In the history of rap music, there is not a single rapper with a more storied and acclaimed career as Jay-Z. Some would like to call Jay-Z a superhero in rap. Every superhero needs a trusty sidekick.
When Jay-Z finally became a star, in 1998, Memphis Bleek became that trusty sidekick. For years, Bleek remained by Jay-Z’s side and Jay lent some guest verses to Bleek’s albums. While under Jay’s shadow, Bleek never quite reached that superstar level.
Ever since Jay-Z first came into the game, he has hoped that Memphis Bleek would eventually take his place. In 2003, Jay-Z had planned to retire, after the release of his The Black Album, Bleek was supposed to take over the game, then.
However, when Memphis Bleek’s album came, he remained a “second string” rapper. His next album did not come until 2005 and it, too, was a flop. It took Jay-Z coming out of retirement to keep New York hip hop alive. But, Memphis Bleek has been waiting for the perfect time to take over.
Ever since 1998, Memphis Bleek has been running his own record label, Get Low Records. All of Bleek’s albums have been released by Get Low with distribution coming from Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam. In 2008, Jay-Z left Roc-A-Fella Records for his own Roc Nation label.
Memphis Bleek saw this as the perfect opportunity for him to find a new deal for Get Low. With this, Bleek will finally release his fifth album, The Process. Bleek expects this album to take his career to the next level.
What if this album is for Bleek what Vol. 2 was for Jay-Z and Memphis Bleek becomes the biggest rapper on the planet? Then, from there, he ends up releasing albums on a yearly basis and he masters the game the way that Hov has?
So, if The Process becomes that album for Memphis Bleek and he ends up dropping a great, multi-platinum release every year, will his legacy ever be able to rival that of Jay-Z’s? When it is all said and done, will Memphis Bleek be more successful than Jay-Z?
Tags: jay-z, memphis bleek
