Jay-Z - The Dynasty-Roc La Familia

The Dynasty: Roc La Familia is the 5th studio album released by East Coast hip hop artist Jay-Z. Originally a Roc-A-Fella Records collaboration album, a showcase for Roc-A-Fella artists such as Young Gunz, Omillio Sparks and Freeway, it eventually became another Jay-Z solo album (or at least marketed as one to increase sales), although the Roc-A-Fella artists are abundant on this album. Big name guest appearances have been limited to three – Snoop Dogg, R. Kelly, and Scarface – to make room for the Roc-A-Fella family. Its lead single, I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me), produced by The Neptunes, was one of Jay-Zs most successful singles peaking at number 11 on the Billboard 200. The album debuted at #1 on the charts with 557,000 copies sold in its first week and more than 2.3 million copies sold to date.

Rather than using big-name producers such as Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, who had featured prominently on Vol. 2 and Vol. 3, Jay-Z decided to feature more up-and-coming producers on this album, such as Just Blaze, Kanye West, Bink! and The Neptunes. Partially as a result of this exposure, these producers would achieve notable success in the future. Given Just Blaze and Kanye Wests penchant for utilizing soul samples in their beats, the album features a smoother sound than Jay-Zs previous efforts, though Bay Area-based producer Rick Rock includes a more minimalist sound in his four beats.