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If debut albums were rated purely on how familiar a fan becomes with said artist, than Jay would score top marks. Despite the short tracklist though, Taking All Bets took roughly two full years to complete, which by listening to it, makes total sense. Jay doesn’t waste one single bar on this album nor does he add any unnecessary filler. Jay made the exact album he wanted to here—or at least it sounds that way. He kicks things off with “Stay Dangerous,” a declaration of savagery that gets carried throughout the entire 12-song tracklist. The song packs raw energy into a full three minutes of straight bars but “Bubble Up & Double Up” is where Jay really starts getting busy. Cascading distortion keys tumble across a mix of trap drums and hi-hats to create a lush and loopy West Coast bounce. Jay takes a break from the rapid-fire delivery and oozes his smooth bravado with lines like, “Fat boy in some Dickies/Margiela can’t fit me.” A seemingly mediocre line actually pulls back the curtain on what Jay really represents. When’s the last time you heard a rapper in 2017 discredit a designer brand like Margiela and throw all praise to $35 Dickies work pants—a signature West Coast look? Not often.

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