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NEWS : STORIES
When not managing his record company or producing other artists, rapper Jay- Z typically spends his time writing and performing rhymes -- some reality-based, some strictly fantasy. Now, with the release of his "Streets Is Watching" home
In addition to acting in it, Jay-Z helped write the dialogue for his hour-long debut video about his struggles during his early days in hip-hop and the founding of his record company. The chance to write stories without rhymes, he said, helped him to express things in ways that he hasn't before. "It was actually easier [than writing rhymes]," he explained from his publicist's office in New York. "I guess because it was stuff that I've been around and a lot of it came from the songs. All I had to do was bring a visual to it." Visualizing is what "Streets Is Watching" is all about. Directed by Abdul Malik Abbott and written by Jay-Z, Cha-Ka Pilgrim, Abbott and Roc-A Fella Records CEO Damon Dash, the storyline is scored with music by such rap acts as Diamond in Da Rough and Memphis Bleek while being intertwined with videos for such Jay-Z songs as "Friend or Foe," "Imaginary Players" and "You Must Love Me." Jay-Z made his first mark on New York's hip-hop scene in 1990 with his early tune "The Originators" and via a guest rap on the Original Flavor song "Can I Get Open?" The story goes that as the buzz began to build around the rapper -- who would not give his age -- he went through the wringer with many a label A&R rep before realizing that the deal he wanted would not be forthcoming. He eventually hooked up with Dash and formed Roc-A-Fella Records, later bringing on Kareem "Biggs" Burke to help run the label. His first album, 1996's Reasonable Doubt, went gold and featured guest appearances by R&B singer Mary J. Blige on "Can't Knock the Hustle," the Notorious B.I.G. on "Brooklyn's Finest" and rapper Foxy Brown on "Ain't No Nigga," the album's biggest hit. In 1996, Jay-Z released In My Lifetime Vol. 1, which went platinum and debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, scoring hits with "Sunshine," which once again featured Foxy Brown, and "The City Is Mine" (RealAudio excerpt), which featured an appearance by new-jack R&B group Blackstreet. He briefly held a spot on 1997's Puff Daddy & the Family No Way Out Tour but dropped out early on due to frustrations over the sound quality of his shows. Soon afterward, production on "Streets Is Watching" began. The process of making the video, Jay-Z said, was exhausting. Juggling his duties at the label and on the production was tough enough, he added, but then there was the actual filming to do. "We did it in two weeks and that was terrible," he explained. "I was tired all the time and I guess I overloaded myself too much." Still, the hard work paid off, he said. "It's like butter," he said of the video. "It's a ghetto musical, like a Brooklyn 'West Side Story,' only an updated version," he added, referring to the famous Broadway musical and motion picture about 1950s street gangs. The soundtrack for the video is something of a Roc-A-Fella label sampler. Featuring tracks from such rappers as Memphis Bleek, M.O.P. and Diamonds In Da Rough, as well as R&B acts Christion and Rell, the album houses the songs used as a score to the video. "I produced all the tracks," Jay-Z said. "And they're all off the hook." The first single from the soundtrack is Rell's "Love For Free." Reached while rehearsing for a Thursday appearance on the late-night talk show "Vibe," the 19-year-old R&B crooner said he's pleased with the final version of his song in "Streets Is Watching." "[Jay-Z is] intertwined with this female while the song is playing," Rell (a.k.a. Gerrell Gaddis) explained. "I don't want to give too much away, but I definitely liked how it was used." "Love For Free," a song in which Rell pleads with a woman to turn her attention his way instead of chasing the affections of a man who doesn't want her, was originally written as a demo to land him a deal with Roc-A-Fella, he added. According to Rell, the song isn't directed at anyone in particular and wasn't inspired by any single person. "I go into the studio, and if I hear something, I start freestyling," he explained. "Sometimes it'll be words and sometimes just a melody. I'm a very melodic person." The version of "Love For Free" on the soundtrack also features a guest appearance by Jay-Z, who said he laid down his part of the song in about 15 minutes, long after Rell's part was completed. "We did this for the fans," Jay-Z said of the soundtrack and film. "I want them to see what they've been longing to see and I want them to understand the Roc-A- Fella story. I wanted to show that a dream based on reality is the greatest fantasy."
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