This is the hustler, like the true,

bloody, cold hearted Reagan era hustler Jay-Z.

And not only did he define the hustler, he defined the era.

He lets you know what New York was like coming out of that Reagan crack era, the opulence, the wealth, the danger, the concern, the destruction, the darkness.

He puts you in a period.

It's a period piece.

It might be one of the greatest period pieces that articulate a time in New York history that solidifies not only a coming of age, but a changing of age.

Kathy Iondali contemplates the hope promised and lost in the wake of Reasonable Doubt's release just mere months before the murders of Tupac Shakur and the notorious B.I.G.

He wouldn't

even allow you to understand who he prayed to.

Jay-Z didn't miss any details when it came to crafting this image of himself.

And I think that's the most important aspect of his writing that I think even all rappers today should be able to watch.

Watch the descriptions.

Watch the details, watch the imagery, watch the vividness of how he articulates not just his surroundings, but himself in these surroundings.

He never misses a detail that helps you understand who he is.

Can I live?