Jay-Z - "Regrets"

If New York is indeed hip hop's Mecca, then Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt is certainly one of the movement's holy texts.  From his verbal duel with Biggie on "Brooklyn's Finest" to his contemplation of the price of success on "D'Evils," the wordplay throughout Shawn Carter's debut is, well, Unreasonable.  A classic from top-to-bottom, Doubt was the landmark album for Mafioso rap--the one that best paralleled Scarface's story from rise to fall.  While I have a hard time picking a favorite song from the album, the last official track (before bonus tracks) certainly numbers among the best.  "Regrets" marks the downfall of the anti-hero and presents us with advice that is applicable to any walk of life, while simultaneously beautifully critical of the American Dream:

You used to hold me, told me that I was the best,
Anything in this world I want I could possess.
All that made me want is all that I could get,
In order to survive, gotta learn to live with regrets.

Peace, Love, & Hova,
WordIsBorn

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Jay-Z - "Reminder" (Prod. Timbaland) X (Bonus) "Brooklyn's Finest" feat. The Notorious B.I.G.

Props to NMC for the premier of this track.  Sounds like yet another classic Jay song subpar Timbaland beat that even J-Hova can't salvage...I'll let you judge for yourselves.  I wasn't that big a fan of the Drake track, but I'll wait to judge B3 until I actually hear the album.  Can't wait for the track with J. Cole...

Update: To salvage this post, I've attached a certified classic Jay-Z track that the hip hop heads who have followed his entire career.  "Brooklyn's Finest" is off of Jigga's seminal album Reasonable Doubt (an album that I personally hold to be the greatest hip hop LP of all time).  I feel bad picking this song, because I really feel that Doubt is meant to be experienced as a total.  Even though the individual songs are amazing, it's one of those rare albums where the total is greater than the sum of its parts.  I picked this song because it displays a young Jay-Z still able to hold his own against Biggie, arguebly the greatest of all time, in his prime.  And it's not as though Biggie goes easy.

I personally believe that "Brooklyn's Finest" may actually be the example of Christopher Wallace at his finest.  The song is one of those rare, classic collaborations in hip hop history and sounds as though each rapper feeds off of each other (even though Biggie, in actuality, recorded his lyrics a couple months after Jay).  I like to compare this track to Jay's track "Renegades" with Eminem because a lot of people claim that Em killed Hova on his own shit, though I feel that they both provide two of the best verses of the career and are on par with each other.  Just my opinion though.  Tell me what you think.

Peace, Love, & Hova,
Notorious Noah