1999年Jay-Z推出了专辑《Vol. 3: Life and Times of S. Carter》，销量十分惊人，并拥有多首热门金曲。他曾在1999年专辑《Vol.3 … Life and Times of S.Carter（S.Carter的生活与时代）》的“S.Carter”中称自己为“太阳般的顶尖男人（the man on top like the sun）”。但是我们不得不承认，麦克风后面的他确实有着令众人为之倾倒的个人魅力。 by John Bush After the crossover success of 1998's Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life (complete with highly publicized samples from Annie), Jay-Z returned to the streets on his fourth proper album overall, 1999's Vol. 3: Life and Times of S. Carter. A set of hard-hitting tracks with some of the best rhymes of Jay-Z's career, the album is much more invigorating than its predecessor, and almost as consistently entertaining as his best album, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1. As good as his rapping has become, the production here plays a large part as well. Befitting his superstar status, Jay-Z boasts the cream of hip-hop producers: Timbaland (four tracks total), DJ Premier, Swizz Beatz, and Rockwilder. DJ Premier's "So Ghetto," Timbaland's "Snoopy Track" (with Juvenile), and DJ Clue's "Pop 4 Roc" are innovative tracks that push the rhymes along but never intrude too much on Jay-Z's own flow. If this album doesn't quite make it up to Jay-Z's best, though, it's the fault of a few overblown productions, like "Dope Man" and "Things That U Do" (with Mariah Carey).