If you're a day one Jay-Z fan like me, his music provided the soundtrack to my young adult life! I relocated to Chi-town from Inglewood in '92 and ended up living in this small hick town called Kankakee for about 6 months in '96. I was 22 years old then and Kankakee was sewed up by my big cousin who ran a crew of Vice Lord's down there and they was moving major weight. Dehaven's story of how he touched down in Maryland reminded me of those days. The summer of '96, I couldn't wait for Jay-Z's classic debut album, "Reasonable Doubt" to drop and I copped it day one!
I always heard Jay shout out his ace boon, Dehaven on albums and wondered who this cat was. You could feel their closeness in Jay-Z's early songs. Fast forward to Jay-Z becoming one of the greatest hustlers the rap game has ever known. He fell out with Dame, but seemed to take a lot of his day one's with him to the top like Ta Ta. We heard him shot out Emory and set him straight when he got out of jail, as expected. So, as a fan and someone who understands the streets, I always wondered why the cat who gave him the game (Dehaven) wasn't along for the ride.
When I saw Dehaven's YouTube rant years ago, I hoped Jay would have had a sit down and drop a few mill on him, just on the strength of their brotherhood. It never happened, so this documentary tells the story from Dehaven's vantage point on why he felt slighted, but it also reveals why Jay may have cut ties as well. Brothers fight, but there is often reconciliation. Definitely worth the watch if you are a true Jay fan from day one and know what Dehaven meant to the young Shawn Carter!