"To be a music artist you obviously have to be talented, but ever so often comes along an artist whos skill and talent exceed and stand out from their peers. Jay-Z is one of these artist. With his single Dead Presidents, he's telling you in the lyrics, of life in inner-city New York and how he copes with the day to day situations. What grabs your attention is how smoothly he delivers the point he's trying to make (Do whatever it takes to better his life financially) over the hypnotic beat. It's # 1 because everything in this song works. From the great production work of long time friend Ski, to using Lonnie Liston Smith's song "Dream of Tomorrow" as a beat, add to that a skilled writer/rapper Jay-Z and you'll not only have success, you'll have an instant classic. -DeLon M. Goins"
THE SINGLE "DEAD PRESIDENTS" IS NUMBER ONE!
DeLon M. Goins | 08/03/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The "Dead Presidents" single is one of Jay-Z's best works. It displays his talent and shows he is a master of lyrics."
Classic single from Jay Z
Chris | St.Louis,MO | 04/29/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a rap classic by the Jigga man and is easily his best and most reveared song of all time both Parts I and II are classics however Pt I is a notch better.He was so good back in the Reasonable Doubt days this is definantly recomended
Lyrics 10/10 Beat 10/10 Overall 10/10"
Dead Presidents: Incredible hip-hop song
The Gifted One | Charlotte, North Carolina | 02/12/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Dead Presidents 12" Single was Jay's 2nd single to be released and it helped generate somewhat of a buzz in anticipation of his Reasonable Doubt LP. Let me go ahead and tell you that this is one of my favorite hip-hop songs ever (along with Dead Presidents II). Ski of the group Original Flavor laced Jay with this amazing beat and Jay rips the track to pieces. It samples Lonnie Liston Smith's "Dreams of Tomorrow" and also incorporates Nas's voice from "The World is Yours" into the hook. If you're lucky enough to find someone selling this single for a reasonable price then I definitely recommend that you buy it. If not, then just buy Reasonable Doubt for Dead Presidents II (with different lyrics). But of course any REAL hip-hop fan would already have that album anyway."
Jigga at his best
E.J. Rupert | Milwaukee, WI | 04/29/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I'm not sure if both the album version and the video version is on here, but both of them rock. "Ain't No" is also a great song (remember this line? "...more women between my sheets than Essence") with the fierce Foxy Brown. Jay-Z is still the man now, but I liked him better as an underground sensation, which is what he still was when these singles dropped in '96."