1995 Jay-Z Interview & Criminology Freestyle (Unreleased)

Just this past weekend, Jay-Z’s classic debut album Reasonable Doubt turned a whopping 15 years old. In commemoration of the milestone, Philly radio personality Colby Colb dropped a gem when he uncovered an old school Jay-Z interview that also included a freestyle over the esteemed “Crimonology” Wu classic. Here’s what Colby Colb had to say about it:

What can I say, this is a historic moment in Hip Hop. At the time I knew of Jay-z from Original Flavor and he had a cameo on this Big Daddy Kane song that was out that summer.

This was before Rocafella, this was best friends Jay and Dame driving down to Philly in twin Lexus GS Coupes with records in the trunk. This was one of Jay-z first interviews outside of New York. You could see the potential in him, he was nervous yet confident. During this interview he talks about life before Reasonable Doubt which didn’t come out until 10 months later. Check out the freestyle over some Wu beats.