MTV Unplugged (Jay-Z album)

Jay-Z: Unplugged
Live album by Jay-Z with The Roots
Released	December 18, 2001 (U.S.)
Recorded	November 18, 2001, MTV Studios, New York City, New York
Genre	Hip hop
Length	58:15
Label	Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam
Producer	Questlove, The Roots, Ski
Jay-Z chronology
The Blueprint (2001) Jay-Z: Unplugged (2001) The Best of Both Worlds (2002)
The Roots chronology
Things Fall Apart (1999) Jay-Z: Unplugged (2002) Phrenology (2002)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Billboard	(favorable)[2]
Robert Christgau	[3]
Entertainment Weekly	(A)[4]
HipHopDX	[5]
NME	(7/10)[6]
RapReviews	(8.0/10)[7]
Rolling Stone	[8]
Village Voice	(favorable)[9]

Jay-Z: Unplugged is rapper Jay-Z's 2001 music album that contains some of his past songs with live instruments performed by the hip-hop band The Roots. The album was recorded during the taping of an MTV Unplugged 2.0 episode on November 18, 2001. It sold more than 600,000 copies.

Track listing

1. "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" - 5:08
2. "Takeover" - 4:57
3. "Girls, Girls, Girls" - 4:41
4. "Jigga What, Jigga Who" - 2:34
5. "Big Pimpin'" - 4:11
6. "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)" - 4:05
7. "Can I Get A..." - 1:42
8. "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" - 1:31
9. "Ain't No Nigga" - 1:02
10. "Can't Knock the Hustle/Family Affair" (featuring Mary J. Blige) - 6:06
11. "Song Cry" - 7:04
12. "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" (featuring Pharrell) - 6:58
13. "Jigga That Nigga"/"People Talking" - 8:22

All songs were produced by Questlove, The Roots; "People Talking" produced by Ski.

Charts

Chart (2001)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard 200	20
U.S. Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums	8

Personnel

• Leonard Hubbard – bass
• Ahmir '?uestlove' Thompson – drums, producer
• Damon Bennett – flute
• Ben Kenney – guitar [acoustic]
• Kamal Gray – keyboards
• Omar Edwards – keyboards
• Aaron "Gushie" Dramper – percussion
• Frank "Knuckles" Walker – percussion
• Scratch – percussion [vocal], backing vocals
• The Roots – producer
• Alexandra Leem – strings
• Fiona Murray – strings
• Ghislaine Fleischmann – strings
• Larry Gold – strings
• Jaguar Wright – vocals

References

1. MTV Unplugged at AllMusic
3. "CG: jay-z". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
4. David Browne (2002-01-11). "Unplugged Review | Music Reviews and News". EW.com. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
5. "Jay-Z - MTV Unplugged | Read Hip Hop Reviews, Rap Reviews & Hip Hop Album Reviews". HipHop DX. 2002-01-29. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
6. "NME Album Reviews - Jay-Z : Unplugged". Nme.Com. 2002-01-15. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
7. "Jay-Z :: Unplugged :: Roc-A-Fella Records". Rapreviews.com. 2001-12-21. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
8. Archived January 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
9. Selwyn Seyfu Hinds (2002-01-15). "Kings of New York - Page 2 - Music - New York". Village Voice. Retrieved 2013-06-29.

External links

• Jay-Z: Unplugged at Discogs