Jay-Z Says ‘In My Lifetime, Vol. 1′ Was the ‘One That Got Away’

Jay-Z has millions of fans, but there is one album in the Brooklyn-bred rapper's collection that even he won't listen. On the cusp of his highly-anticipated 'Blueprint 3' release, Jay stated that his career hasn't been all good decisions; noting that his work on his 1997 sophomore studio album, 'In My Lifetime, Vol.1,' was riddled with missteps.

"What I did with '[In My Lifetime] Volume One' was I tried to make records. I had just made 'Reasonable Doubt' ... it wasn't successful in music industry terms," he said in an interview. "It was a cult classic on the streets, but it wasn't successful in the music business and I tried to blend the two. If you look back on 'In My Lifetime,' there were songs on there that were brilliant. I don't listen to that album because I think I messed it up.

"You got 'Where I'm From,' 'Streets Is Watching,' 'You Must Love Me,' and 'Lucky Me.' It's so many incredible records on there that I think I missed having two classics in a row [by] trying to get on the radio. It really hurt me because that album was so good; I can't listen to it. When that record comes on it just erks me. I don't have any regrets but musically, the album [is] the one that got away."

Another sharing the same sentiment was the late Biggie Smalls who, according to Hova, immediately took a liking to the album. "The first song I made for it was 'Streets Is Watching,' which was the last song that Biggie Smalls ever heard. He made me play the record 30 times. We played it so much I just gave it him. I was like, 'Just keep it."

Next Tuesday, Jay will hit the stage at New York's Madison Square Garden for the "Answer the Call" tribute concert, marking the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Jay's 'Blueprint 3' will also hit shelves that day, eight years after the exact release of the first album in the trilogy.