Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter

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• D&D Studios (New York City)
• Sony Music Studios (New York City)
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Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter is the fourth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released on December 28, 1999, by Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. According to USA Today critic Steve Jones, the record marked a return to the street-oriented sound of Jay-Z's 1996 debut album, Reasonable Doubt.<ref name="Jones" /> Vol. 3... featured production from Swizz Beatz, Timbaland, K-Rob, DJ Clue, Rockwilder, DJ Premier, and Irv Gotti, among others.

The album was well received by critics and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 462,000 copies in its first week. It has since sold over three million copies and been certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Release and reception

Template:Album ratings Vol. 3... was released on December 28, 1999, and sold 462,000 copies in its first week, while debuting at number one on the Billboard 200.<ref>Mancini, Robert. Jay Z Grabs Top Of Album Chart. MTV. Retrieved on February 22, 2010.</ref> The sales week was thirty-percent more than the first-week sales of Jay-Z's previous album, Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life (1998).<ref>Baker, Soren. Assault Case Won't Stop the Music—or the Sales. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on February 22, 2010.</ref> On February 14, 2001, it was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).<ref name="RIAA">Gold & Platinum: Searchable Database Template:Webarchive. Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Retrieved on September 14, 2009.</ref> In 2009, the album reached sales of 3,093,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In a contemporary review, Rolling Stone critic Kris Ex wrote that Jay-Z "has become a better architect of songs" while hailing Vol. 3... as "his strongest album to date, with music that's filled with catchy hooks, rump-shaking beats and lyrics fueled by Jay's hustler's vigilance".<ref name="Ex">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Richard Harrington from The Washington Post found the record to be "full of reputation-building swagger, cataloguing of lyrical skills and autobiographical perspective".<ref name="Harrington">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Reviewing the album in Entertainment Weekly, Anthony DeCurtis said it reconnects with Jay-Z's urban demographic, "with flair",<ref name="DeCurtis" /> while Steve Jones of USA Today was particularly impressed by his lyrics and flow, finding both to be "razor-sharp as ever".<ref name="Jones" /> In The Village Voice, Robert Christgau argued that Jay-Z has too much at stake commercially to depart from "playing the now-a-rapper-now-a-thug 'reality' game with his customers, thugs and fantasists both", but he impresses with "a rugged, expansive vigor, nailing both come-fly-with-me cosmopolitanism and the hunger for excitement that's turned gangster hangouts into musical hotbeds from Buenos Aires to Kansas City".<ref name="Christgau" /> Fellow Voice critic Miles Marshall Lewis called Jay-Z "the best MC in hip hop" and Vol. 3… "the quintessential 2000-model hip hop album".<ref name="Lewis">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Soren Baker was less impressed in the Los Angeles Times, writing that the record lacks the "biting humor and spectacular wordplay" of his previous albums.<ref name="Baker" />

In The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), Jon Caramanica later wrote, "Life & Times of S. Carter took [Vol. 2Template:'s] combination of style and substance to its apotheosis. In addition to maintaining a strong lyrical presence, Jay also showcased his talents as a master of flow, changing cadences and rhyme patterns with impressive regularity and flexibility ... Nearly every track on this album was sonically unique, and Jay rode each one with aplomb and skill".<ref name="Caramanica">Template:Cite book</ref> AllMusic's John Bush wrote in a retrospective review that a couple of overwrought productions ("Dope Man" and "Things That U Do") keep it from being among Jay-Z's best albums.<ref name="Bush" />

Track listing

Notes

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Personnel

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}} Credits: Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter]. Allmusic. Retrieved on September 14, 2009.</ref>

• Amil – performer
• Darrell Branch – producer
• Mariah Carey – performer
• Drawing Board – art direction
• Fingaz – keyboards
• Kyledidthis – design
• Jay-Z – performer
• Jonathan Mannion – photography
• Memphis Bleek – performer
• Tatsuya Sato – assistant engineer
• Beanie Sigel – performer
• UGK – performer
• Dr. Dre – performer, mixing

Charts

Weekly charts

Template:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chart

Chart (2000)	Peak position

Year-end charts

Chart (2000)	Position
Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	141
US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	23
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	5

See also

• List of number-one albums of 2000 (U.S.)
• List of number-one R&B albums of 2000 (U.S.)

External links

• Template:Discogs master