Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter

Untitled

Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter is the 1999 release by East Coast hip hop artist Jay-Z. It is, for the most part, his return to a more street-oriented sound. However, it did manage to produce some very successful radio-friendly singles. Vol. 3 topped the billboard charts with nearly half a million sold in its first few days of release. To date, the album has sold over 3 million copies, the most successful single from the album and arguably Jay-Z's career is the now-infamous Big Pimpin'. This album is also noted for insulting the rapper 50 Cent (before his rise to fame) on the song "It's Hot (Some Like It Hot)". It was a response to "How To Rob", a song from 50 Cent's unreleased first LP "Power of the Dollar" where he comically explains robbing numerous mainstream rappers, including Jay-Z. In the song, Jay-Z raps "I'm about a dollar/What the fuck is 50 cents."

Track listing

#	Title	Songwriters	Producer(s)	Featured guest(s)
1	"Hova Song (Intro)"	S. Carter, K. Rob, J. Hendrix	K-Rob	Pain in da Ass
2	"So Ghetto"	S. Carter, C. Martin, S. Crooper, B. Miles	DJ Premier
3	"Do It Again (Put Ya Hands Up)"	S. Carter, D. Grant, A. Whitehead, D. Stinson	Rockwilder	Beanie Sigel and Amil
4	"Dope Man"	S. Carter	DJ Clue, Darrell 'Digga' Branch, Ken "Duro" Ifill, Lance 'UN' Rivera (co-producer)
5	"Things That U Do"	S. Carter, K. Dean, K. Joshua	Swizz Beatz	Mariah Carey
6	"It's Hot (Some Like It Hot)"	S. Carter, T. Mosley	Timbaland
7	"Snoopy Track"	S. Carter, T. Gray, T. Mosley	Timbaland	Juvenile
8	"S. Carter"	S. Carter, A. Whitehead, R. Howard, S. Francis	Russell "Russ" Howard, Sean "SAF" Francis, Chauncey Mahan (co-producer)	Amil
9	"Pop 4 Roc"	S. Carter, A. Whitehead, D. Grant, M. Cox, E. Shaw, K. Ifill	DJ Clue, Ken "Duro" Ifill	Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek and Amil
10	"Watch Me"	S. Carter, I. Lorenzo, R. Mays	Irv Gotti and Lil' Rob	Dr. Dre
11	"Big Pimpin'"	S. Carter, B. Freeman, C. Butler, T. Mosley, K. Joshua	Timbaland	UGK
12	"There's Been a Murder"	S. Carter, R. Howard, S. Francis, A. Davis	Russell "Russ" Howard, Sean "SAF" Francis, Chauncey Mahan (co-producer)	Alana Davis
13	"Come and Get Me"	S. Carter, T. Mosley	Timbaland
14	"NYMP"	S. Carter, D. Stinson, B. Russell	Rockwilder
15	"Hova Song (Outro)"	S. Carter, K. Rob, J. Hendrix	K-Rob
*	"Jigga My Nigga"	S. Carter, K. Dean	Swizz Beatz
*	"Girl's Best Friend"	S. Carter, K. Dean	Swizz Beatz	Theresa Rodriguez

(*) Indicates bonus tracks

Bonus tracks

The regular album includes two bonus tracks at the end, "Jigga My Nigga" and "Girl's Best Friend". Both tracks are inserted following a minute of silence at the end of "Hova Song (Outro)". The track "Girl's Best Friend" was the lead single from the movie Blue Streak. The bonus tracks are unlisted and do not have track numbers.

Both the European and Japanese release of the album also contained another additional bonus track at the end (as track 16) called Anything. The Japanese version also came with a bonus CD that had two tracks, a "Mr. Drunk Mix" and an "Instrumental Remix" of the above track "Anything".

Samples

Hova Song (Intro)

• "Burning Of The Midnight Lamp" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Do It Again (Put Ya Hands Up)

• "Overnight Scenario" by Rare Essence (DC Go-Go Band)

So Ghetto

• "Crop Dustin'" by Steve Cropper
• "Library" by Bossey and Hawkes
• "Sporco Ma Distinto" by Ennio Morricone

Big Pimpin'

• "Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime" by Korgis
• "Khusara Khusara" by Hossam Ramzy*

There's Been A Murder

• "Murder" by Alana Davis

NYMP

• "Life Can Be So Grand" by Brian and Brenda Russell

Girl's Best Friend

• "Keep It Comin' Love" by KC & The Sunshine Band

* Due to legal reason's a re-recording and not an actual sample was used.

Chart positions

Album

Chart (1999)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard 200	1
U.S. Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums	1
Top Canadian Albums	8

Singles

Year	Song	Chart positions
		Billboard Hot 100	Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	Hot Rap Singles
1999	"Jigga My Nigga"	#28	#6	#1
1999	"Girls Best Friend"	#52	#19	-
1999	"Do It Again"	-	#17	-
2000	"Big Pimpin	-	#6	#1
2000	"Things That You Do"	-	-	-