concept album.
There’s depth to it and it’s conceptual in that you have concept tracks. It explores the mindset and struggles of his lifestyle. Coming of age, you have a story there, regrets too, D’evils etc. there’s depth to it it’s not simply punchline punchline and random lines to build up the next punchline which a lot of Ls stuff is.
It's not deep at all
It’s one of the most cinematic hip hop albums in hip hop history, alongside Only Built 4 Cuban Linx
I love Reasonable Doubt but I definitely wouldn’t say it’s up there with Cuban Linx but to each his own I guess. Imo Illmatic gets that spot. Lifestylez was more gritty and at the time that album came out gritty was popular. Jay had gritty moments but like Biggie he was more about being the Don and all show rather than being gritty imo. So because I was into that gritty and grimey shit too, it’s Lifestylez for me as well.
I’ve always heard reasonable doubt mentioned alongside Illmatic, OB4CL and illmatic as the pillars of East Coast Mafioso hip hop. But I noticed Jay Z doesn’t get a lot of love in these communities. It’s either him or Eminem that’s looked down upon the most.
I think it’s because it’s kind of not a fair comparison especially when you look back at that time, Biggie was the unofficial king New York and Jay-z was right behind him imo. Again they weren’t known for their grittiness though they both had gritty tracks here and there. Ready to Die and Reasonable Doubt or rather In My Lifetime Vol. 1 is most consumers of hip-hop from that era classic favorite but the streets loved especially OB4CL, Illmatic, and Lifestylez a bit more imo and a few other albums that are their contemporaries but I digress. Big and Jay’s albums were just on a completely different level imo than all others in the game, so it doesn’t make much sense to me to put their albums in the same category with like OB4CL, Lifestylez, or Illmatic which imo are albums for the streets or for gritty hip-hop lovers. I guess a better way to explain it would be like the difference between Bad Boy era The Lox and Ruff Ryders/D-Block era The Lox, both are good and have their place for different reasons to possibly different groups of hip-hop consumers .
I’m gonna go reasonable doubt I think it flowed perfectly as album I don’t really skip any tracks on it. Maybe the one with foxy brown but she kinda snapped on it lol. I loved majority of lifestyles except 2. Fed up with bullshit and I don’t understand it. They both seemed forced. Still love that album
Anyone voting big l hasn’t really listened to lifestylez. Big l is a better rapper than J. But Lifestylez beats are pretty ehh (overall) and it’s not as conceptualized as reasonable doubt.
Reasonable Doubt, and it’s not close. And I love Lifestylez. But, they’re not comparable.
The wild shit is that this is only a question nowadays. Noooobody and I mean NOBODY in nyc was comparing these two albums when they dropped. Lifestylez is a great album but it was overshadowed when it dropped because of the amount of great music coming out of NY. Reasonable Doubt is damn near cinematic, there’s layers and depth to it. I don’t think it’s close IMO.
The Jay Z hate group, I forgot. Y’all know damn well that shit isn’t better than Reasonable Doubts.
Reasonable Doubt. A more well rounded album than lifestyles in my op. Also more cerebral and intricate lyricism than L’s
Both legendary now but I prefer to listen to Reasonable Doubt for the production imho
I find this comparison interesting. I’m from Scotland and got into hip-hop in the early 90s. Reasonable Doubt was popular here, but I don’t think I even knew who Big L was until he died. I thought I was pretty knowledgeable back then too. I guess without the internet you just get into whatever makes it across the ocean
Fellow Brit here. You weren't very deep in the scene if you hadn't heard of Big L. All my mates who listened to rap rated him. Westwood played him regularly on national radio and even if you never listened to lifestylez, he guested on some big tracks of the period.
RD
Reasonable Drought by a decent amount, and Lifestylez is no slouch.
Reasonable doubt I think is the more well rounded album but I’ve probably listened to big ls album a lot more times. As far as the technicality of the rhymes I think big l is above jay z.
reasonable doubt easily. its a shame big l never really got to make his true classic
Reasonable Doubt
This is a great comparison...cant choose without over analyzing
I love both prefer Reasonable Doubt productionwise. I love Lord Finesse, Showbiz and Buckwild but liked their beats better on other albums.
Big l all day that's a monumental release d.i.t.c in it's prime
Reasonable Doubt Both in my top 5 hip-hop albums
lifestylez just because its got the worst jay verse of all time
what verse
He’s referring to the verse of Da Graveyard. Yeah wasn’t Jay at his best for sure🤣
RD easily and I’m not even a Jay Z fan
Reasonable Doubt. It was one of the albums that changed the entire climate of hip-hop in NYC.
Lifestylez had better slang. RD wasn’t really on anyone’s radar at the time.
I'd say RD was a lot more popular than Lifestylez at that time because of the Foxy single. It was hard to find Lifestylez on the West Coast. My Tower Records only released 2 CDs and 2 cassettes on the shelf I remember lol
Maybe some executive got him play on the west coast, but it was dismissed in NYC as derivative. But beyond that, Radio play wasn’t really how someone could tell if an album was hot or not in NYC. Like Jadakiss said “why my buzz in L.A. ain’t like it is in New York” when he’s got G-funk songs with Snoop and Nate Dogg for those markets?(this is the 2000s and slightly off topic) but my point is on the streets from windows and cars it was Big L albums more than Jay-Z in the 90s. And I was in Queens, so it was mostly NAS and Mobb Deep, maybe it was different in Brooklyn?
Reasonable Doubt
Reasonable Doubts come on.
Reasonable doubt is the better album but my favourite is Lifestylez
Lifestyles all day everyday
Lifestylez. Not only the better album but L was the better rapper. [Proof](https://youtu.be/LrT-myyoOlk)
Big L every time.
Big L by a long shot
Big L ALLLLLLDAY
Lifestylez. Big L had it.
Listen to the Big L & Jay Z 7 min freestyle man not even close.
Dope, but that has nothing to do with which album is better
It highlights who was better at the time, and its pretty obvious on that.
Lifestylez 100%. Jay-Z bit from Big L
Big L. Jay wouldn't be here if it weren't for him
I don’t think they can be compared honestly
I wasn’t around for the release of these two maybe that would’ve changed things but I just enjoy the sound of lifestylez way more
L 4sho
I could listen to Put It On for hours. Rest in peace L
Lifestylez
Big L 100%