Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter
Studio album by Jay-Z
Released	December 28, 1999 (US)
Recorded	1999
Genre	Hip hop
Length	71:05
Label	Roc-A-Fella/Island Def Jam
Producer	Swizz Beatz, Timbaland, DJ Premier, Rockwilder, DJ Clue, Irv Gotti, K-Rob, Darrell 'Digga' Branch, Ken "Duro" Ifill, Russell "Russ" Howard, Sean "SAF" Francis, Chauncey Mahan, Lil' Rob
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Entertainment Weekly (B+) RapReviews (8.5/10) link Robert Christgau A link Rolling Stone link The Source link
Jay-Z chronology
Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life (1998) Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter (1999) The Dynasty: Roc La Familia (2000)
Singles from Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter
"Jigga My Nigga" Released: July 20, 1999 "Girl's Best Friend" Released: October 18, 1999 "Do It Again (Put Ya Hands Up)" Released: December 14, 1999 "Things That U Do" Released: February 15, 2000 "Anything" Released: February 29, 2000 "Big Pimpin'" Released: September 12, 2000

Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter is the 1999 release by East Coast hip hop artist Jay-Z. It is, for the most part, his return to a more street-oriented sound. However, it did manage to produce some very successful radio-friendly singles. Vol. 3 topped the billboard charts with nearly half a million sold in its first few days of release. To date, the album has sold over 3 million copies, the most successful single from the album and arguably Jay-Z's career is the now-infamous Big Pimpin'. This album is also noted for insulting the rapper 50 Cent (before his rise to fame) on the song "It's Hot (Some Like It Hot)". It was a response to "How To Rob", a song from 50 Cent's unreleased first LP "Power of the Dollar" where he comically explains robbing numerous mainstream rappers, including Jay-Z. In the song, Jay-Z raps "I'm about a dollar/What the fuck is 50 cents."

Jay-Z was able to beat many odds with the release, and critical/commercial success of this album. He was able to regain much "street cred" with lyrics on songs such as, NYMP, Come and Get Me, It's Hot, There's Been a Murder, and Jigga my Nigga. He also won the applause of the young culture at the time with the Big Pimpin' video, which at the time was blasted by news corporations for being overly-misogynistic.

Track listing

(*) Indicates bonus tracks

Bonus tracks

The regular album includes two bonus tracks at the end, "Jigga My Nigga" and "Girl's Best Friend". Both tracks are inserted following a minute of silence at the end of "Hova Song (Outro)". The track "Girl's Best Friend" was the lead single from the movie Blue Streak. The bonus tracks are unlisted and do not have track numbers.

The Japanese release of the album also contained another additional bonus track at the end (as track 16) called Anything. The Japanese version also came with a bonus CD that had two tracks, a "Mr. Drunk Mix" and an "Instrumental Remix" of the above track "Anything".

The UK/Europe version of the album (which was released several weeks before the US version) features a track called "Hova Interlude" in place of "Watch Me" and "Is That Yo Bitch" (which features Missy Elliot and Twista) in place of "There's Been a Murder", it also has "Anything" as the closing song (track 16) before the 2 hidden bonus tracks. This version is how the album was really intended to sound but due to heavy bootlegging of the promotional copy Jay-Z went back and changed the US tracklisting in last minute.

Samples

Hova Song (Intro)

• "Burning the Midnight Lamp" - Rotary Connection
• "Burning Of The Midnight Lamp" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience

So Ghetto

• "Crop Dustin'" by Steve Cropper
• "Library" by Bossey and Hawkes
• "Sporco Ma Distinto" by Ennio Morricone

Do It Again (Put Ya Hands Up)

• "Overnight Scenario" by Rare Essence (DC Go-Go Band)

Big Pimpin'

• "Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime" by Korgis
• "Khusara Khusara" by Hossam Ramzy*

There's Been A Murder

• "Murder" by Alana Davis

NYMP

• "Life Can Be So Grand" by Brian and Brenda Russell

Girl's Best Friend

• "Keep It Comin' Love" by KC & The Sunshine Band

* Due to legal reason's a re-recording and not an actual sample was used.

Chart positions

Album

Singles

References